Book description
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 to On Bullshit is 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 include
On Bullshit
;
The Reasons of Love
;
Necessity, Volition, and Love
;
The Importance of What We Care About
; and
Demons, Dreamers, and Madmen
. He lives in Princeton, New Jersey.
