Chapter 4 – Dark Influences
Agnotology
The study of ignorance, its origin and nature has been termed agnotology,[1] which was crafted from the same Greek word as agnostic. One way to study ignorance is to divide it into three basic types. The first of these is native state; these are things we have not yet discovered. The second is called lost realm, which are things we have previously known but now have forgotten. The final type is the one we are interested in: strategic ploy, deliberately constructed ignorance by a group promoting a certain agenda.[2] “Ignorance can be an actively engineered part of a deliberate plan.”[3]
The deliberate spreading of falsehood is one of the tactics used by the followers of our fallen planetary prince; this activity is deliberate and they know exactly what they are doing. This deliberate spreading of lies is the way they operate. What they disseminate is misinformation and they know it is false. Furthermore they actively promote and spread these statements they know to be lies; their motto might be: “we rule you if we can fool you.”[4]
This type of agnotology is spread by special interest groups having an ideology not generally accepted; they fully believe in their agenda, so much so they will do anything to bring it into a wider acceptance. Since they have such a firm belief in their tenets they feel justified in spreading lies to attain their goals. Indeed there is no limit to the techniques they will use to further their plans; for them the end does justify the means, there is no cultural or moral restraint to their activity.
In our society the spreading of deliberate lies has become simple due to our internet technology and social media; for these outlets there is little checking of facts, everything put out there is assumed to be the absolute truth. There are even students of The Urantia Book who believe outrageous lies published on these media. Each of us needs to be critical of information we receive; we need to think for ourselves.
Truth is diluted by an avalanche of lies in this process; the forces opposing truth can put out a blizzard of lies obscuring all truth and leading many astray. Thinking persons need to be careful and attempt to discover where truth resides; we must consider the source of any information we receive before we make up our own minds.
There are two broad types of special interest groups utilizing agnotology to achieve their ends. The first group is well funded and desires to force their ideology into others using their wealth; they have the resources to flood society with misinformation. What they lack in having a popular message they make up for with a massive attack of lies. The other group is not well funded but fiercely dedicated to their position. They feel there is no other option but to spread lies in an effort to cover up the truth of their opponents. What they lack in resources they make up for with convincingly presented falsehood. It is a sorry commentary on our society when so many feel the only way they can be recognized is to shout lies and innuendo. This brings to mind a quotation: The argumentative defense of any proposition is inversely proportional to the truth contained.[5] In other words, the louder we need to shout to defend ourself the less true we are.
One of the most glaring examples of agnotology is the tobacco industry denying their product causes cancer; an executive of that industry “stated doubt is our product.”[6] The tobacco industry utilized countless agnotology schemes to create doubt concerning the scientific evidence about the cancer causing effect of tobacco. Among these are: advertising, funding questionable research, set up organizations acting as a mouthpiece for the industry, press releases containing falsehoods, compiling friendly research for publication in poplar outlets and many other such projects. They also had a vast amount of money to fund these efforts.[7] At every turn the industry denied, spread falsehoods and did everything to obfuscate reality, even though there was good scientific research linking tobacco with cancer.[8]
Another form of agnotology is to withhold critical scientific information such as the case of seafloor spreading. There are linear stripes on the seafloor that were partially caused by seafloor spreading which were discovered during World War II and were useful in detecting submarines. In order to keep secret the technology that allowed discovery of these seafloor lines, their existence was not revealed until the late 1950’s; if this had been revealed sooner the theory of continental drift could have been discovered earlier.[9]
Willful dissemination of falsehood has become so commonplace it is hardly noticed any more and this is a sad commentary on our society. It seems we cannot trust anyone to tell the truth, this is not a modern phenomenon; lie telling has been with us for a very long time indeed.
Deliberately spreading lies was one of the main techniques used by Hitler and the Nazis in their rise to power. There is a well-known quote by their propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels to this effect: “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.”[10] The methods and results of the Nazis are well enough known, there is no need to belabor the point.
The basic facts of global warming were a consensus in the scientific community by the mid-1990’s;[11] however climate change deniers have been hard at work obscuring this reality. Also it is not a coincidence the same tactics are being used by these climate change deniers were used by the tobacco industry previously. This is because the same individuals were involved in both of these campaigns.[12] The more one tells lies the easier it becomes the next time, and the next time.
The political arena is fertile ground for lie telling. It is too easy to make up a wild story defaming one’s opponent and publish it without any basis in fact whatsoever. Another tactic frequently used is cherry picking voting records; they pick a few votes bolstering the position they want to promote against their opponent while ignoring the vast number that do not. Lie telling has become prevalent in our society; this is a consequence of not having a strong moral foundation.
