Can we discuss the definition of the word "conspiracy"?

[Combanitorics]

One really serious problem I run into when trying to get into a sober discussion of conspiracies with either people who believe in them or people who don't is the fact that "conspiracy" is a very ill-defined word. The best legal scholarship, (serious legal scholarship including actual case law, not just linguist's chit chat) begins by expressly pointing out that the prefix "con" means "with", that's as in chili con carne, and con does not have other meanings in the west. "Con" means with. It is from Latin and used in Spanish. In English, the con has been translated and expressed in terms of faith, especially in the sense of a banking monetary trust. It's a confidence game, to be completely explicit.

Is anyone able to join a conversation and go into confidence history, or want to elaborate on the encyclopedic meaning of conspiracy?

 

[VineyardsOfEngedi]

The first thing that came to mind for con was like a "con" artist. I looked up the word in my, 1983 Webster's New Twentieth Century Dictionary unabridged 2nd edition. The definition it gives is:

con-spir'a-cy, n.; pl. con-spir'a-cies, [ME. conspiracie; OFr. conspiracie, from L. conspirare, to breathe together, conspire agree; from com-, together, and spirare, to breathe.]
1. a planning and acting together secretly, especially for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason.
2. the plan agreed on; plot.
3. the group taking part in such a plan.
4. a combining or working together; as, the conspiracy of events.
Syn. -comination, plot, cabal, collusion, connivance.

Then it list other words and definition related to the word:

con-spir'ant, a. conspiring; plotting. [Obs.]
con-spi-ra'tion, n. conspiracy. [Rare.]
con-spir'a-tor, n. one who conspires; one who engages in a plot to commit a crime, particularly treason.
con-spir-a-to'ri-al, a. 1. of or characteristics of a conspirator or conspiracy. 2. conspiring or fond of conspiracy.
con-spire', v.i.; conspired, pt., pp.; conspiring, ppr. 1. to plan and act together secretly, especially to commit a crime; to plot.
The servants of Amon conspired against him, and slew the king in his own house. -2 Kings xxi. 23.
2. to agree; to concur to one end; as, events conspired to ruin him.
Syn. -unite, concur, combine, confederate, league.
con-spire', v.t. to plan for, usually in secret. [Rare]
con-spir'er, n. one who conspires or plots; a conspirator.
con-spir'ing-ly, adv. in the manner of a conspiracy; by conspiracy.

typing all of this made me have question about dictionaries

 

[VineyardsOfEngedi]

One really serious problem I run into when trying to get into a sober discussion of conspiracies with either people who believe in them or people who don't is the fact that "conspiracy" is a very ill-defined word. The best legal scholarship, (serious legal scholarship including actual case law, not just linguist's chit chat) begins by expressly pointing out that the prefix "con" means "with", that's as in chili con carne, and con does not have other meanings in the west. "Con" means with. It is from Latin and used in Spanish. In English, the con has been translated and expressed in terms of faith, especially in the sense of a banking monetary trust. It's a confidence game, to be completely explicit.

Is anyone able to join a conversation and go into confidence history, or want to elaborate on the encyclopedic meaning of conspiracy?

What is fidence history? I know "con" you mean with- but what is fidence?

 

[Combanitorics]

The first thing that came to mind for con was like a "con" artist. I looked up the word in my, 1983 Webster's New Twentieth Century Dictionary unabridged 2nd edition. The definition it gives is:

con-spir'a-cy, n.; pl. con-spir'a-cies, [ME. conspiracie; OFr. conspiracie, from L. conspirare, to breathe together, conspire agree; from com-, together, and spirare, to breathe.]
1. a planning and acting together secretly, especially for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason.
2. the plan agreed on; plot.
3. the group taking part in such a plan.
4. a combining or working together; as, the conspiracy of events.
Syn. -comination, plot, cabal, collusion, connivance.

