Expert: Trump bests Clinton on B.S.

DW: For all those not familiar with your philosophical bestseller "On Bullshit" could you please explain your definition of B.S. and of someone who engages in B.S. in a nutshell?

Harry G. Frankfurt: The essential characteristic of a bull……. is that he/she does not care about the truth, but makes assertions - regardless of their truth or falsity - just in order to manipulate the opinions or attitudes of those addressed.

Now could you please apply your concept of B.S. to America's presidential election. How do the key protagonists Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton compare in their use of it in the campaign?

All politicians are in the business of manipulating opinions and attitudes. Hence, all politicians characteristically submit to the temptation to B.S. This applies both to Trump and to Clinton. However, Trump and Clinton differ in the degrees to which they indulge in B.S. Trump engages in B.S. far more often than does Clinton. When he is not engaged in bull…….., moreover, he is quite commonly lying.

Clinton also lies, but not so much. Moreover, she is not indifferent to the fact that she is lying, as Trump most often is. When she is caught in a lie, she is generally embarrassed, or she tries to explain that it is not exactly a lie. When Trump is caught either in B.S. or in a lie, he is not at all embarrassed. He merely repeats the same B.S. or the same lie.

What do you consider the most egregious B.S. in the presidential race so far?

I cannot specify the most egregious instance of B.S. in the current campaign, but, again, I suspect it lies in something uttered by Trump. As for why so much B.S. is tolerated by the American public, I suppose that it is due partly to B.S. having become so commonplace in political discourse. The public has become so accustomed to it, that it does not regard it as especially remarkable. This is a very distressing commentary on the judgment of the American people, as well as on the integrity of our political candidates. Both parties seem to have thrown up their hands at the problem of sticking to the truth.

Compared to previous elections, are we experiencing more or less B.S.?

I don't know whether there is more B.S. in the current campaign than in previous ones. It is difficult to measure such things. Given Trump's general indifference to truth, however, I suspect that there is more B.S. in the current campaign.

If you believe that the amount of B.S. used in US elections has increased do you think this is a global or mainly a US phenomenon?

As for whether the proliferation of B.S. is more extensive in the US than in other countries, I can say only two things: (1)  I don't know (though it is interesting that many countries, while each has plenty of B.S., have no word for it in their native language); (2) God forbid!

Harry G. Frankfurt is a professor of philosophy emeritus at Princeton University. His essay "On Bullshit" was a 2005 New York Times bestseller. Frankfurt's most recent work, "On Inequality", was published in 2015.   

The interview was conducted by Michael Knigge via email.