Ted Goertzel
{{short description|American sociologist and emeritus professor of sociology at Rutgers University–Camden.}}
{{Infobox scientist
| honorific_prefix =
| name = Ted Goertzel
| honorific_suffix =
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| image = Conspiracy Panel at CSICON.jpg
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption = Goertzel (left) with Dave Thomas, Bob Blaskiewicz and Scott Lilienfeld at the CSICon 2011 conspiracy theories panel
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1942|11|20}}
| birth_place =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| death_cause =
| resting_place =
| resting_place_coordinates =
| other_names =
| residence =
| citizenship =
| nationality =
| fields = Sociology
| workplaces = Rutgers University–Camden
| patrons =
| education = Antioch College (B.A., 1964), Washington University in St. Louis (M.A., 1966; Ph.D., 1970)
| alma_mater =
| thesis_title = Brazilian student attitudes towards politics and education
| thesis_url = https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/1484641
| thesis_year = 1970
| doctoral_advisor =
| academic_advisors =
| doctoral_students =
| notable_students =
| known_for = Research on conspiracy theories
| influences =
| influenced =
| awards =
| author_abbrev_bot =
| author_abbrev_zoo =
| spouse =
| partner =
| children = 2
| signature =
| signature_alt =
| website =
| footnotes =
}}
Ted George Goertzel (born November 20, 1942){{r|LocNameAuthorityFile}} is an emeritus professor in the Sociology Department at Rutgers University–Camden. He is the author and co-author of books and articles spanning from social economy, politics, and conspiracy theories.
He is the father of Ben Goertzel, with whom he co-authored the 1995 book Linus Pauling: A Life in Science and Politics.{{r|"nytimes Pauling Prizes"|"rutgers memorial"}}
Conspiracy theories
As a social scientist, Goertzel studied conspiracy theories and conspiracy thinking in depth. One of his first studies on the subject started in 1992 with a telephone survey of 348 randomly chosen residents in southwestern New Jersey.{{r|"Political Psychology survey"}} The survey was of 10 conspiracy theories circulating at that time. He concluded that anomie, insecurity, and lack of trust in people are positively correlated to conspiratorial thinking.{{r|"Political Psychology survey"|"slate.com 2014-05"|"usnews 2009-05"}} Moreover, people who believe in a conspiracy theory are more likely to believe in more than one.{{r|"slate.com 2014-05"}}
He is therefore considered an expert on rumors, including the Zika conspiracy theories,{{r|"wired zika"}} ebola,{{r|"npr ebola"}} and Moon landing conspiracies.{{r|"nytimes moon"}}
Books
- Brazil’s Lula: Rise and Fall of an Icon. Amazon Kindle Books 2018.
- Presidential Leadership in the Americas Since Independence, by Guy Burton and Ted Goertzel. Lexington Publishers, October 2016
- The End of the Beginning: Life, Society and Economy on the Brink of the Singularity. Ben Goertzel and Ted Goertzel, editors. Kindle Books 2014
- The Drama of Brazilian Politics: From 1814-2015. Ted Goertzel and Paulo Roberto de Almeida, editors.
- Brazil's Lula: The Most Popular Politician on Earth. Brown Walker Publishers, 2011.
- Cradles of Eminence: Second Edition. Scottsdale, Arizona: Great Potential Press, 2003. By Victor and Mildred Goertzel, updated by Ted George Goertzel and Ariel M.W. Hansen.
- Fernando Henrique Cardoso: Reinventing Democracy in Brazil. Boulder: Lynne Rienner, 1999.
- Linus Pauling: A Life in Science and Politics. With Ben Goertzel, Mildred Goertzel and Victor Goertzel. New York: Basic Books, 1995.
- Turncoats and True Believers: The Dynamics of Political Belief and Disillusionment. Buffalo: Prometheus Press, 1992.
- Sociology: Class, Consciousness and Contradictions. With Albert Szymanski. New York: D. VanNostrand, 1979.
- Three Hundred Eminent Personalities: A Psychosocial Analysis of the Famous. With Ariel Felton, Mildred Goertzel and Victor Goertzel. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1978.
- Political Society. Chicago: Rand McNally, 1976.
References
External links
- [http://crab.rutgers.edu/~goertzel/ Goertzel's Faculty Page]
- {{Google Scholar id|AJ9fPaQAAAAJ}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goertzel, Ted George}}
Category:American sociologists
Category:Antioch College alumni