180165 SE *Bullshit* and Philosophy (referring to Harry Frankfurt) (2019S)

Harry G. Frankfurt’s „On Bullshit“ first appeared in The Raritan Review in 1986. 2005 Princeton University Press published the text as a little book which would soon become an international bestseller, being translated into 25 languages. The book has received renewed attention recently, as Gary L. Hardcastle und George A. Reisch took it as an exemplary case of the perspectives of a successful public involvement of scholarly work on the interface between academic philosophy and popular culture. Thus they published a collection of essays on “Bullshit and Philosophy” in Open Courts “Popular Culture and Philosophy”-series in 2006. While some of these essays critically discuss Frankfurt’s original contribution to 20th century philosophy, others emphasize the need for a reconsideration of Frankfurt’s definition of “Bullshit”, while still others argue for the necessity of expanding the scope of the discussion. Thus Hardcastle and Reisch emphasize that the general topic, associated with the term “Bullshit” is an essential part of the history of European philosophy, ranging from Socrates through David Hume, Wittgenstein und the Vienna Circle. If we understand “Bullshit” provisionary as “empty talk” the following questions arise: How can we separate empty talk from meaningful statements? How can we discern the concepts of meaninglessness and falseness? How do we differentiate between empty talk and lying?
During the course we will read Frankfurt’s paper as well as selected contributions to Hardcastle&Reisch (2006). The aim is to get a clear and precise understanding of different conceptions and definitions of Bullshit and related notions as well as their relative strengths and weaknesses. After these conceptual clarifications we will have a look at historical (e.g. Wittgenstein) as well as contemporary (e.g. André Spicer) connections and fields of application.