Reading group: Frankfurt’s On Bullshit, the whole essay in one evening
Its coordinates: 2.5 Truth
Harry Frankfurt's On Bullshit began as an essay in 1986 and was reissued as a very small book in 2005. It takes under an hour to read and rewards a second hour of talk, so this reading group is a single evening.
Frankfurt's question is what bullshit is and how it differs from lying. His answer: the liar cares about the truth, if only to steer you away from it. He has to know where the truth is in order to hide it. The bullshitter does not care whether what he says is true or false. What he cares about is the impression he is making. That is why, Frankfurt argues, bullshit is a greater enemy of the truth than lies are: the liar is still playing the game, while the bullshitter has stopped keeping score.
Along the way he discusses Max Black's earlier idea of "humbug", and an anecdote about Wittgenstein and a friend recovering from a tonsil operation, which is worth arguing about in itself.
Questions for the evening:
- Is indifference to truth really worse than deliberate falsehood? Who is harmed more?
- Can you bullshit while saying only true things?
- Frankfurt ends by suggesting that sincerity, the effort to be "true to oneself", can itself be bullshit. What does he mean, and is he right?
Post your thoughts below, before or after reading.