“Some people are very good at sounding sophisticated and intellectual while saying nothing of substance. Do you get fooled?”
– Katherine Brodsky, author and journalist

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The following may be counterintuitive, but it is nevertheless true: There can be a great deal of value to be found in verbiage that exists for its own sake, or at least appears to.

I say this not only on my own authority, but also that of a preeminent scholar on the subject. In his seminal work “On Bullshit” (2005), the late eminent American ethicist and philosopher Harry G. Frankfurt discusses this in exquisite detail, providing us with not only analytical principles but also methods of drawing the vital distinction between bullshitting and lying. I heartily recommend this treatise to anyone interested in the topic.

He postulates that bullshitting is an attempt to convey ideas in a manner that falls short of lying (a principle extracted from Max Black’s “The Prevalence of Humbug”, 1985). The objective is certainly not to utter absolute truths, but rather to communicate to the hearer a set of concepts of the bullshitter’s design. Whereas the liar endeavors to deceive, the bullshitter, in his words, “hides… that the truth-values of his statements are of no central interest to him; what we are not to understand is that his intention is neither to report the truth nor to conceal it.”

“It is impossible for someone to lie unless he thinks he knows the truth,” he explains. “Producing bullshit requires no such conviction.”

The value thus lies in conveying not simple facts or concepts, but instead a mindset, something that transcends the realm of mere idea and impinges rather on the realm of feeling. This is the proper sphere of the performer.

And it does have value; no less an authority than the free market confirms that for us. If not, why would audiences pay to see comedians? What would be the purpose of oratory to the preacher, or bloviation to Tucker Carlson? Whence, indeed, Donald J. Trump?

Consider: Most people rarely think. They could, certainly; they have the opportunity to engage in honest debate or discussion. Failing that, they could surely avail themselves of the many disused free libraries scattered across the globe. Opportunities for actual thought are everywhere — and yet most actively avoid them.

Listening to bullshit, however, grants them something they evidently feel to be infinitely more valuable: the illusion of erudition without necessitating the seemingly unpleasant effort of acquiring it. They gain the self-righteousness that comes with being privy to wisdom without needing to embrace those unpleasant changes that true wisdom demands. At the end of the day, they can feel secure in their self-imposed pig-ignorance and get a good night’s sleep, to prepare them for the endless drudgery that doubtless faces them in their workplace on the morrow.

Therein lies a fundamental truth: It is no favor to awaken a battery from the Matrix. Let them lie where they are, content to dream, until the world around them at least comes close to the quality of their imposed imaginings.

This, then, is a not inconsiderable part of its value.

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If you believe the preceding bullshit to have been of interest, logically you too must concede that it is of value. Rather than taking that value for free, you have the opportunity to purchase it instead, providing value in exchange, and thereby encouraging the production of more in the future.

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