Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2005
Have you ever wanted to hear a retired Princeton professor talk shit? Of course you have. Then you should listen to emeritus philosophy prof, Harry Frankfurt, offer a treatment of this heretofore unmentionable topic.
One of the most salient features of our culture is that there is so much bullshit. Everyone knows this. Each of us contributes his share. But we tend to take the situation for granted. Most people are rather confident of their ability to recognize bullshit and to avoid being taken in by it. So the phenomenon has not aroused much deliberate concern, or attracted much sustained inquiry. In consequence, we have no clear understanding of what bullshit is, why there is so much of it, or what functions it serves. And we lack a conscientiously developed appreciation of what it means to us. In other words, we have no theory.
This is a topic that is near and dear to my heart, and—if my wife is to be believed—sometimes near to my mouth. I absolutely despise bullshit, yet I possess a natural capacity for producing it. When one of my favorite musicians and scholar-poets (who also shares a similar bullshit aversion/production paradox) alerted me to a NY Times article about Frankfurt, I first thought it was a bunch of BS. And I was right.
I confess I haven’t yet read the book, but I have read the original essay from 1986. Since the book is less than 80 pages long, I suspect I have bitten into the meat of it. (If you don’t have the patience or Ritalin to make it through the text, here’s a video interview with the author.)
While he fails to develop a “theory” of bullshit, Frankfurt successfully engages the fact that the ubiquity of bullshit has dulled our regard for truth; and no one seems terribly concerned about it.
It is just this lack of connection to a concern with truth—this indifference to how things really are—that I regard as of the essence of bullshit.
In an effort to define it, he points out that bullshit doesn’t perform exactly the same as Max Black’s concept of “humbug,” (“balderdash,” “claptrap,” “hokum,” “drivel,” “buncombe,” “imposture,” “quackery”). Frankfurt goes on to draw a clear distinction between lies and bullshit. Liars are arguably less reprehensible than bullshitters, because liars respect (somewhat) the truth by acknowledging it as they seek to obscure or deny it. Bullshitters have no regard for the truth whatsoever.
It is impossible for someone to lie unless he thinks he knows the truth. Producing bullshit requires no such conviction. A person who lies is thereby responding to the truth, and he is to that extent respectful of it….By virtue of this, bullshit is a greater enemy of the truth than lies are.
Professor of Poop: Harry G. Frankfurt
For the essence of bullshit is not that it is false but that it is phony. In order to appreciate this distinction, one must recognize that a fake or a phony need not be in any respect (apart from authenticity itself) inferior to the real thing. What is not genuine need not also be defective in some other way. It may be, after all, an exact copy. What is wrong with a counterfeit is not what it is like, but how it was made. This points to a similar and fundamental aspect of the essential nature of bullshit: although it is produced without concern with the truth, it need not be false. The bullshitter is faking things. But this does not mean that he necessarily gets them wrong.
When Ashlee Simpson lip-syncs on Saturday Night Live, she doesn’t necessarily sound bad (unless, of course, you despise bubble-gum-pop-slop to begin with), she just isn’t real. When Disney builds a brave new town in Florida called Celebration, the historical feel of urban community isn’t wrong; it’s just creepy because it’s engineered. When a finely coiffed televangelist asks little old ladies for their life savings, he….okay, wait…that is bad.
The lack of authenticity promoted by the entertainment, cosmetic surgery, political, and religion industries (to name a few) inflict a certain kind of violence on the truth. We are conditioned to evaluate product, with no concern for process. As long as Oz functions, nobody cares about the man behind the curtain.
I don’t care how she sings/she got those boobs/we got into that war/we get them into church as long as she sounds good/she looks good/we win/they believe.
The corrosive effects of bullshit in our society have caused many of us to become cynical, to the point of embracing a dangerous narcissism. All that matters is what we get, not how we get it.
This cynicism plays out in a variety of ways.
The pastor becomes cynical about authenticity, so she fixates on numbers and money as the sine qua non of spiritual success. The postmodern wanderer becomes cynical about authenticity, so he gives up on organized religion altogether.
Arguably, our fight is not against flesh and blood, it’s against the bullshit that vandalizes the truth and separates us from authentic relationships.
