On Denialists

Skepticism only works if you are skeptical of your own instincts as well as information you find appealing

"Bullshit" by izzygator is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

The COVID-19 pandemic has made us all aware of denialists, who say the disease is nothing to worry about but vaccines are potentially dangerous. This post will probe who they are and their claims to be skeptics. We will also look at how they come to their conclusions.

Research shows that men are much more likely to hesitant about COVID-19 vaccines than women. Of course, there are exceptions, but the COVID denialism movement tends to be very masculine. Research also shows that having a college degree makes people much more likely to get vaccinated. There are exceptions, but the movement tends to attract auto-didacts and amateur researchers without strong educational backgrounds.

Denialists often claim to be skeptics. It is true that they are very skeptical of science and the mainstream media. However, they tend to give a free pass to sweeping narratives from purveyors of fringe views, anti-globalists and con artists. Denialists also miss one of the central points of the skeptical tradition, which is being skeptical about your own biases. Being skeptical in just one dimension leads denialists to become very dogmatic in their views, which is the opposite of true skepticism. In other words, denialism is pseudo-skepticism.

Denialists rarely spell out their methodology. If you ever engage in a deep conversation with one, though, you will probably find that they tend to trust their gut instincts more than most. Sadly, this can be problematic. You will probably also find that they tend to be worse than average at handling cognitive dissonance. As regular readers will hopefully remember, cognitive dissonance is an uncomfortable feeling we all experience when faced with contradiction. We are all tempted to double down on a bad starting position when someone tells us we are wrong. Denialists take this to extremes.

In my experience, denialists often want the status that comes with being a true expert, but without any of the bother of passing exams, going to medical school or getting some relevant qualifications. Instead, they will tell you not to read the mainstream media and not to trust your doctor. This should be a red flag for you.

Denialists tend to be expert bullshitters. The philosopher Harry G. Frankfurt memorably defined the essence of bullshit as being “not that it is false but that it is phony.” He describes bullshitters as being “more expansive and independent, with more spacious opportunities for improvisation, color, and imaginative play” than liars. Inventing conspiracy theories to explain away inconvenient facts is always a useful ploy if you want to bullshit your way through life.

So, denialists tend to take a fairly random guess about a subject they don’t really understand, defend it vigorously when faced with contradiction and riff freely to get around any problems. Vast, sweeping conspiracy theories to explain away inconvenient details are always close to hand. Denialists are often worried about their perceived status and want to be taken as seriously as doctors without doing the work. Strangely, though, the way denialists defend their views with a sense of utter certainty that can prove attractive to us.

How can you deal with denialists? If they are unable to handle cognitive dissonance in a healthy way, contradicting them is unlikely to end well. Instead, I suggest avoiding social media debates. Teaching them about cognitive dissonance, discussing methodology and proposing bets while accepting small wins might be less satisfying than a no-holds-barred debate, but it will get you better results.

Finally, taking denialists seriously is literally and figuratively bad for your health. If you see an anti-science or anti-media post on social media that resonates with you, please dig a little deeper before you share it. Where does it come from? Is there an agenda behind it? Is it true? Check everything!

Sharpen Your Axe is a project to develop a community who want to think critically about the media, conspiracy theories and current affairs without getting conned by gurus selling fringe views. Please subscribe to get this content in your inbox every week. Shares on social media are appreciated! If this is the first post you have seen, I recommend starting with the critical-thinking rabbit hole.

[Updated on 10 March 2022] Opinions expressed on Substack and Twitter are those of Rupert Cocke as an individual and do not reflect the opinions or views of the organization where he works or its subsidiaries.