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Oekom Verlag, GAiA - Ecological Perspectives for Science and Society, 1(23), p. 40-47, 2014

DOI: 10.14512/gaia.23.1.10

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The Structure of Climate Skeptical Arguments. Conspiracy Theory as a Critique of Science Die Struktur klimaskeptischer Argumente. Verschwörungstheorie als Wissenschaftskritik

Journal article published in 2014 by Jens Soentgen, Helena Bilandzic ORCID
This paper was not found in any repository, but could be made available legally by the author.
This paper was not found in any repository, but could be made available legally by the author.

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Abstract

Questioning and rejecting the scientific consensus on climate change causes, climate skeptics argue that climate science is involved in a global conspiracy, guided by self-interest and aspirations of societal change. On the basis of 97 climate skeptical non-fiction books, this article reconstructs the logical structure of climate skeptical (or denialist) arguments, with a special focus on the construction of the causes for climate change. The analysis shows that climate skeptical arguments are made on three levels: on the level of insight from climate science, on the level of an intuitive sociology of science and on a political/economic level, thus achieving the desired effect of moving the audience emotionally. The reconstruction of arguments may serve as a basis for more quantitative research, but it is also useful for entering the debate with climate skeptics as it allows anticipating climate skeptical objections.