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On Bullshit
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.
Harry Frankfurt • On Bullshit

For the bullshitter, however, all these bets are off: he is neither on the side of the true nor on the side of the false. His eye is not on the facts at all, as the eyes of the honest man and of the liar are, except insofar as they may be pertinent to his interest in getting away with what he says. He does not care whether the things he says descri
... See moreHarry Frankfurt • On Bullshit
Our natures are, indeed, elusively insubstantial—notoriously less stable and less inherent than the natures of other things. And insofar as this is the case, sincerity itself is bullshit.
Harry G. Frankfurt • On Bullshit
Harry Frankfurt • On Bullshit
Shane Parrish • Two Types of Knowledge: The Max Planck/Chauffeur Test

A student trying to sound knowledgeable without having done the reading, a political candidate saying things because they sound good to potential voters, and a dilet- tante trying to spin an interesting story: none of these people are trying to deceive, but they are also not trying to convey facts. To Frankfurt, they are bullshitting.