Philosophy of Knowledge and Reality - Bullshit Phenomenon

bull·shit

vulgar slang

noun

noun: bullshit

1. 1.

   stupid or untrue talk or writing; nonsense.

verb

verb: bullshit; 3rd person present: bullshits; past tense: bullshitted; past participle:bullshitted; gerund or present participle: bullshitting

1. 1.

   talk nonsense to (someone), typically to be misleading or deceptive.

Would you believe that once a philosopher by the name of Harry Frankfurt published an essay entitled "On Bullshit" ? It was later published as a little book, perhaps there was a demand for it ?

Harry Frankfurt, a contemporary American Philosopher claims that "one of the most salietn features of our culture is that there is so much bullshit. Everyone knows this." How would you characterise bullshitting - how is it, for example, different from lying ?

Bullshitting is the act of exaggerating a singular act based on personal experiences for the purpose of convincing that the speaker has the most extreme experience on the related topic, be it positive or negative. Bullshitting is not telling 100% lies, it is part truth but exaggerated to be bigger than life. 

For example, if the group talks about jungle tracking, one will exaggerate his or his contact's experience as being the most extreme. Everyone is supposed to learn a thing or two from him. He is the "guru" on this topic. This will be bullshitting  It is not entirely true nor false. It is just half the truth exaggerated to be bigger than life itself.

Lying is telling the opposite of truth for the purpose to conceal the truth and deceive others to believe what has been told is the truth. Bullshit is taking part truth and making it the whole truth. 

With bullshit, one can get away with accusations in case something bad happens. With lying, once the truth surfaces, lies be exposed. Bullshit gives blurry effect. 

The two domains with the most prevalent bullshitting are in politics and in marketing. What effect does the mountain of bullshit in marketing have on our economy ? What effect does the mounrtain of bullshit have on our democracy ?


In marketing, the consumers have, time and time again, been convinced that the advertised products are absolutely essential items for daily living, for prestige, for success. All healthy or successful people use such items regularly. The mountain of bullshits are :-

• Selling cars with pretty sexy lady, as if if you buy this car, the model comes with it ? 
• Many years ago, all successful men seem to smoke, growing up in the 1980's, we still watched cigarettes advertisement depicting highly successful statue using certain brand of cigarettes.
• Drinking milk will strengthen and build up your bone structures but it does not tell you that you should drink milk on empty stomach to get the most absorption of calcium into the body system.
• Yoghart drinks are good for your stomach to be filled with friendly bacteria but it is loaded with sugar. 
• Milo is actually sugar-loaded cocoa flavoured milk drink, drinking milo does not necessary turn one into champion.
• Pretty dresses in gorgeous fashions but they are all size zero and most of the female population are size 12 and above ! So Pretty is skinny and thin.

In politics, the bullshitting is even worse, it is further justified by guarding national harmony, economic stability and so it seems that it warrants to lie a little bit in politics. In so doing, the people have been receiving a lot of bullshits and enduring them.

• The parliament has passed the new law with a good majority but most of the member of parliament do not know what they have voted for actually impact the people who voted them in a miserable manner. Most law will have the clause that grant the minister certain power and in so doing, we lose that power. 
• The new public policy is good for the common good of the people but it marginalise certain people. What good is a policy that makes certain people suffers even more ? By allowing that policy to be implemented, the people have lesser power and there is not much of a choice.
• Political Propaganda is special planned agenda of activities to convince the people that something is happening and manipulating people to form a strong opinion about that agenda. By so doing, the people cannot really think democratically, their lenses be coloured lenses ! 
• Every time something bad is exposed in politic, another unrelated bad incident will happen at the same time and the latest happening warrants focus and attention and hence the real issues will not be addressed or avoided.
• Political belief leads to changing of educational text books. Ministry of Education has instructed the textbooks to be rewritten. By removing certain historical data and changing its content, the younger students are fed with a lie which they will grow up thinking this as the truth.

The above is my homework done for the Book "The Philosopher's Book of Questions & Answers" by D.E. Wittkower, PhD. It is a book with questions to open your mind. I undertake it as an exercise to think through some of the philosophical questions pertaining to my "gardening".