Secrecy, deliberately withholding important information, can also be a form of agnotology. John W. Dean, who worked in the Nixon White House during the Watergate years, has written a book detailing the degree to which President George W. Bush and his Vice President Dick Cheney used secrecy and lies to impose their agenda on the American people. This book is “Worse than Watergate;” in it Dean states: “My hope along the way is not to scandalmonger, but rather to spray as much antiscandal disinfectant—called light—as I possibly can;”[13] a worthy goal for anybody, to spread as much light as possible. The book is filled with well referenced details about how the Bush II presidency used untruth to attain their goals. Their mentality seems to be to win at any cost. Dean quotes vice president Dick Cheney as saying: “Principle is okay up to a certain point, but principle doesn’t do any good if you lose;”[14] a clear indication of a lack of moral foundation.
Democracy requires the electorate to be well informed, otherwise it will fail. Dean also quotes Thomas Jefferson: “When the government fears the people, there is liberty; when the people fear the government, there is tyranny.”[15] It would seem our country is on the wrong side of this equation.
In another book about the same presidency Bob Woodward states Bush was informed before his inauguration bin Laden was an immediate threat to the United States and he was coming after us again.[16] In spite of this, ten days into the Bush presidency a meeting conducted by Condoleezza Rice focused upon how to take out Saddam Hussein, not why this should be done.[17] The more serious security threat, bin Laden, whom Bush had been informed about, was largely forgotten. One main reason for this was the advisors around the president had their own view of the world and how it should operate; their vision was America had an unchallengeable position in the world, they did not need to make compromises and they could go after whomever they chose.[18]
These advisors were part of a conservative movement embracing a specific set of traditional values and philosophies;[19] this focus upon specific goals and ideologies gave their movement its driving force. The book “Rise of the Vulcans – The History of Bush’s War Cabinet” by James Mann explores the hidden agenda of these individuals. Agnotology is very much alive and well in our political system.
This prevalence of lie telling is what happens when the majority in any society ignores spiritual reality. Certainly if we ignore all future eternity, if we ignore God, if we ignore true values then we are free to do whatever we might want. But I say it again, where will you be in a thousand years? What will be the spiritual harvest of your free will actions? The quality of our decisions during our life in the flesh determines the nature of our service and adventure opportunities in eternity. We can ignore truth only so long; eventually it rises up and asserts itself. When reality rises up and bites you on the buttocks will you be on God’s side or on the side of those who cannot face reality?
The trend toward a decline in truth within our society is the subject of a study published by Rand Corporation.[20] One of their findings is there have been times in the past when truth decay was prevalent.[21] They compare truth decay in three historical periods (1880s-1890s, 1920s-1930s, and 1960s-1970s) with our current situation and find similarities. While quantifying such effects is not possible, present day truth decay appears more severe than past episodes. Since the second and third periods were followed by significant economic downturns,[22] this raises the possibility of economic and political trouble ahead.
Why does this lie telling appear to work? Even in times of spiritual decadence there should be some modicum of decency. The first way it works is to create doubt and uncertainty in the minds of uninformed people; for those who get most of their information from biased news sources they have only what is fed to them. They rarely think about anything other than the material items of concern in the present moment. Each of us needs to evaluate information for ourselves, think about what we learn and determine if it is reasonable; this prevalent lie telling creates doubt and uncertainty in the minds of those who cannot think for themselves. Since they cannot and do not think, they are at the mercy of those who do think and who are driving a particular agnotological campaign.
Another way in which these lies work is they are presented with strong conviction; we cannot believe something presented in this confident, self-assured way can be anything less than absolute truth. For example Hitler had total confidence in his warped ideas and this gave his speeches an air of authority difficult to deny. Part of the reason Germany was dragged into a World War was the authoritative confidence of Hitler. Be wary of an overconfident message bringer, this bluster may hide insincerity or insecurity.
Most people may not have a strong opinion about the issue presented; their uncertainty combined with the authoritative presentation weakens their resolve, making their acceptance of the lie more certain. Individuals naturally look up to and respect authority figures and are more likely to believe their ideas than someone lesser. Citizens of our planet are at a large disadvantage because we do not have a single authority figure such as a planetary prince or Adam and Eve to help us sort out truth; instead we need to seek out reality for ourselves. Our country, indeed our planet, will be in turmoil until our politics is uncontaminated by the efforts by our fallen planetary prince.
