Why is there so much bullshit?

 

Frankfurt does not think that it can be attributed to the proliferation of means of communication: " Of course it is impossible to be sure that there is relatively more of it nowadays than at other times. There is more communication of all kinds in our time than ever before, but the proportion that is bullshit may not have increased."  

He writes: "Bullshit is unavoidable whenever circumstances require someone to talk without knowing what he is talking about. Thus the production of bullshit is stimulated whenever a person's obligations or opportunities to speak about some topic are more excessive than 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 about matters of which they are to some degree ignorant."

Frankfurt is not saying that bullshit is inevitable or unavoidable, otherwise, he would not have written this book to discuss bullshit.  We always have a choice not to bullshit, we can simply say "I don't know" when asked about a subject of which we have not knowledge.  What he means is that whenever someone is required or asked to say something without knowing or thinking what he is talking about, then this person produces “bullshit.”  But why some people feel compelled or obligated to do so? Frankfurt thinks that it is connected to "the widespread conviction that it is the responsibility [or right] of a citizen in a democracy to have opinions about everything."  

Is it true that “it is the responsibility [or right] of a citizen in a democracy to have opinions about everything”?   Is it possible for a person to have opinions about everything?  Before we answer these questions, we need to think about them. 

A. What does “everything” include?  An infinite number of things.  Can a human being who has limited energy and mind power to have an infinite number of opinions? Not possible.

B. What is an opinion?

Opinion: personal view--the view somebody takes about an issue, especially when it is based solely on personal judgment; a belief or judgment that rests on grounds insufficient to produce complete certainty.

An opinion is always an opinion about something. Can one have opinions about an infinite number of things?  Not possible. 

How can it be a responsibility of a citizen to do something that is impossible, namely, to have opinions about everything?  Thus, such conviction itself is bullshit.