Jump to content

On Bullshit

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Hairy Dude (talk | contribs) at 20:16, 15 July 2018 (Publication history: Raritan Quarterly Review is a journal not a website - use {{cite journal}} not {{cite web}}). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

On Bullshit (2005), by philosopher Harry G. Frankfurt, is an essay that presents a theory of bullshit that defines the concept and analyzes the applications of bullshit in the contexts of communication. Frankfurt determines that bullshit is speech intended to persuade (a.k.a. rhetoric), without regard for truth. The liar cares about the truth and attempts to hide it; the bullshitter doesn't care if what they say is true or false, but rather only cares whether or not their listener is persuaded.[1]

History

Frankfurt originally published the essay "On Bullshit" in the Raritan Quarterly Review journal in 1986. Nineteen years later, the essay was published as the book On Bullshit (2005), which proved popular among lay readers; the book appeared for 27 weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list,[2] and was discussed on the television show The Daily Show With Jon Stewart,[3] as well as in an interview with a representative of the publisher, Princeton University Press.[4][5] On Bullshit (2005) served as the basis for Professor Frankfurt's follow-up book On Truth (2006).

Publication history

  • "On Bullshit". Raritan Quarterly Review 6, no. 2 (Fall 1986).[6]
  • "On Bullshit". The Importance of What We Care About: Philosophical Essays. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. ISBN 0-521-33324-5 (hardback), ISBN 0-521-33611-2 (paperback).
  • On Bullshit. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2005. ISBN 0-691-12294-6.

See also

References

  1. ^ On Bullshit (2005), by Harry Frankfurt. p. 61.
  2. ^ Wallace, Niamh (2005-10-11), On College, Bullshit, and Love, UWM Post, archived from the original on 2016-03-06, retrieved 2008-08-11 {{citation}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ Frankfurt, Harry G. (2005-03-14), The Daily Show
  4. ^ Frankfurt, Harry G. (January 2005), "On Bullshit (Part 1; 6m12s): A Conversation with Harry G. Frankfurt", youtube.com, Princeton University Press, retrieved July 16, 2017. Interview conducted by Ben Tate, Director of Subsidiary Rights, Princeton University Press
  5. ^ Frankfurt, Harry G. (January 2005), "On Bullshit (Part 2; 5m20s): A Conversation with Harry G. Frankfurt", youtube.com, Princeton University Press, retrieved July 16, 2017. Interview conducted by Ben Tate, Director of Subsidiary Rights, Princeton University Press
  6. ^ Frankfurt, Harry G. "On Bullshit". Raritan Quarterly Review. 06 (2).

Further reading