''On Bullshit'' is a 2005 book (originally a 1986 essay) by American
philosopher Harry G. Frankfurt
Harry may refer to:
TV shows
* ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin
* ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons
* ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...
which presents a theory of
bullshit
''Bullshit'' (also ''bullshite'' or ''bullcrap'') is a common English expletive which may be shortened to the euphemism ''bull'' or the initialism B.S. In British English, " bollocks" is a comparable expletive. It is mostly a slang term and ...
that defines the concept and analyzes the applications of bullshit in the context of communication. Frankfurt determines that bullshit is speech intended to persuade without regard for truth. The liar cares about the truth and attempts to hide it; the bullshitter doesn't care if what they say is true or false, but cares only whether the listener is
persuaded.
[''On Bullshit'' (2005), by Harry Frankfurt. p. 61.] Frankfurt's philosophical analysis of bullshit has been analyzed, criticized and adopted by academics since its publication.
History
Frankfurt originally published the essay "On Bullshit" in the ''
Raritan Quarterly Review
''Raritan'' is a literary and intellectual quarterly that publishes poetry, fiction and essays. The journal is based at Rutgers University in New Jersey. The magazine was founded by Richard Poirier in 1981 and is currently edited by Jackson Lear ...
'' journal in 1986. Nineteen years later, the essay was published as the book ''On Bullshit'' (2005), which proved popular among lay readers; the book appeared for 27 weeks on
''The New York Times'' Best Seller list, and was discussed on the television show ''
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...
'', as well as in an interview with a representative of the publisher,
Princeton University Press
Princeton University Press is an independent Academic publishing, publisher with close connections to Princeton University. Its mission is to disseminate scholarship within academia and society at large.
The press was founded by Whitney Darrow, ...
. ''On Bullshit'' served as the basis for Frankfurt's follow-up book ''
On Truth'' (2006).
Summary
Frankfurt is a professional philosopher, trained in
analytical philosophy. When asked why he decided to focus on bullshit, he explained:
Respect for the truth and a concern for the truth are among the foundations for civilization. I was for a long time disturbed by the lack of respect for the truth that I observed... bullshit is one of the deformities of these values.
His book ''On Bullshit'' addresses his concern and makes a distinction between "bullshitters" and liars. He concludes that bullshitters are more insidious: they are more of a threat against the truth than are liars.
Humbug and bullshit
Frankfurt begins his work on bullshit by presenting an explanation and examination of
Max Black's concept of
humbug. Black's essay on humbug and Frankfurt's book on bullshit are similar. Both focus on understanding, defining and explaining their respective concepts whilst using examples. Frankfurt focuses on humbug as he believes it is similar to bullshit but is the more respectful term. Frankfurt uses Black's work on humbug to break down the description of humbug into defining factors: "deceptive misrepresentation", "short of lyingā€¯ and "misrepresentation... of somebody's own thoughts, feelings, or attitudes." Frankfurt's analysis enables him to distinguish the difference between humbug and
lying
A lie is an assertion that is believed to be false, typically used with the purpose of deceiving or misleading someone. The practice of communicating lies is called lying. A person who communicates a lie may be termed a liar. Lies can be inter ...
. The main distinction is the intent that motivates them. The intent behind humbug is misrepresentation whilst the intent behind lying is more extreme, intending to cover the
truth
Truth is the property of being in accord with fact or reality.Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionarytruth 2005 In everyday language, truth is typically ascribed to things that aim to represent reality or otherwise correspond to it, such as beliefs ...
. The comparison of humbug to lying acts as an initial introduction to bullshit. Humbug is closely related to bullshit, but Frankfurt believes it is inadequate to explain bullshit and its characteristics.
Lying and bullshit
Frankfurt's book focuses heavily on defining and discussing the difference between lying and bullshit. The main difference between the two is
intent
Intentions are mental states in which the agent commits themselves to a course of action. Having the plan to visit the zoo tomorrow is an example of an intention. The action plan is the ''content'' of the intention while the commitment is the ''a ...
and
deception. Both people who are lying and people who are telling the truth are focused on the truth. The liar wants to steer people away from discovering the truth and the person telling the truth wants to present the truth. The bullshitter differs from both liars and people presenting the truth with their disregard of the truth. Frankfurt explains how bullshitters or people who are bullshitting are distinct as they are not focused on the truth. In his book, Frankfurt
defines: shit, bull session and bull. This is done in a
lexicographical
Lexicography is the study of lexicons, and is divided into two separate academic disciplines. It is the art of compiling dictionaries.
* Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries.
* Theoreti ...
manner which breaks down the word bullshit and examines each component. The components of the word bullshit highlights the corresponding terms that encompass the overall meaning of the word bullshit: useless, insignificance and nonsense.
