A landmark interdisciplinary study that redefines cognitive dissonance and trust as foundations of knowing. Not a psychology paper but a theory-of-knowledge manifesto in psychological form—bridging mind, ethics, and governance.

A critique of government policy design revealing performative openness, proposing reforms for genuine epistemic justice, transparency, and stronger democracy.

This paper reinterprets cognitive dissonance as structural to epistemic life. Drawing on philosophy, psychology, and fiduciary law, it shows how collapse yields illusory freedom, while fiduciary scaffolds enable bounded freedom, epistemic resilience, and institutional pluralism.

🧠 Reconceptualize cognitive dissonance as an epistemic event, exploring its impact on freedom, anxiety, and conformity through a philosophical lens.