Coming Soon—IN A MANURE OF SPEAKING, VOL. II
I will connect bullshit theory and communication, and I will be taking Dr. Frankfurt to task for his views on “truth” and the impact his thoughts have on argument and rhetoric.
6 comments:
I took a digital photograph of myself and I didn't like how the clarity of the multimegapixel picture revealed the natural imperfections in my face, so before I sent it to anyone I lowered the resolution of the photograph.
When our culture (or the money folk and politicians that run the culture) tout so much phoniness that is all they are doing- lowering our understanding and comprehension of what we are looking at to create a neat purchasable or believable image.
To end this comment, I feel a strong desire to critique the title of the academic work, but I will refrain. Any theory that won't be openly discussed in TV and Radio news programs, religious institutions, and high school classrooms is bound to either die or, eventually, be tastefully renamed.
Compelling title, though, you've got to admit. And Jody's a regular font of information, I've found.
Your reference to him tells me you're living and working in my home town (got my first degree at SMS, which is where I met him). These internets are small, are they not?
Looking forward to volume II of your analysis.
Reachers,
In response to Mr. Frankfurt's assertions about BSers vs. liars and BS vs. lies, his point is well made. I wouldn't go so far as to say one is any more a "danger to truth" than the other; they're just dangerous in different ways. One has evil motives (i can hardly speak of a liar as "respecting" truth; recognizing, yes, but respect- that's a bit different) while the other is acting out of ignorance. I suppose ignorance is harder to confront and an ignorant person's heart is harder to the voice of the Holy Spirit regarding issues they are ignorant to (one cannot repent of something they are not aware of). In that sense it is dangerous. It's frustrating to say the least.
At the risk of sounding protective of the BSing "enemies" who are being attacked, I must inject a word of caution. I realize (because this is OFTEN true for me) that BS is frustrating and downright enraging to us "enlightened" non-BSers. The danger we must caution is, however, that of pride. As ignorant as so many of us are of so many things--for no one in this day and age "knows it all"--i urge us to address those we view as more ignorant and full of BS with grace. In view of a God who sees into the depths of our being (and all the lies and BS that are in there) and still gave His life for us, let's be careful not to allow cynical intellectual pride to distort our quest for truth and our efforts to expose lies, educate the ignorant, and better the world around us. There's a fine line between "attacking sin" and "attacking the sinner." Let's do our best to engage in a positive effort that will draw even those BSers out there to a humble, higher understanding of truth and it's complexities.
Again, i'm speaking here to those who claim faith in Christ, exhorting you to follow His example of grace, which is celebrated elsewhere in "the reach." If you don't claim Christ, then bash people all you want. You aren't responsible for representing and Holy and Merciful God to a lost and dying world. We, however, are.
I hate BS as much as Dr. Frankfurt and Dr. Miller do. It's one of the things that makes life so difficult, so complex. It's one of the things that forces us to be on our toes. And i am wholeheartedly behind every effort to stimulate awareness of the process over the product, the means over the ends, the methods over the reasons. In a nation of strong and lofty ideals, we have historically assumed that the ends always justify the means, and that obviously could not be further from the truth. Don't even get me started on the list of things our society currently supports and promotes that use evil, sickening, frightening, dangerous, unjust methods for seeking noble aspirations. In the words of Barbara Jordan, "Shall we do evil that good may come?" I pray that we all strongly consider that question in the development of our theories, philosophies, causes and practices.
Grace and Peace,
matt
When you are determined to address the problem of BS, there is something valuable about putting the word out there as a filter. Those who are more scandalized by the word than the idea are likely part of the problem.
Not too many academic theories are openly discussed in the media, religious institutions, or high schools. So, yes this theory will die, but not because of the word or for lack of exposure (NPR, NYTimes, etc. isn't bad). It will die because it is incomplete.
Beloved, here's hoping that Vol. II will address the question of how we respond to BS.
Fine and useful piece, Reacher.
far be it from me to question DRs Frankfurt or Miller.
But I can only say that BS is used often to express disbelief and draw a line, if you will, between different opinions usually about non issues (Brady Bunch is better than Star Trek)
bullshit!There's one function for ya.
Truth is truth and lies are lies and BS is BS. Until your article I probably would have defined BS as good natured bantering or that stuff that clogs my boots after a trip to feed the cows. I am ready for part 2. Bring it on.
Matt, i enjoyed your response as much as the article that inspired it.
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