Deeper Into Bullshit
Unlike Frankfurt’s argument that “the lack of concern to the truth” is the essence of bullshit , unclarifiability is the essence of bullshit.
The speaker’s state of mind is not a necessary condition: a liar may inadvertently speak the truth; an honest person may mistakenly speak falsely; an honest follower may regurgitate bullshit.
Unclarifiable statements cannot be rendered unosbcure without creating something that is not recognizable of what was said, e.g. If a lion could speak, we would not understand him.
A sufficient condition of unclarity is that negating the statement makes no difference to its level of plausibility.
Other essences of bullshit are:
- Arguments that are grossly deficient in logic or in sensitivity to empirical evidence.
- Irretrievably speculative comments which are neither unclear nor wanting in logic, e.g. Of course, everyone spends much more time thinking about sex now than people did a hundred years ago!
References
- Contours of Agency: Essays on themes from Harry Frankfurt: Deeper into Bullshit. Cohen GA. 2002.
Sometimes it’s easier to define things by what they’re not, e.g. defining unclarity as opposed to clarity.