The article discusses how conspiracy theorists utilize critical thinking techniques, particularly the inference to the best explanation, to validate their claims. It details two variants of the argument by elimination: the extermination method, where all competing explanations are refuted to conclude that none are valid, and a second method that resembles a marathon where differing explanations compete until one remains. The article emphasizes the challenge of proving soundness in arguments, particularly in establishing that all avenues of a premise fail to support a claim.
This reasoning can be seen as a version of the argument by elimination. This argument has two basic forms.
The extermination method aims to show that something cannot be the case, presenting all possible options, refuting them, and concluding total elimination.
While this is a valid deductive argument, showing that it is also sound requires proving that there are no possible ways to succeed.
The second version of argument by elimination operates like a marathon, where competition continues until the one viable explanation remains.
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