Up@dawn 2.0

Wednesday, August 7, 2019

Discussion questions:



1.      President Trump’s pitter-patter of exaggerated numbers, unwarranted boasting and outright falsehoods has continued at a remarkable pace. As of June 7, his 869th day in office, the president has made 10,796 false or misleading claims, according to the Fact Checker’s database that analyzes, categorizes and tracks every suspect statement the president has uttered. Let’s discuss what constitutes each of the above categories as it relates to Frankfurt’s book.
2.      In Coulmas’ book, Identity, he says on page 25, that the equation of x= -(-x), is x is not not –x.  Can we draw the same conclusion about BS, i.e. BS is not not BS?
3.     In Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, Scrooge’s favorite catchphrase was Bah! Humbug!” What did he mean by it?

1 comment:

  1. 1. Do we have to? I mean, of course we should all be attentive to #45's various and sundry forms of dissembling, lying, shading, bullshitting, posturing, character-assassinating, etc., ad nauseum. But I'd prefer to leave it to journalists to "discuss" them, let's just talk about what we can all do to prevent such a prevaricator from ever again rising to a position of eminence in our society. I think the most important thing we can do is model honesty, for our children, our neighbors, and our successors.

    2. "A miserable tautology," said a philosopher whose identity I've forgotten. Formal logic gives us many symbolic ways of expressing the obvious.

    3. I agree with Frankfurt that the most salient difference between humbug and bullshit, and indeed between the latter and just about any epithet in common currency, is a matter of gentility or its absence. In other words, such terms are generally deployed simply to vent the speaker's disapproval. What did Scrooge disapprove of? Everything, it seemed, except his own bottom line. He particularly seemed to disapprove of Bob Cratchet's happy family life... 'til the ghosts got to him. But maybe he also meant something more like Max Black's definition:

    Humbug: deceptive misrepresentation, short of
    lying, especially by pretentious word or deed, of
    somebody’s own thoughts, feelings, or attitudes.

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