Then it list other words and definition related to the word:

con-spir'ant, a. conspiring; plotting. [Obs.]
con-spi-ra'tion, n. conspiracy. [Rare.]
con-spir'a-tor, n. one who conspires; one who engages in a plot to commit a crime, particularly treason.
con-spir-a-to'ri-al, a. 1. of or characteristics of a conspirator or conspiracy. 2. conspiring or fond of conspiracy.
con-spire', v.i.; conspired, pt., pp.; conspiring, ppr. 1. to plan and act together secretly, especially to commit a crime; to plot.
The servants of Amon conspired against him, and slew the king in his own house. -2 Kings xxi. 23.
2. to agree; to concur to one end; as, events conspired to ruin him.
Syn. -unite, concur, combine, confederate, league.
con-spire', v.t. to plan for, usually in secret. [Rare]
con-spir'er, n. one who conspires or plots; a conspirator.
con-spir'ing-ly, adv. in the manner of a conspiracy; by conspiracy.

typing all of this made me have question about dictionaries

From an American Dictionary? That's great, that's actually true. Some books I've read by British legal scholars though add a stipulation, that it has to be with, about, or in practice and agreement between the conspirators inclusive of an actual spire, about the spire and regarding the spire. Spire in English linguistics and terms meaning literally the spire of a church (a spire is of course a steeple). That's why conspiracy is also a religious crime in Britian, an aspect of the definition which has been lost in the United States.

 

[Combanitorics]

What is fidence history? I know "con" you mean with- but what is fidence?

"Fidence is rooted in fidelity, literally faith. A fidence is a security. That by which you swear. Family Bible is an option, your national constitution, your own family name, the personal name of a tutelar deity is all good. The problem with searing by God is usually described as being the fact that there are too many names for Him. Also, a confidence is between two people, it's not pro forma religion. So and so gave someone something as a security, which is a fidence. A very classic example is a wedding ring.

 

[VineyardsOfEngedi]

From an American Dictionary? That's great, that's actually true. Some books I've read by British legal scholars though add a stipulation, that it has to be with, about, or in practice and agreement between the conspirators inclusive of an actual spire, about the spire and regarding the spire. Spire in English linguistics and terms meaning literally the spire of a church (a spire is of course a steeple). That's why conspiracy is also a religious crime in Britian, an aspect of the definition which has been lost in the United States.

Yes, however, it might be possible that newer dictionaries might define it different. I would have to check. What would a spire, steeple have anything to do with crime? (and what would be the point of a spire on a church ). I did find it interesting that one of the words used a story from the Bible as an example . They are changing the meaning of words and books in general, which is a conspiracy on its own .

 

[VineyardsOfEngedi]

"Fidence is rooted in fidelity, literally faith. A fidence is a security. That by which you swear. Family Bible is an option, your national constitution, your own family name, the personal name of a tutelar deity is all good. The problem with searing by God is usually described as being the fact that there are too many names for Him. Also, a confidence is between two people, it's not pro forma religion. So and so gave someone something as a security, which is a fidence. A very classic example is a wedding ring.

Would confidence also be related to confidant? Really interesting what words mean and it's a shame that English is only a snippet of multiple languages. I wonder if English was part of what transpired at the tower of Babel?

 

[JStates]

It should be noted that those who don't believe in "conspiracies" are simply ignorant. It's a historic fact that conspiracies HAVE taken place in the past. Since the primary characteristic of the fallen human heart is deceptiveness, according to the Bible, Christians especially should be aware that there are numerous deceptions being perpetrated all around us, all the time.

The assassination of Julius Caesar: conspiracy.
The assassination of Abraham Lincoln: conspiracy.
The plot to assassinate King James: conspiracy.
The Watergate scandal: conspiracy.
The 9/11 coverup: conspiracy.
The TWA 800 coverup: conspiracy.
We could go on and on and on.

Arguably the Manhattan Project, which involved thousands of participants and ultimately required the building of several entire small cities, and all in complete secrecy, was a conspiracy. People have a remarkable talent for coordinated subterfuge and deception.

The term "conspiracy theory" is used by the Establishment and by propaganda mainstream media in an attempt to discredit or humiliate into silence anyone who disagrees with an official narrative. But it is no theory that conspiracies exist.

