Whatever benefits and rewards it may sometimes be possible to attain by bullshitting, by dissembling, or by sheer mendacity, societies cannot afford to tolerate anyone or anything that fosters a slovenly indifference to the distinction between true and false.
In a world of spin, rhetoric, blagging and bullshitting, a basic level of scepticism and the impulse to question first impressions is widely considered a virtue. Yet the very purpose of such caution - the discernment of truth - has for some time been undermined by a postmodern generation of authors, journalists, historians and philosophers who categorically deny the existence of any exterior, objective truth, elevating instead the impenetrable subjectivity of the individual above all else.
Blending philosophical insight with sheer common sense, Harry Frankfurt's incisive sequel toOn Bullshitis a defence, a vindication, and a celebration of Truth. Whether concerning ourselves with work, pleasure, people or poetry, Frankfurt demonstrates that a belief in a basic notion of Truth is essential not just to our everyday involvement with the physical world, but to the concepts of identity, confidence, trust, conviction, society, and communication that endow our lives with meaning.
Harry G. Frankfurt is professor emeritus of philosophy at Princeton University. His books includeOn Bullshit;The Reasons of Love;Necessity, Volition, and Love;The Importance of What We Care About; andDemons, Dreamers, and Madmen. He lives in Princeton, New Jersey.
The author of On Bullshit (2005) returns with a witty and insightful itty-bitty disquisition on the personal and societal importance of truth.
