FYS: Why is There So Much Bullsh*t?

3 Credits.

40 years ago, philosopher Harry Frankfurt began his famous essay “On Bullsh*t” by writing “One of the most salient features of our culture is that there is so much bullsh*t”, and the situation has arguably only gotten worse. We are inundated with bullsh*t—in person, on the news, in politics, and on social media. We’re up to our eyeballs in it.But what is bullsh*t anyway? Frankfurt argued that bullsh*tting is different from lying. While liars aim to mislead us about what’s true, bullsh*tters don’t care whether what they say is true or false at all. They’re playing a different game entirely, using language to aggrandize themselves or, often, to sell you something. This indifference to truth, Frankfurt argued, may make bullsh*t even more corrosive to public discourse than outright lies.This First-Year Seminar will draw on philosophy, cognitive science, and social theory to investigate why bullsh*t is so pervasive and why we fall for it. We will ask whether the human mind is naturally susceptible to bullsh*t, what makes bullsh*t useful, and whose interests it serves. Along the way, we’ll consider the scope of the concept: Is ChatGPT bullsh*t? Are some jobs bullsh*t? Are grades bullsh*t? Hell, is this seminar bullsh*t? By the end, you’ll be in a position to decide. No bullsh*t.