Class 20 - Is Fake News Old News?

Welcome back!

In this session, we’re going to talk a topic that has been of growing interest in the world of philosophy, and that is bullshit.

For some philosophers at least, bullshit is one of the biggest problems standing in the way of democracy — interpreted here as the public exercise of reason. This means that if we are interested in the arts of argument, we also need to tackle the question of bullshit.

But what is bullshit, and why does it matter? Here, the philosopher Harry Frankfurt, as you have seen, had a lot to say.

But first, we’ll start with some breakout groups.

Check in

• How are you doing?
• How is the presentation going?
• Do you have any questions about the course?
• What did you think of the reading?

Introduction to Bullshit

To get started on our theme today, we’ll watch the following video: “How to Spot Bullshit”. Here, Frankfurt gives an overview of bullshit, what it is, and why it is important.

Discussion

We’ll talk about this all in breakout groups.

• How does Frankfurt define bullshit?
• How is bullshit different from lying?
• Why is Augustine particularly worried about liars who tell lies because they “take delight in lying”?
• How is this person different from a bullshitter?
• What are the implications of bullshit for our collective notions of truth?
• Why is bullshit produced, and how can we stop it?
• What do you think Frankfurt means by his final conclusion that “sincerity itself is bullshit”? And do you agree?

Trying it out: Become a bullshitter

Take one of the following topics, but make sure that it is a topic you know nothing or almost nothing about (if you genuinely know about all these topics, then congratulations — you get to take a break!). You are going to write a paragraph or two of pure bullshit, born out of your wildest ignorance, relying only on your ability to sound plausible.

• How to solve the world’s greatest economic challenges
• What whales eat
• Music in the Ottoman Empire
• Particle physics
• The effects of caffeine on the nervous system
• Art in early Mesopotamia.

Write for five or ten minutes with as much authority on the topic as you can.

Discussion

How did this experience of writing bullshit feel? What insights did you get about the difference between fluency of expression and depth of understanding.

Task 4: Bullshit in public life

Finally, find an example of something written or spoken by a public figure that you think meets the criteria for bullshit. Make notes on the following questions.

What are they saying? How true is what they are saying? What is the actual truth, and how much does what they are saying diverge from this? How do you know this is bullshit? What are the signs? Next time!

Bring all your notes from these four tasks to the next session! We’ll talk through them then.