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On bullshit and lies: For a responsibility-based approach

  • Irati Zubia Landa

    Irati Zubia Landa has a BA in Philosophy (University of the Basque Country, 2019) and a MA in Philosophy, Science and Values (University of the Basque Country, 2020). She is currently doing her PhD on post-truth and bullshit, under the supervision of Dr. Joana Garmendia and Dr. Agustin Arrieta Urtizberea. Her main research interests include philosophical issues related to post-truth, the pragmatics of bullshitting, and their political and ethical implications.

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Published/Copyright: October 15, 2025
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Abstract

This paper aims to contribute to clarifying both the concept of bullshit and some debates surrounding this phenomenon. Despite significant interest in the topic, philosophers have yet to reach a consensus on how to define bullshit. The central questions are: what does it mean to be indifferent to the truth – a key feature of bullshit – and why does this indifference differ from lying? I propose a taxonomy of bullshit examples and an account based on the concept of discursive responsibility, offering a comprehensive overview that fills a gap in the literature. Discursive responsibility usually pushes speakers to care about truth. While liars must assume this responsibility, bullshitters remain indifferent to it. I also argue that bullshitters, unlike liars, enjoy a type of tolerance that allows them to evade responsibility. Thus, the study of bullshit will involve analyzing the factors that enable this kind of tolerance. I highlight three factors that may be at play: context, the construction of the utterance, and the speaker’s social position. Bullshitters often exploit these factors to evade responsibility, which suggests that bullshit is not only a linguistic phenomenon but also a social and political one.


Corresponding author: Irati Zubia Landa, Philosophy Department and ILCLI, University of the Basque Country (EHU), San Sebastian, Spain, E-mail:

About the author

Irati Zubia Landa

Irati Zubia Landa has a BA in Philosophy (University of the Basque Country, 2019) and a MA in Philosophy, Science and Values (University of the Basque Country, 2020). She is currently doing her PhD on post-truth and bullshit, under the supervision of Dr. Joana Garmendia and Dr. Agustin Arrieta Urtizberea. Her main research interests include philosophical issues related to post-truth, the pragmatics of bullshitting, and their political and ethical implications.

Acknowledgements

This work was made possible thanks to the Grant for the Predoctoral Training Program for Non-Doctoral Research Personnel (2020-21/2024-25) (funded by The Basque Goverment); grants PID2023-151480NB-I00 (funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and ERDF/EU), and IT1612-22 (funded by the Basque Government).

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