 

[Combanitorics]

Yes, however, it might be possible that newer dictionaries might define it different. I would have to check. What would a spire, steeple have anything to do with crime? (and what would be the point of a spire on a church ). I did find it interesting that one of the words used a story from the Bible as an example . They are changing the meaning of words and books in general, which is a conspiracy on its own .

There used to be a civil crime of blasphemy before the Revolution. American conspiracy law is detailed in Article Three Section Three. The spirit of the law is good, the issue it entails is in defining "United States". This includes a host of demographic census survey subtensions as well as legal script proofs that any one body of law is constitutional. You need to have heard the one (that's as in "I'm about to count to one") about how the American Civil War didn't violate Article Three Section Three.

 

[Combanitorics]

1. Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.
2. The Congress shall have Power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted.

 

[Nehemiah6]

1. a planning and acting together secretly, especially for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason.

This definition is a perfect fit for the two actual conspiracies that took place in 2019: (a) the conspiracy to oust Trump illegally, which was treason, and (b) the conspiracy to destroy lives the the COVID Scamdemic -- including the use of bogus vaccines -- which was mass murder. One could go into great detail to connect all the dots that is hardly necessary. Is there an imposter in the White House? Yes. Have there been hundreds of thousands of unnecessary deaths during the past two years? Yes.

 

[JStates]

This definition is a perfect fit for the two actual conspiracies that took place in 2019: (a) the conspiracy to oust Trump illegally, which was treason, and (b) the conspiracy to destroy lives the the COVID Scamdemic -- including the use of bogus vaccines -- which was mass murder. One could go into great detail to connect all the dots that is hardly necessary. Is there an imposter in the White House? Yes. Have there been hundreds of thousands of unnecessary deaths during the past two years? Yes.

Oh, make no mistake, the Biden Insurrection is going to cost millions of lives around the world.

 

[ManonFire63]

I like to use the book "The Count of Monte Cristo" as an example of conspiracy. The main character, he had a lot of good things going for him. He had career opportunities. He had a woman who loved him. Things were looking pretty good. People close to him conspired against him, bore false witness, and sent him to jail for the rest of his life. It took him some time to figure out what happened, but eventually, he connected all the dots.

Conspiracy may have been someone's spouse cheating on them with a friend. They have a public face, or a face, they only allow certain people to see. They have a private face, and what they only show each other. They may have conspired to deceive.

Talking about Conspiracy, a lot of people have worked to label everything "Conspiracy Theory." A Conspiracy Theorist may have been obsessed with something he really needed to be true. Talking about Conspiracy, it may have been easy for some people to become paranoid, and a little off. Conspiracy, and people lying, and bearing false witness, that has happened, and it hasn't stopped happening. Scheming may be a better word, just due to the fact that it separates from "Conspiracy Theorist." Some people have been liars and schemers behind closed doors.

 

[Handyman62]

I don't see a problem with the word conspiracy, it's meaning is pretty cut & dry. The problem arises when it's put together with the word theory. That's when it becomes a problem and the term "conspiracy theory" is used by those trying to cover up conspiracies.

By adding the word theory it calls into question the legitimacy of the conspiracy that people are pointing out.

 

[Combanitorics]

The word theory entered the English language from Greek, specifically we get it from Euclid. The elements consist of the three axioms which are put down by the author, and the five postulates, which are self-evident from the axioms. The axioms, in a geometry class require a denotative definition (the teacher has to illustrate them by putting them on the board). The postulates are defined connotatively, and if shown visually are self-evident predicated on the axioms. A geometrical argument (we call them two column proofs) determine theorems. Theorem is the Greek word for law. Theorem means law and law means theorem. Theory is a plural word and means body of laws.

 

[Nehemiah6]

Theory is a plural word and means body of laws.

You seem to be going off on a tangent. What has been happening via the media and others (who are the real conspirators) is that they have added the word "theory" to conspiracy in order to make people believe that there is no real conspiracy -- just some imaginary fantasy cooked up by people who have fevered imaginations. Which means that people should simply dismiss the facts as invalid, and pretend that everything is normal. But it is now very clear that there were two conspiracies in motion simultaneously. However, not a single conspirator has been locked up or executed.

