|
On Bullshit :: 0691122946
Description
| Product Description |
|
| "One of the most salient features of our culture is that there is so much bullshit," Harry G. Frankfurt writes, in what must surely be the most eyebrow-raising opener in modern philosophical prose. "Everyone knows this. Each of us contributes his share. But we tend to take the situation for granted." This compact little book, as pungent as the phenomenon it explores, attempts to articulate a theory of this contemporary scourge--what it is, what it does, and why there's so much of it. The result is entertaining and enlightening in almost equal measure. It can't be denied; part of the book's charm is the puerile pleasure of reading classic academic discourse punctuated at regular intervals by the word "bullshit." More pertinent is Frankfurt's focus on intentions--the practice of bullshit, rather than its end result. Bullshitting, as he notes, is not exactly lying, and bullshit remains bullshit whether it's true or false. The difference lies in the bullshitter's complete disregard for whether what he's saying corresponds to facts in the physical world: he "does not reject the authority of the truth, as the liar does, and oppose himself to it. He pays no attention to it at all. By virtue of this, bullshit is a greater enemy of the truth than lies are." This may sound all too familiar to those of use who still live in the "reality-based community" and must deal with a world convulsed by those who do not. But Frankfurt leaves such political implications to his readers. Instead, he points to one source of bullshit's unprecedented expansion in recent years, the postmodern skepticism of objective truth in favor of sincerity, or as he defines it, staying true to subjective experience. But what makes us think that anything in our nature is more stable or inherent than what lies outside it? Thus, Frankfurt concludes, with an observation as tiny and perfect as the rest of this exquisite book, "sincerity itself is bullshit." --Mary Park Editorial Descriptions are usually submitted by the manufacturers, publishers and authors. Contact us if you are one of them, and wish to change the above description. |
Reviews
Customer feedback
|
|
Voting |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Author: Guest
Frankfurt pens a few dozen pages to convey what he could have edited down to much less ... and still he fails to illuminate anything but his own artifice.
Ambrose Bierce ya ain't.
|
Author: Guest
Let's say you were asked to divide the following 3 words into only 2 groups: truth; lie; bulls__t. Or, the words: truth-teller; liar; bulls__tter. I think most folks would put `truth' in one group, and `lie' and `bulls__t' in the other; at least I did when a friend asked me this question before lending me this delightful little book. The author persuaded me that the words `truth' AND `lie' should stand together and opposed to `bulls__t'.
If this grouping surprises or interests you, I expect you would enjoy this book; otherwise not. Warning: this book was written by a philosopher, so be prepared to put your thinking-cap on.
|
Author: Guest
I was quite disappointed to find this "book"--pamphlet-sized, large fonts spreading out over sixty plus pages, roughly a paragraph per page--living up to its title. It is really no more than a glorified lecture from an established philosopher who, it would seem, has become big enough to pull a con job on his readers. In the end, Frankfurt takes all this time to reach the conclusion that BS is different from lying, in my opinion hardly worth the paper it's printed on. All in all, an inconsequential and not very entertaining analytical exercise by an emeritus academic with too much time on his hands. If you want to read a work that lives up to being called "entertaining" and "enlightening" you could try "From Lowbrow to Nobrow" (2006).
|
Author: Guest
Cable news, politics, religion, advertising, entertainment, the ultimate answer to life, the universe, and everything - all are infused with the malodorous miasma of bulls_it - the real force that binds our galaxy together and allows popular culture as we know it to exist.
As a philosopher (popularly perceived as purveyors of elitist, academic bulls__it) Frankfurt is no bulls_itter himself (wink), and this deeply superficial treatise invokes St. Augustine, Pound, and Wittgenstein; superb examples of bulls_hit by citation. An insightfully outtasight postulate inclusively distinguishes bulls_it from other forms of humbug or puffery by contrasting "indifference to how things really are" (bulls_hit) with lying, which is by necessity false" - at least from a certain point of view. The bulls_it artist "does not reject the authority of the truth, as the liar does, and oppose himself to it. He pays no attention to it at all. By virtue of this, bulls_it is a greater enemy of the truth than lies are." Profound insight or execrable exegesis, paper or plastic. Deep thought is a stern duty imposed by a harsh, uncaring, universe.
Frankfort softly declaims that the rise of bulls_it has been assisted by "forms of skepticism which deny that we can have any reliable access to an objective reality." He also notes that "the production of bulls_it is stimulated whenever a person's obligations or opportunities to speak about some topic exceed his knowledge of the facts" - an observation summarizing the rise of neo-conservative and fundamentalist bulls_it.
Heaping piles of bulls_it are also investigated - a "contemporary proliferation" is noted even as the author confesses that he can't assume that the "incidence is actually greater now." Even 19 years ago, when this book was written, "The realms of advertising and of public relations, and the nowadays closely related realm of politics, are replete with instances of bulls_it so unmitigated," he writes, "that they can serve among the most indisputable and classic paradigms of the concept." - all of this before Karl Rove and the shrub burst upon the scene.
Unfortunately a quantitative vs. qualitative analysis of bulls_it eludes the author's grasp. Currently available logical, mathematical, philosophical, and scientific tools are presented with intractable challenges when asked to evaluate the relative bulls_it of "Hannity and Colmes" vis-a-vis the "O'Reilly Factor." Theology, the ur-disciple of bulls_hit is especially blind and helpless. Where would Frankfurt put President Bush's claims about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction: is he an "honest man" (bulls_it alert), a "liar," or the accomplished bulls_itter who "does not care whether the things he says describe reality correctly?" Throwing quotes around is cerebrally-correct, but any real bulls_itter must answer the big questions.
"On Bulls_it" is short, sweet (if not smelling), and apropos - the most profound examples of bulls_it usually go unnoticed, but not this one. In describing bulls_it Frankfurt's missive becomes bulls_it; sophistry in the service of philosophy as bulls_it is to truth. Should be required reading for anyone old enough to vote. And yes this entire review is bulls_it, except for every last word.
|
Author: Guest
I loaned this book to one of my friends who was a lawer.
I never got it back.
Nuff said.
|
Send to Friend
Send to friend
|
|
