Teaching Workshop: Philosophy Workshop 6

This seminar offers an introduction to the philosophy of conspiracy theories and fake news with the twofold aim of addressing some of the key philosophical questions that arise in studying such phenomena, and exploring the important public role that philosophy can play in addressing such phenomena in the current social context.

More specifically, this seminar aims to: (1) provide the conceptual tools necessary to analyse conspiracy theories and fake news; (2) explore the cognitive and social mechanisms underlying the endorsement of conspiracy theories and fake news; (3) discuss different intervention strategies to contrast disinformation; (4) teach students how to communicate the philosophy of disinformation to a wider public in an accessible way

The workshop aims to develop the following skills:

Critical thinking skills:
By the end of the workshop, students will display a sufficiently independent critical approach in selecting and interpreting the notions that are most relevant their area of study and to the broader socio-cultural context in which they operate

Communication skills:
By the end of the workshop:
- students will be able to effectively communicate the acquired knowledge and disseminate it to the general public;
- student will have developed basic IT skills concerning knowledge preservation and transfer.

Learning skills:
By the end of the workshop, students will have developed the learning skills required to continue their studies in keeping with their own research interests. In order to meet this objective, students will also develop relevant skills in the independent interpretation of sources and in the use of basic IT tool for bibliographic research.