 

[ZNP]

One really serious problem I run into when trying to get into a sober discussion of conspiracies with either people who believe in them or people who don't is the fact that "conspiracy" is a very ill-defined word. The best legal scholarship, (serious legal scholarship including actual case law, not just linguist's chit chat) begins by expressly pointing out that the prefix "con" means "with", that's as in chili con carne, and con does not have other meanings in the west. "Con" means with. It is from Latin and used in Spanish. In English, the con has been translated and expressed in terms of faith, especially in the sense of a banking monetary trust. It's a confidence game, to be completely explicit.

Is anyone able to join a conversation and go into confidence history, or want to elaborate on the encyclopedic meaning of conspiracy?

I think Steve Bannon is correct: he doesn't believe in conspiracies and he also doesn't believe in coincidences. To me rejecting coincidences is the key point. If you "believe" in coincidences it is an insult to a sovereign God.

The reason I don't believe in conspiracies is it is the lazy man's explanation for everything. Let's consider Epstein island. Did two or more people plan and coordinate? Yes. But that is essentially irrelevant, once you have 100 witnesses, video tapes, photos, and both Epstein and Maxwell convicted calling it a "conspiracy" is trivial. Go through her black book and convict every single person. If you can tie this to others who aren't in the black book even better. If you discover that the Mossad and CIA were running this honey pot then by all means use this to shut off their funding and put an end to them.

 

[JStates]

I think Steve Bannon is correct: he doesn't believe in conspiracies and he also doesn't believe in coincidences. To me rejecting coincidences is the key point. If you "believe" in coincidences it is an insult to a sovereign God.

The reason I don't believe in conspiracies is it is the lazy man's explanation for everything. Let's consider Epstein island. Did two or more people plan and coordinate? Yes. But that is essentially irrelevant, once you have 100 witnesses, video tapes, photos, and both Epstein and Maxwell convicted calling it a "conspiracy" is trivial. Go through her black book and convict every single person. If you can tie this to others who aren't in the black book even better. If you discover that the Mossad and CIA were running this honey pot then by all means use this to shut off their funding and put an end to them.

I'm pretty much in agreement.

And holding the intelligence agencies accountable is nice thought anyways. It will never happen though. They are going to destroy Prince Andrew so they can say "we did something" while leaving the rest of the rotten organization intact.

There's already enough to justify dismantling the CIA. Reams and reams of crimes against humanity and the American People.

 

[VineyardsOfEngedi]

It should be noted that those who don't believe in "conspiracies" are simply ignorant. It's a historic fact that conspiracies HAVE taken place in the past. Since the primary characteristic of the fallen human heart is deceptiveness, according to the Bible, Christians especially should be aware that there are numerous deceptions being perpetrated all around us, all the time.

The assassination of Julius Caesar: conspiracy.
The assassination of Abraham Lincoln: conspiracy.
The plot to assassinate King James: conspiracy.
The Watergate scandal: conspiracy.
The 9/11 coverup: conspiracy.
The TWA 800 coverup: conspiracy.
We could go on and on and on.

Arguably the Manhattan Project, which involved thousands of participants and ultimately required the building of several entire small cities, and all in complete secrecy, was a conspiracy. People have a remarkable talent for coordinated subterfuge and deception.

The term "conspiracy theory" is used by the Establishment and by propaganda mainstream media in an attempt to discredit or humiliate into silence anyone who disagrees with an official narrative. But it is no theory that conspiracies exist.

I'm really curious to know about the TWA 800 coverup?

 

[VineyardsOfEngedi]

There used to be a civil crime of blasphemy before the Revolution. American conspiracy law is detailed in Article Three Section Three. The spirit of the law is good, the issue it entails is in defining "United States". This includes a host of demographic census survey subtensions as well as legal script proofs that any one body of law is constitutional. You need to have heard the one (that's as in "I'm about to count to one") about how the American Civil War didn't violate Article Three Section Three.

So much small print and loopholes?