Preview

A Rhetorical Analysis Of On Bullshit By Harry Frankfurt

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
416 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
A Rhetorical Analysis Of On Bullshit By Harry Frankfurt
In the article “On Bullshit,” written by Harry Frankfurt published by Princeton University in 1986, Frankfurt tries to explain and develop an understanding of the term bullshit. The essay was originally written for the Raritan Quarterly Review and then was turned into a New York Times bestselling book in 2005 (“On Bullshit”, 2017). Frankfurt tries to equate the term bullshit across cultural lines and how the term is meant for persuasion and not just an expletive. He also explores the broken-down definition of the term and how it affects the term that we know today.
Taking from another paper Frankfurt deduces that bullshit has four main goals in its use, those being; an intention to deceive, lying, a category of speech and the misrepresentation
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In Cold Blood Rhetorical Analysis
    • 271 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In Cold Blood Rhetorical Analysis

    The feelings Richard Hickock’s parents have toward his life style are revealed as Capote incorporates jaded and disenchanted tones into the scene of their interrogation. Mr. and Mrs. Hickock spent years and years struggling to provide for Dick, their troubled son. In spite of their unwavering efforts to guide Dick along what they see as the right path, Dick’s parents are rewarded with nothing more than a heart wrenching feeling of shame and disappointment.…

    • 271 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Rusesabagina Rhetorical Analysis
    • 227 Words
    • 1 Page

    Rusesabagina Rhetorical Analysis

    Rusesabagina explains how he bribed the militia when they came to the hotel to kill the tutsi viciously ,”I took them to my office, treated them like friends, offered them beer and cognac, and then persuaded them to neglect the task that day”. He shows them outside so the militia won’t see the people in the hotel. After they leave the people go outside their room and let them go around the hotel. Rusesabagina is a nice person for saving over 1000 people.…

    • 227 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Pseudo-Wound Bullshit: Poem Analysis
    • 82 Words
    • 1 Page

    Pseudo-Wound Bullshit: Poem Analysis

    Pseudo-profound bullshit is defined as something made with the intent to impress absent of any concern for the truth. The statement will have to contain no information, adequate meaning, and truth. This argues that the term “bullshit” defines a type of misrepresentation which is different from lying and for which there is no other real label. The article explores a specific subtype that the authors call “pseudo-profound bullshit” which is where the writers intention is to sound profound without really saying anything.…

    • 82 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Red Badge Of Courage Rhetorical Analysis
    • 427 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Red Badge Of Courage Rhetorical Analysis

    As part of a book project, I read "The Red Badge of Courage." It is about a soldier named Henry who wants to earn his mark as a soldier. Initially he strays away from the battlefield because he is afraid of death and wants to live among the living and not the dead. Later, he becomes desperate to get shot and earn his "Red Badge of Courage" to prove to the other soldier that he is not only a man but a true hero. The purpose of this project was to write a journal entry for a series of chapters and note rhetorical strategies used by the author. A author's purpose is then written in MLA format to compare the author to the book and learn more about the author in general. At the end of the book, we were to conduct a presentation about the book and…

    • 427 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Mike Luckovich's Rhetorical Analysis: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
    • 723 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Mike Luckovich's Rhetorical Analysis: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

    In this political cartoon that was created by Mike Luckovich for the Atlanta journal strikes directly at the republican party. Stating that most people who are not middled aged christian white men are pretty much against them. It shows a large group of republicans but there are no women there even though there is a sign that says “ladies night”. One republican is asking another what other groups have they lost including the ones they already have even though it obvious that women are not at the party.…

    • 723 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    In Cold Blood Rhetorical Analysis
    • 532 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In Cold Blood Rhetorical Analysis

    Truman Capote’s attitude hey tries to convey in “In Cold Blood” is forgiving. In the book they KBI and the towns people mark the murderess as inhumane creatures, but later on in the story capote almost wants us to feel sorry for them because he tell us about the kind of child hood they had. I believe this aptitude he is trying to convey I captured very well in pages 252-253. In these pages Alvin Dewey is bringing Hickok and smith food because he doesn’t want them to sleep on an empty stomach. He convoy’s his attitude through imagery, detail, and tone.…

    • 532 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Todd's Complex Mind Rhetorical Analysis
    • 77 Words
    • 1 Page

    Todd's Complex Mind Rhetorical Analysis

    In Todd's complex mind there was only one thing that was not complex, so he thought and that was Jodi. Jodi was always portrayed in his mind as someone who he said," whatever he did and whoever he did it with is over now, and she's never been one to live in the past." This was obviously not true. Todd’s death was mapped out by the women he fell in love with, this is the biggest…

    • 77 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Rhetorical Analysis of 102 Minutes
    • 265 Words
    • 1 Page

    Rhetorical Analysis of 102 Minutes

    Excerpt: “The towers stood like huge sails at the foot of Manhattan Island, with each face built to absorb a hurricane of 140 miles per hour. The wind load on an ordinary day was thirty times greater than the force of the airplane that would hit it on September 11. The mass of the tower was 1,000 times greater than the jet’s. Given the sheer bulk of the towers, it was not surprising that the building continued to stand after the plane hit.” p. 40, End of first paragraph…

