Daniel Baadom (001)
Harry Frankfurt: The smile of a man who recognizes bullshit before you even finish your sentence.
In On Bullshit, Harry Frankfurt presents a surprisingly serious argument about a concept most people take for granted. He claims that one of the defining features of modern society is the overwhelming presence of “bullshit.” At first glance, that sounds almost humorous, something we say casually in conversation, but the more I read, the more unsettling it became. Frankfurt isn’t joking. He’s pointing to something real, something embedded in how we speak, think, and interact every day. His goal is to define what bullshit actually is and explain why it matters. And honestly, by the end of it, it feels like something we probably don’t take seriously enough.
Frankfurt begins by pointing out that bullshit is everywhere, yet people rarely question what it actually means. Most assume they can recognize it easily, but according to Frankfurt, we don’t really understand it at all. How often do we confidently label something as “bullshit” without actually thinking about what we mean? To address this, he distinguishes bullshit from lying. A liar knows the truth and deliberately tries to hide it. Because of this, the liar is still connected to truth: they have to understand it in order to avoid it. In contrast, a bullshitter is not concerned with truth at all. Whether what they say is true or false doesn’t even enter the equation. Instead, their goal is to create a certain impression, to sound convincing, confident, or knowledgeable.
This leads to Frankfurt’s central claim: bullshit is more dangerous than lying. At first, I found that hard to accept but the more I thought about it, the more his argument started to make sense. While lying distorts reality, it still operates within a framework where truth matters. Bullshit, however, ignores that framework entirely. When people repeatedly speak without caring about truth, the distinction between truth and falsehood begins to blur. And that’s honestly a bit scary. If we stop caring whether something is true, what are we left with?
In an interview discussing On Bullshit, Frankfurt further clarifies his motivation and argument. He explains that his interest in the topic came from a growing concern about the lack of respect for truth in modern society, which he considers one of the foundations of civilization. That idea really stood out to me: truth isn’t just important academically, it’s something society depends on. According to Frankfurt, bullshit is defined not by falsity, but by a “lack of concern for the difference between truth and falsity.” This reinforces his distinction between lying and bullshit: while the liar is constrained by truth and deliberately avoids it, the bullshitter operates without any regard for it at all. Frankfurt also suggests that this makes bullshit a more insidious threat than lying, because it undermines the very importance of truth itself. Interestingly, he notes that society tends to be more tolerant of bullshit than lying, raising further questions about why people are less offended by indifference to truth than by direct deception. This idea is also supported by modern commentary, which highlights how bullshit often blends into everyday communication and becomes normalized rather than challenged.
In a continuation of this discussion, Frankfurt also explains why he believes bullshit is especially common in modern society. He argues that the rise of marketing culture plays a major role, as people are constantly trying to sell ideas, products, or even themselves. That hit pretty hard, because it feels incredibly relevant today. Everywhere you look, in social media, advertisements, and even everyday conversations, people are trying to present themselves in the best possible light. In these situations, the goal is not to tell the truth, but to persuade. He also points out that democratic societies encourage individuals to have opinions on everything, even when they don’t have enough knowledge to speak meaningfully about it. As a result, people often speak confidently about topics they do not fully understand, which naturally leads to the production of bullshit. Frankfurt further suggests that even highly educated individuals may contribute to this problem, not only because they have the ability to produce sophisticated arguments, but also because confidence in their own views can make them less careful about truth and accuracy. These observations strengthen his overall argument by showing that bullshit is not just an individual problem, but a structural feature of modern social and political life.
In this continuation of the interview, Frankfurt explains why bullshit is so widespread in modern society, particularly in areas like marketing and politics. Despite how convincing Frankfurt’s argument is, it’s not without problems. One major critique, presented in On Frankfurtian Bullshit: An Analysis and Refutation of On Bullshit by Ben R. Crenshaw, is that Frankfurt doesn’t actually define bullshit itself, but instead defines the “bullshitter.” This might sound like a small issue, but it actually matters a lot. If we can’t clearly define what bullshit is, how can we confidently identify it in real life? It makes the whole concept feel a bit unstable.
Another issue is Frankfurt’s focus on intention. He argues that bullshit happens when someone doesn’t care about truth, but in reality, it’s almost impossible to know what someone truly intends. Sometimes people say things that sound like bullshit simply because they’re misinformed or repeating something they’ve heard. That doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t care about truth, it might just mean they don’t fully understand it. This makes Frankfurt’s definition feel a bit too narrow.
Crenshaw also challenges Frankfurt’s idea that bullshit doesn’t have to be false. In practice, most of what we call bullshit is actually false, exaggerated, or just doesn’t make sense. That feels more intuitive. If someone truly doesn’t care about truth, they’re probably more likely to get things wrong than right. This shifts the focus away from intention and toward the actual content of what is being said.
One of the most interesting criticisms is the idea that people can care about truth and still produce bullshit. Self-deception plays a huge role here. People might genuinely believe what they’re saying, even if it’s misleading or incorrect. That complicates Frankfurt’s argument quite a bit, because it suggests that bullshit isn’t just about indifference; it can also come from confusion, bias, or overconfidence.
At the same time, it’s hard to ignore how relevant Frankfurt’s ideas feel today. In a world dominated by social media, people are constantly encouraged to speak, react, and have opinions instantly. Accuracy often takes a backseat to confidence. It sometimes feels like being convincing matters more than being right. And that’s exactly the kind of environment where bullshit thrives.
Ultimately, Frankfurt’s On Bullshit succeeds in doing something important: it makes us stop and think. Even if his definition isn’t perfect, he highlights a real problem: the growing disconnect between what people say and what is actually true. That’s something we see everywhere, whether we like it or not.
In the end, I think Frankfurt is right to be concerned, even if I don’t fully agree with all of his arguments. Bullshit isn’t just harmless exaggeration or casual talk: it reflects a deeper shift in how we relate to truth. And maybe that’s the real issue. Not whether something is true or false, but whether we even care enough to find out.
Discussion Question
Are people today becoming more indifferent to truth, or are we more aware of it because of social media and constant communication?
References
Frankfurt, H. (1986). On Bullshit. Princeton University Press.
Crenshaw, B. R. (2015). On Frankfurtian Bullshit: An Analysis and Refutation of On Bullshit.
Okita, S. (2023). A critical commentary of Frankfurt’s On Bullshit. https://www.stephenokita.com/blog/On%20Bullshit
Media Sources
Princeton University Press (2007). On Bullshit (Part 1) [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1RO93OS0Sk
Princeton University Press (2007). On Bullshit (Part 2) [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hp_c8-CfZtg
Image Source
Princeton University. (2023). Harry Frankfurt, renowned moral philosopher. https://www.princeton.edu/news/2023/08/01/harry-frankfurt-renowned-moral-philosopher-gentle-spirit-and-surprise-new-york
Good, but you need to embed those references in the form of hyperlinks.
ReplyDelete"bullshit is not just an individual problem, but a structural feature of modern social and political life" - Precisely. And there's more of it than ever before.
"people can care about truth and still produce bullshit" - But do they care enough to really investigate the truth-status of their statements? I think what Frankfurt would say is that unless they're willing to suspend judgment long enough to inquire as to the actual evidence for their claims, they in fact care about sincerity and conviction, but not enough about truth.