In 1986, Harry Frankfurt wrote an essay, On Bullshit, which many years later, in 2005, evolved into a book. Since then, an article titled, Taking Bulls**t Seriously, by Paul Babbitt has debuted, arguing that “BS is not lying but instead an indifference to truth and a misrepresentation of the self -- and worse than lying.” By the statement being made, Babbitt is making a claim that he very well believes that bullshitting is in fact much worse than lying. He does a good job at supporting his argument through rhetoric, hypocrisy, and propaganda. Overall the article argues that bullshit is wrong for many reasons and in many ways such as, that bullshit is deceiving in more ways than one, it is a fabrication of yourself, and it “dumbs us down” as
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“Ambrose Bierce defined the hypocrite as "one who, professing virtues he does not respect, secures the advantage of seeming to be what he despises."” (Babbitt, Taking Bulls**t Seriously). The hypocrite is one who is not always seen as a liar but often misrepresents himself. Throughout the article, it was mentioned many times that the people who are most known to be BSers are politicians, pundits, and even academics who study politics. The essence of hypocrisy is misdirection and in politics, the main goal is to appeal to the voters and their views. Babbitt says “in politics, BS is the normal manner of speaking. We tolerate it, even celebrate it.” Bullshit is known to be very common in politics whereas lying is not, but honestly, aren’t they both just as bad? I personally think it is extremely wrong that the people we vote into office, the people who are supposed to be our experts in certain subjects, and even some of our educators are those people that are filling our heads with complete and utter BS, literally. “BS derives its effectiveness from the way it says nothing while appearing to say something profound” (Babbitt, Taking Bulls**t Seriously). I find this to be most common in politics. Each new election year, politicians make so many promises and talk about all the …show more content…
Everyone can agree that dishonesty is a terrible characteristic to have but intellectual dishonesty is even worse. This is “the advocacy of a position known to be false. An argument which is misused to advance an agenda or to reinforce one's deeply held beliefs in the face of overwhelming evidence contrary.” (Urban Dictionary) As stated previously, BSing gives off a misrepresentation of oneself. Since intellectual dishonesty is a form of lying, this does the same. Propaganda is a strategy often used to support one's’ BS. It is a persuasive matter that is used to attempt to influences one's behaviors and thinking often rooted in fact. But the thing that makes propaganda so effective in BS is that it treats truth as
“Ambrose Bierce defined the hypocrite as "one who, professing virtues he does not respect, secures the advantage of seeming to be what he despises."” (Babbitt, Taking Bulls**t Seriously). The hypocrite is one who is not always seen as a liar but often misrepresents himself. Throughout the article, it was mentioned many times that the people who are most known to be BSers are politicians, pundits, and even academics who study politics. The essence of hypocrisy is misdirection and in politics, the main goal is to appeal to the voters and their views. Babbitt says “in politics, BS is the normal manner of speaking. We tolerate it, even celebrate it.” Bullshit is known to be very common in politics whereas lying is not, but honestly, aren’t they both just as bad? I personally think it is extremely wrong that the people we vote into office, the people who are supposed to be our experts in certain subjects, and even some of our educators are those people that are filling our heads with complete and utter BS, literally. “BS derives its effectiveness from the way it says nothing while appearing to say something profound” (Babbitt, Taking Bulls**t Seriously). I find this to be most common in politics. Each new election year, politicians make so many promises and talk about all the …show more content…
Everyone can agree that dishonesty is a terrible characteristic to have but intellectual dishonesty is even worse. This is “the advocacy of a position known to be false. An argument which is misused to advance an agenda or to reinforce one's deeply held beliefs in the face of overwhelming evidence contrary.” (Urban Dictionary) As stated previously, BSing gives off a misrepresentation of oneself. Since intellectual dishonesty is a form of lying, this does the same. Propaganda is a strategy often used to support one's’ BS. It is a persuasive matter that is used to attempt to influences one's behaviors and thinking often rooted in fact. But the thing that makes propaganda so effective in BS is that it treats truth as