Next, Frankfurt focuses on the complete word, and its implications and acceptance. He presents an example of advice provided to a child from his father which encourages choosing bullshit over lying when possible. Frankfurt gives two reasons for the different levels of consequences between bullshit and lying. First, the liar is viewed as being purposefully deceitful or harmful because of the accompanying intent behind the act. Second, the person who bullshits lacks the kind of intention characteristic of the liar. Producing bullshit requires no knowledge of the truth. The liar is intentionally avoiding the truth and the bullshitter may potentially be telling the truth or providing elements of the truth without the intention of doing so. Frankfurt believes bullshitters and the growing
acceptance
Acceptance in human psychology is a person's assent to the reality of a situation, recognizing a process or condition (often a negative or uncomfortable situation) without attempting to change it or protest it. The concept is close in meaning to ...
of bullshit is more harmful to society than liars and lying. This is because liars actively consider the truth when they conceal it whilst bullshitters completely disregard the truth. "Bullshit is a greater enemy of the truth than lies are."
Frankfurt believes that while bullshit may be tolerated more, it is much more harmful.
Rise of bullshit
Frankfurt concludes his book by discussing the rise of bullshit.
He does not argue that there is more bullshit in
society
A society is a Social group, group of individuals involved in persistent Social relation, social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same Politics, political authority an ...
now than there was in the past. He explains that all forms of
communication
Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inqu ...
s have increased leading to more bullshit being seen, read and heard. He states that the social expectation for individuals to have and express their opinions on all matters requires more bullshit. Despite a lack of knowledge on a subject matter, for example
politics
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that stud ...
,
religion
Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural ...
or
art, there is an expectation to participate in the conversation and provide an opinion. This opinion is likely to be bullshit at times as it is not based on fact and research. The opinion is motivated by a disregard of the truth with a desire to appear knowledgeable or adequately opinionated. Frankfurt acknowledges that bullshitting may not always be intentional but believes that ultimately it is performed with a disregard and carelessness of the truth. Frankfurt argues that this rise in bullshit is dangerous as it accepts and enables a growing disregard of the truth.
Reception and criticisms
The responses to Frankfurt's work have varied greatly. Since the publication it has been discussed, adapted, praised and criticized.
It has received a positive reception by many academics,
is considered remarkable by some, and its popularity amongst the public is evident with its status as a best seller for many weeks. His work has also received criticisms. One of the main criticisms has been that the work is overly simplistic
and too narrow:
that the book does not acknowledge the many dynamic factors involved in communication, or the dynamic nature of truth.
This criticism also explains that the work is limited in its analysis of other motives and forms of bullshit aside from one stemming from a lack of concern for the truth.
One critic notes that the book does not mention, or dismisses, the audience's ability to detect bullshit:
that Frankfurt's explanation of bullshit presents a narrative where bullshit goes unnoticed or is easily excusable by its audience. Another critic points to the book's failure to rewrite the
original
Originality is the aspect of created or invented works that distinguish them from reproductions, clones, forgeries, or substantially derivative works. The modern idea of originality is according to some scholars tied to Romanticism, by a notion th ...
essay to include an acknowledgement or discussion of criticism and accounting for any of the new developments and ideas within psychology and philosophy for the publication of his book.
Despite all these criticisms, as previously mentioned, the work is popular and has received a positive reception. Anthropologist and anarchist
David Graeber
David Rolfe Graeber (; February 12, 1961September 2, 2020) was an American anthropologist and anarchist activist. His influential work in economic anthropology, particularly his books '' Debt: The First 5,000 Years'' (2011) and '' Bullshit Jobs ...
refers to Frankfurt's text in his 2018 book ''
Bullshit Jobs
''Bullshit Jobs: A Theory'' is a 2018 book by anthropologist David Graeber that postulates the existence of meaningless jobs and analyzes their societal harm. He contends that over half of societal work is pointless, and becomes psychologically ...
''.
See also
*
Truthiness
Truthiness is the belief or assertion that a particular statement is true based on the intuition or perceptions of some individual or individuals, without regard to evidence, logic, intellectual examination, or facts. Truthiness can range from ig ...
*
Post-truth politics
Post-truth politics (also called post-factual politics and post-reality politics) is a political culture where true/false, honesty/lying have become a focal concern of public life and are viewed by popular commentators and academic researchers a ...
*
Rhetoric
Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate par ...
* "
On the Decay of the Art of Lying" by Mark Twain
Bibliography
*
* (hardback), (paperback).
*
References
Further reading
*
*
* Verbatim preprint archived here
*
{{Authority control
1986 essays
2005 non-fiction books
2007 non-fiction books
Deception
Philosophy essays
Works originally published in American magazines
Works originally published in literary magazines