Esoteric Truths Flashcards
A key challenge of being a critical thinker is to be appropriately skeptical without being indiscriminately cynical.
Esoteric truths are hidden truths that can be inherently difficult to discover or purposely concealed for self-serving purposes. Concealed truth can also a myth posing as truth for the common good (Plato - the noble lie propionate’s to serve a higher goal)
Conspiracy theorists make two entirely correct assumptions: that important truths are sometimes hidden, often behind deliberate lies, and that those who do the hiding usually do so to protect their own interests. However, it is not enough to identify something as a conspiracy theory. Anyone concerned about the truth needs to have a way of distinguishing between plausible and implausible plots.
David Hume: a wise man proportions his belief to the evidence. To take seriously any claim about purposely hidden esoteric truths we need good reason to believe in their veracity, not merely a suspicion of those accused of hiding them.
There is often no cost to suspending judgement - when we do not know how to judge existing evidence, we can let history decide.
