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On Bullshit - Book by Harry Frankfurt

A lie can take on many forms, such as self-deception, white lie, or criminal lie. It manifests as deception, secrecy, certainty, or repressed truth. One form of lying that, strictly speaking, does not qualify as a lie is the spreading of bullshit. Harry Frankfurt delved into this topic in his famous essay. Lying is a craft that pursues specific purposes and goals, requiring careful elaboration. Bullshit doesn't need that. It is much more general and loosely held, allowing ample room for interpretations. Someone producing bullshit puts out half-baked ideas. What defines it: it doesn't even attempt to be right. Whether the statement is true or false doesn't matter to the bullshitter, and they get away with it because society tends to tolerate bullshit more than a lie. Liars and truth-seekers play the same game. The bullshitter doesn't play along but prefers to bask in the abstract.

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