An outstanding example of not accepting what supposed authority dictates is Manotia who was second in command of the seraphim when Lucifer went into rebellion. Lucifer rebelled against God and her boss also followed him, denying the existence of the God of all creation. In spite of all the “authority” arrayed against her, she stood steadfast; she refused to join those against truth, against our creator.[23] Each of us should likewise stand steadfast against those who spread falsehood and lies; we should stand for the light of truth!
We recognize a serious problem, what can each of us do about it? The first thing is to stick to the truth, not in any circumstances stoop to the level of truth deniers because when we fall to the level of truth deniers in effect we become one of them. It is imperative we stick to truth and emphasize reality. The moment we fall to their level we may be lost. Those working against truth have much experience; they absolutely know what they are doing. Therefore we must be patient, follow the internal guidance each of us has and fearlessly confront the truth deniers.
They can be defeated by reason, patience and determination; we must not be caught up in the emotional displays they use to obscure their falsehoods. When we consistently stick to truth, we weaken their position. They have no real facts to bolster their position, they can only bring up half-truths or harangue about nothing until those upholding reality give up. As long as truth tellers stick to their positions, and they are strong, they will be able to withstand the sophistry of evil.
Carl Sagan addresses this point in his book “The Demon-Haunted World,” specifically in Chapter 12, “The Fine Art of Baloney Detection.” His kit for baloney detection includes the following items.[24] As much as possible confirm the facts independently. Encourage real debates by knowledgeable proponents on all sides. Do not blindly trust authority. Try to develop all possible hypotheses to explain the observations and carefully select the best. Honestly examine all possibilities and accept the conclusion, you may not be correct in your preconceived notions. Quantify, try to find a measureable quantity to verify the claim. In any chain of argument, be certain each link is valid including the original premise. When confronted by more than one possibility the simplest is generally the best, Occam’s Razor. Be certain the proposition can be falsified; otherwise there is no possible way to verify it. Using these tools for the detection of baloney you will be better equipped to ferret out truth.
We must counteract the lie tellers point by point, dealing with each false issue they may concoct. One problem lie tellers have is to keep all their lies consistent; we who stick to truth have only one story making it easier for us. We must not be dismayed when the liars publish wild and untrue stories about us and we must be steadfast declaring truth even though nobody may believe it. Eventually truth will come out.
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“Agnotology: The making and Unmaking of Ignorance” Edited by Robert N. Proctor and Londa Schiebinger, Stanford University Press, Stanford California, 2008, p. vii ↑
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Proctor p.3 ↑
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Ibid p. 9 ↑
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Ibid p. 11 ↑
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All references are to The Urantia Book unless otherwise noted. The number refers to the single column version in the format page.paragraph, 557.14 ↑
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Proctor p. 1 ↑
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Ibid p. 17 ↑
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During the first half of the twentieth century the author’s uncle, Dr. Leonell C. Strong, was one of these researchers and he remembers visiting Dr. Strong’s lab when young. A brief biography of Dr. Strong can be found at: http://dx.doi.org/10.3322/canjcln.29.1.54. Among other research Dr. Strong painted tobacco tars on mice and observed the tumors formed. ↑
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Robert N. Proctor in “Agnotology” p.19 ↑
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Thinkexist.com/quotation/-if_you_tell_a_lie_big_enough_and_keep_repeating/345877.html ↑
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Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway in Agnotology, p. 55. ↑
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Ibid p. 66-72 ↑
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“Worse than Watergate: the Secret Presidency of George W. Bush,” by John W. Dean; Little, Brown and Company, New York, 2004, p. xvii ↑
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Dean p. 178 ↑
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Dean p. 186 ↑
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“Bush at War” by Bob Woodward; Simon and Schuster; New York, 2002, p 34 ↑
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“The Price of Loyalty – George W. Bush, the White House, and the Education of Paul O’Neill, by Ron Suskind; Simon and Shuster, New York, 2004, p 70-76. ↑
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“Rise of the Vulcans – The History of Bush’s War Cabinet” by James Mann; Viking Penguin, New York, 2004, p xii ↑
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Mann p 21 ↑
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Truth Decay, An Initial Exploration of the Diminishing Role of Facts and Analysis in American Public Life; Jennifer Kavahagh and Michael D. Rich; Rand Corporation; Santa Monica, CA; 2018 ↑
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See for example Table 3.4 p71 and Table 3.5 p 75 ↑
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Bebuisnessed.com/history/the-history-of-recessions; retrieved 11/23/18 ↑
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606.6 ↑
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Sagan p 210-211 ↑