--- product_id: 120332568 title: "On Bullshit" brand: "princeton university press" price: "FREE" currency: DKK in_stock: false reviews_count: 12 category: "Digital Ebook Purchas" url: https://www.desertcart.dk/products/120332568-on-bullshit store_origin: DK region: Denmark --- # On Bullshit **Brand:** princeton university press **Price:** FREE **Availability:** ❌ Out of Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** On Bullshit by princeton university press - **How much does it cost?** FREE with free shipping - **Is it available?** Currently out of stock - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.dk](https://www.desertcart.dk/products/120332568-on-bullshit) ## Best For - princeton university press enthusiasts ## Why This Product - Trusted princeton university press brand quality - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Full description not available ## Images ![On Bullshit - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/211ai7eD9+L.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A great little examination of what B.S. is and why it is so bad for us. *by M***T on Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2018* I can't use the word B.S. in an Amazon review, but you all know what B.S. stands for... This is a very short book, more a long essay on the subject of B.S., what it is, and how it differs from other forms of falsehood. It is something of a set up and introduction to his slightly longer book "On Truth" (also reviewed). B.S. seems to characterize much of our time from marketing and advertising campaigns, to scientific and (especially) political and social discourse. Dr. Frankfurt is a legend in the arena of philosophy of mind and the exploration of free will. This is a great book for anyone trying to understand the corrosive impact of Postmodernism on our lives. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Untruthiness *by A***T on Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2017* “One of the most salient features of our culture is that there is so much BS.” BS can refer to a number of things, including pointless tasks or requirements, but the main topic of this book is the widespread disregard for truth in speech and writing.Frankfurt makes a distinction between lying and BSing. “It is impossible for someone to lie unless he thinks he knows the truth. Producing BS requires no such conviction.”“The liar is essentially someone who deliberately promulgates a falsehood… The essence of BS is not that it is false but that it is phony… to bluff one’s way through (something) by talking nonsense… Although it is produced without concern with the truth, it need not be false. The BSer is faking things. But this does not mean that he necessarily gets them wrong.”“Someone who lies and someone who tells the truth” are both responding to the facts. “The response of the one is guided by the authority of the truth, while the response of the other defies that authority and refuses to meet its demands. The BSer ignores these demands altogether… He pays no attention to it at all. By virtue of this, BS is a greater enemy of the truth than lies are.”“So why is there so much BS?”“BS is unavoidable whenever circumstances require someone to talk without knowing what he is talking about. Thus the production of BS is stimulated whenever a person’s obligations or opportunities to speak about some topic exceed his knowledge of the facts that are relevant to that topic. This discrepancy is common in public life, where people are frequently impelled–whether by their own propensities or by the demands of others—to speak extensively of which they are to some degree ignorant. Closely related instances arise from the widespread conviction that it is the responsibility of a citizen in a democracy to have opinions about everything, or at least everything that pertains to the conduct of his country’s affairs.” This reminds me of the Dunning-Kruger effect, a cognitive bias wherein incompetent people are overconfident.“The contemporary proliferation of BS also has deeper sources, in various forms of skepticism which deny that we can have any reliable access to an objective reality… One response to this loss of confidence has been a retreat from the discipline required by dedication to the ideal of correctness to a quite different sort of discipline, which is imposed by pursuit of an alternative ideal of sincerity.” This implies that political correctness and the academic climate of no wrong answers have played a role in making BS a socially acceptable alternative to truth.The author makes an amusing analogy between hot air and excrement. “Just as hot air is speech that has been emptied of all informative content, so excrement is matter from which everything nutritive has been removed.” However, given that manure is widely used as fertilizer, I think this statement is an unintentional example of BS.Frankfurt contradicts himself when he states on page 53 that BS “is less a matter of craft than of art. Hence the familiar notion of the ‘BS artist.’” On page 22 he made the opposite assertion. “The realms of advertising and of public relations, and the nowadays closely related realm of politics, are replete with instances of BS so unmitigated that they can serve among the most indisputable and classic paradigms of the concept. And in these realms there are exquisitely sophisticated craftsmen who—with the help of advanced and demanding techniques of market research, of public opinion polling, of psychological testing, and so forth—dedicate themselves tirelessly to getting every word and image they produce exactly right.”While only 67 4×6-inch pages, the book contains a lot of extraneous rambling before the author gets to his point. For example, on page five Frankfurt refers to Max Black, author of The Prevalence of Humbug. “Black suggests a number of synonyms for humbug, including the following: balderdash, claptrap, hokum, drivel, buncombe, imposture, and quackery. This list of quaint equivalents of is not very helpful.” If it is not helpful, then why bring it up? Frankfurt is a master of verbosity.This book has some giggle value as a gag gift. Or leave a copy on your coffee table to start a conversation. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Lies, Damned Lies and Lawn Food. *by L***S on Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2017* This is a much needed book in a world where so many get away with incredibly disengenuous discourse and writing simply by omitting facts or by deliberate deception. Very easy to read, never gets too abstruse. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.dk/products/120332568-on-bullshit](https://www.desertcart.dk/products/120332568-on-bullshit) --- *Product available on Desertcart Denmark* *Store origin: DK* *Last updated: 2026-04-22*