“Superstition ain’t the way”. The optimism of the conspiracy theorist

This article addresses the topic of conspiracy theories from a rhetorical and philosophical perspective through a recent case study: the Netflix docuseries The Ancient Apocalypse by Graham Hancock1. In this TV series, the host – the author – hypothesizes a conspiracy by academic archaeology, which does not accept the idea of the existence of a highly technically developed ancient civilization that disappeared before the last ice age. The reason for this resistance on the part of archaeologists would be their desire to maintain a position of power and prestige that they would have to give up if they accepted a paradigm shift. We will use Hancock’s speeches as a textual corpus to be analyzed from a rhetorical point of view, and we will follow the philosophical hypothesis that conspiracy theories should be understood through the phenomenon of superstition (which is different from magic, § 1). We devote a paragraph to each technical proof used to achieve persuasion. First, éthos (§ 2), which focuses on the construction of the speaker as an outsider, credible because he is inconvenient. We then analyze the logos (§ 3), characterized by fallacies, ambivalent logic, and the mythological narrative as historical evidence. Finally (§ 4), we focus on pathos, which exhibits a form of detachment and a disposition to inaction.