On Bullshit argues that bullshitting doesn’t necessarily undermine society, at least not up to a point, but I I would expect a hypothetical society with even slightly less bullshit than ours to function more smoothly. I also disagree with the position that truth intrinsically gives us joy. Many of us love bullshit more than truth.
I don’t think the fact that people love bullshit means they couldn’t experience the joy of truth. Many people like abusing others in various ways, yet would probably be happier if they didn’t, but they are stuck in a local optimum that helps them deal with some trauma, likely from having been abused themselves. So, too, I expect it is with bullshit: suffer enough of it and you’ll become a connoisseur of it, able to enjoy it, but having also fallen into an attractor that keeps you from enjoying the greater joy of what simply is, distrustful even that those who experience it aren’t bullshitting you themselves.
suffer enough of it and you’ll become a connoisseur of it, able to enjoy it, but having also fallen into an attractor that keeps you from enjoying the greater joy of what simply is
Part of me says that you’re being too optimistic, but that part of me thinks everything is too optimistic, and what you say does sound plausible. I can certainly imagine how people might work that way, and the world look exactly how it does.
Many people like abusing others in various ways, yet would probably be happier if they didn’t, but they are stuck in a local optimum
I don’t think the fact that people love bullshit means they couldn’t experience the joy of truth. Many people like abusing others in various ways, yet would probably be happier if they didn’t, but they are stuck in a local optimum that helps them deal with some trauma, likely from having been abused themselves. So, too, I expect it is with bullshit: suffer enough of it and you’ll become a connoisseur of it, able to enjoy it, but having also fallen into an attractor that keeps you from enjoying the greater joy of what simply is, distrustful even that those who experience it aren’t bullshitting you themselves.
A pattern of bullshit becomes a stable orbit in the space of lies.
Part of me says that you’re being too optimistic, but that part of me thinks everything is too optimistic, and what you say does sound plausible. I can certainly imagine how people might work that way, and the world look exactly how it does.
This, in particular, is a valid point.