Essay

I recently read Harry Frankfurt's essay "On Bullshit". This slim book was both interesting and funny.

Mr. Frankfurt does a fabulous job creating a definition of bullshit and comparing and contrasting to it other related concepts like "humbug" and "lying". One strong distinction he raises in his book is the idea that liars (and truth-tellers) are both interested in and care about the truth, even if the liar doesn't want to people to believe the truth. The bullshitter on the other hand doesn't care strongly about what the truth actually is. This dichotomy left me convinced that bullshitters are more destructive than liars.

The essay referenced Augustine's writing on lying a number of times without delving into the specifics. Here are a few links that go into a little more detail: Augustine and the Fall of Rome 395-476, The Summa Theologica.

The funny part of this book was the academic style of writing addressing such a seemingly base or vulgar topic. I read the whole book wondering if the meta-joke was about the bullshit found in academic writing.

Much to my wife's chagrin, I think this little book will become my standard graduation gift from now on.