On Bullshit

On Bullshit is a 2005 book (originally a 1986 essay) by philosopher Harry G. Frankfurt which presents a theory of bullshit 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 rather only cares whether their listener is persuaded.

History

Frankfurt originally published the essay "On Bullshit" in the Raritan Quarterly Review 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, as well as in an interview with a representative of the publisher, Princeton University Press. On Bullshit (2005) served as the basis for Professor Frankfurt's follow-up book On Truth (2006).

Summary

There is not much literature on bullshit, and no "theory of bullshit" or rigorous analysis thereof. This is in large part, says Frankfurt, because we all assume that we recognize and evade bullshit pretty well.

According to Max Black, humbug is essentially a (false) statement made, not to convince you about that thing, but to convince you of something else. For example, one might make blatantly and obviously exaggerated or otherwise false statements about U.S. history not to convince another of these things, but to convince another of one's patriotic fervor.

Starting from this definition of humbug, Frankfurt makes a number of comparisons and caveats that might be useful:

• Bullshit may be made carelessly, and we could easily compare bullshit to shoddy goods.
• Shit is excreted, not crafted. However, advertising can be carefully-crafted bullshit.
• Similes are not lies, but they can be made too thoughtlessly. In their own way, they can be bullshit.

Frankfurt argues that bullshit is, to start with, deliberate misrepresentation. Some say that lying requires intent; others, that any false statement is a lie. Bullshitting, however, is not exactly the same as lying. Indeed, bullshit can be true. Frankfurt's position is that bullshit is distinguished not by its truth or falsity, but by a disregard for the truth; as he puts it, honest folk and liars are playing the same game, to convey the facts or to obscure them, but the bullshitter is playing another game entirely.

In short, truth-tellers and liars are both concerned with changing your beliefs; a bullshitter is concerned with changing your attitude.

Publication history

• "On Bullshit". Raritan Quarterly Review. 6 (2): 81–100. Fall 1986.
• "On Bullshit". The Importance of What We Care About: Philosophical Essays. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1988. pp. 117–133. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511818172.011. ISBN 0-521-33324-5. (hardback), ISBN 0-521-33611-2 (paperback).
• On Bullshit. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. 2005. ISBN 0-691-12294-6.

See also

• Truthiness
• Post-truth politics
• Rhetoric

Further reading

• Blessing, Kimberly A.; Marren, Joseph J. (2007). "Bullshit and Political Spin: Is the Medium the Massage?". In Holt, Jason (ed.). The Daily Show and Philosophy: Moments of Zen in the Art of Fake News. Malden, MA: Blackwell. pp. 133–145. ISBN 978-1-4051-6314-9.
• Sneddon, Andrew (2007). "Bullshitting Bullshitters and the Bullshit They Say". In Holt, Jason (ed.). The Daily Show and Philosophy: Moments of Zen in the Art of Fake News. Malden, MA: Blackwell. pp. 146–157. ISBN 978-1-4051-6314-9.
• Pfeifer, Karl (Summer 2006). "On Bullshit". Book Reviews. Dialogue. 45 (3): 617–620. doi:10.1017/S0012217300001189.Verbatim preprint archived here: [1]