On Bullshit
From Neoredemptive
| On Bullshit | |
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Harry G. Frankfurt
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Synopsis
A professor of moral philosophy's musings upon one of the most voluminous types of discourse in (post?) modern western culture.
Doc's Take
A masterwork that can be read in a single sitting. Among Professor F's most important conclusions:
- What distinguishes bullshit from lying is the bullshitter's complete indifference to whether what he is saying is true or not. He is primarily going after an emotive or intuitive effect in his listener, not a conveyance of some deception (or even some truth).
- A system of thought which denies we can think and reason about an actual objective reality is usually an excuse for bullshit. (The astute reader will note that this completely encompasses philosophical post-modernism.)
- People who ask to be judged only on the basis of their "sincerity" are bullshit factories.
The church is not immune to the effects of bullshit, nor can it claim innocence regarding the massive volume of open spewage into the marketplace of ideas. If anything, we have more than our share of bullshitters occupying pulpits, pastorates, elderships, prophetic roles, and apostolates. The problem is particularly acute in those streams of the church which downplay theology; the result is a "ministry" which seeks to move people toward its own vision of a preferable future while demonstrating utter disregard whether that vision actually correlates with an orthodox understanding of scripture or not.
