On the Hermeneutic Mechanisms of Functioning of the Conspiracy Myth

Abstract

This article studies the hermeneutic and semiotic specifics of modern conspiracy theories. The conspiracy myth is a collection of mythological narratives that interpret socio-historical processes and
phenomena as the result of a deliberate action by powerful forces carefully concealing their existence or any relation to these phenomena and processes. Today, conspiracy theories are turning into one of the mass ideologies, gaining supporters among various social, age, professional, and religious communities. The golden age of conspiracy myths is the postmodern era. The postmodern ideologeme of the plurality of truths and the equivalence of discourses turned out to be the paradigmatic basis for conspiracy theories. The analysis of the discursive conspiracy environment allows us to distinguish the following types of conspiracy theories: parascientific, religious, political, medical, technogenic, and fantastic. The agents and actors of a conspiracy and their opponents form hierarchical strata in terms of power, initiation into secret knowledge, and influence on social processes. Hierarchical models in conspiracy theories reinforce the illocutionary potential of discourse. The research concludes that the conspiracy myth is a special hermeneutic system that allows one to form competitive discourses claiming the ability to fulfil an etiological function and at the same time introduce sacredness into everyday life, interpreting it as a space of “sacred struggle” with powerful enemies. Being largely a product of archaic culture, the conspiracy myth preserves a special type of rationality inherent in the archaic, which is easily compatible with the epistemological ideas of contemporary mass culture.