The Integrity of Truth in the Perspective of Counteracting “Bullshit” in the Educational Space of Modern Society
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31874/2309-1606-2025-31-1-8Keywords:
bullshit, Harry G. Frankfurt, bullshiter, truth, integrity, error, lie, epistemology, educational space of modern societyAbstract
The article is dedicated to the philosophical analysis of the term “bullshit”, which was systematically conceptualized by the American philosopher Harry G. Frankfurt for a better understanding of the nature of truth, but at the same time increasingly as a self-sufficient term of epistemology. The authors of this article offer a creative translation of the term “bullshit” from English into Ukrainian as “fool”. Such a translation is not literal, but better conveys the epistemological meaning of the corresponding English term. Bohdan Shumsky carried out a systematic reconstruction of the concept of “bullshit” in Harry G. Frankfurt – reproducing the main outline of the philosophical searches of this American philosopher, as well as indicating the main directions in which the concept of “bullshit” is developed in English-speaking philosophy and to which practical areas it is applied. Mykhailo Boichenko introduces this analysis into a broader philosophical and cultural context, and also shows the significance of the concept of “fool” for the educational space of modern society – both as an object for research and conscious avoidance, and as a specific tool that deserves to be used in special cases. Some patterns of attitude towards stupidity, foolishness and foolishness in the history of philosophy and in Christian culture are traced. In addition, Mykhailo Boichenko is the first to offer a Ukrainian translation of the English “bullshiter” (“дурнограй”). The authors of the article show the ambivalence of sincerity, which is inherent in a fool, and substantiate the advantages of an ironic and instrumental attitude towards a fool, while maintaining the basic assessment of a fool as a predominantly negative assessment of a fool from an epistemological and axiological point of view. It has been demonstrated – both conceptually and through various examples – that nonsense helps to highlight and emphasize truth, goodness and justice – both by opposing them and by helping to choose the best path to them.
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