    • 265 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Analyzing Frank Ambler's Essay 'On Bullshit'
    • 1344 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Analyzing Frank Ambler's Essay 'On Bullshit'

    In the short essay On Bullshit, written by Harry Frankfurt a Princeton University professor, we follow the process that is used to create a “rough account of what bullshit is and how it differs from what it is not”(1) to create a working thesis for “bullshit”, which is presented in the latter stages of the essay. Frankfurt takes a broad view on items to be applied to bullshit and then shifts his gaze to more specific details of bullshit. The first broad item is the title essay The Prevalence of Humbug in which the parts of the definition of “humbug” are heavily analyzed. The second broad view he takes is a look into the life of Ludwig Wittgenstein to discuss his view on how a woman portrays her feelings. After this Frankfurt takes a specific look into items, such as the Oxford English Dictionary, a novel Dirty Story, and St. Agustine. These all have the common theme of discussing lying and how it relates to bullshit. By this point Frankfurt has a working concept of what “bullshit” is, that being it is a form of miscommunication, like lying, in which the perpetrator is indifferent to the truth. Now with a thesis Frankfurt ends his essay by relating this thesis to real world and the implications that come with it. However, Frankfurt does successfully define…

    • 1344 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Reich Rhetorical Analysis
    • 88 Words
    • 1 Page

    Reich Rhetorical Analysis

    In my opinion, Reich does not reason emotionally. He has dialectical, logical explanations for why he is asking people to sign a petition to the CEOs of Walmart and McDonald`s. He proves that his work is not driven by feelings or personal preferences when he says: “Well, look, let`s be clear. I have nothing against Walmart…”and then proceeds with explanations and thought-provoking questions that prove his case and illustrate his reflective thinking. For example, “But doesn't the biggest employer in the United States have any social responsibility whatsoever?…

    • 88 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    A Rhetorical Analysis Of Reading The Paper By Ron Carlson
    • 703 Words
    • 3 Pages

    A Rhetorical Analysis Of Reading The Paper By Ron Carlson

    Ron Carlson’s Reading the Paper is a list of the things occurring in the time period of a day in the life of a character. The idea of the common everyday life is represented with the very first sentence: ALL I WANT TO DO is read the paper, but I’ve got to do the wash first.…

    • 703 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Rhetorical Analysis By Ehrenreich
    • 346 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Rhetorical Analysis By Ehrenreich

    Through the use of very detailed language in her paper, Ehrenreich was able to make the experiences she had while working as a waitress and housecleaner seem much more real and personal to the reader. Instead of describing how she felt while working as a waitress and housekeeper, she made the reader go through (almost) the same feeling by describing the situations she was put into. While expressing her emotions would have made the reader wonder what she was saying, describing the horrible situations under which she worked made the reader feel her emotions with her. Through her use of strong language, Ehrenreich was able to force the reader to identify with her and how she felt, not just understand what she is saying.…

    • 346 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Richard Peck Rhetorical Analysis
    • 98 Words
    • 1 Page

    Richard Peck Rhetorical Analysis

    Well, this is blunt to say the least! Writing as being communication and not self-expression is all in a matter of one’s opinion. I detect, that Richard Peck my not like to waste his time on reading others feelings, thoughts, or ideas. In my assessment, this appears to be absolutely hypocritical of him. I myself appreciate reading about different people's self-expressions besides just my own. Therefore, by my observation of Richard Peck statement; it is just a mere feeling, thought or ideas he is projecting. So how ironic is his statement? In my conclusion, it’s bona fide irony.…

    • 98 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Thomas Greene Rhetorical Analysis
    • 189 Words
    • 1 Page

    Thomas Greene Rhetorical Analysis

    I believe Greene reiterates the quote to give us show just how important the understanding of the concept he's trying to come forth to us is. He gives us a scenario to be able to get a more thorough understanding of the entire thing. The metaphor Burke uses is stating that no matter what the argument is, there will be two sides for/against that claim. There will be people who agree with you and there will definitely be people who will go against you. Entirely, everyone is entitled to their own opinion and they will stick to it. They will bring up past arguments to dispute the one you're in right now and even when you're done putting your perspective in it, the argument will continue. The way it presents writing is that many people have written…

    • 189 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Freakonomics Rhetorical Analysis
    • 491 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Freakonomics Rhetorical Analysis

    I currently am interning at a law firm doing marketing. As an intern, some of the work can be tedious (see: copy & pasting contact information from hundreds of Word docs to and Excel spreadsheet). To make my time a little less painful, something that I’ve been loving doing is listening to podcasts. I know, I know, it seems like everyone and their mother has been listening to podcasts these days. I’m happily on the board with the whole podcast-craze, and if you’re looking for a form of (sometimes) educational entertainment, I’d highly suggest checking these out:…

    • 491 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More

Related Topics