Harry Frankfurt • On Bullshit
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One of the most salient features of our culture is that there is somuch bullshit. Everyone knows this. Each of us contributes hisshare.
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The document discusses the nature and prevalence of bullshit, distinguishing it from lying and exploring its connection to skepticism and the pursuit of personal sincerity.
www2.csudh.eduIt is impossible for someone to lie unless he thinks he knows the truth. Producing bullshit requires no such conviction.
Most people are rather confident of their ability to recognize bullshit and to avoid being taken in by it
Bullshit, unlike lying, works by making you unconcerned with whether speech is true or false. The bullshitter, like the sophists of antiquity, does not appeal to any measure of truth outside of the needs of the moment. Instead, he tries to capture your attention with the catchiness of his claim and how much it provokes something inside of you: some
... See moreBullshit is unavoidable whenever circumstances require someone to talk without knowing what he is talking about.
Bullshit is unavoidable whenever circumstances require someone to talk without knowing what he is talking about.