TOPIC OF THE DAY:-“No care for truth”
In 1986, the philosopher Harry G. Frankfurt wrote an essay named “On Bullshit”, which was published as a book in 2005 and became a surprise bestseller. The book attempts to arrive at “a theoretical understanding of bullshit”. The key difference between a liar and a , ‘bullshitter’, Frankfurt tells us, is that the liar knows the truth and aims to deceive. The ‘bullshitter’, on the other hand, doesn’t care about the truth. He is “neither on the side of the true nor on the side of the false,” in Frankfurt’s words. “His eye is not on the facts at all, as the eyes of the honest man and of the liar are, except insofar as they may be pertinent to his interest in getting away with what he says.” The ‘bullshitter’ is wise, for he has cottoned on to an important truth that has become more and more glaring in these modern times: that facts don’t matter. And to understand why, I ask you to go back with me in time to another seminal book, this one published in 1922. The first chapter of “Public Opinion”, by the American journalist, Walter Lippmann, is titled “The World Outside and the Pictures in Our Heads”. In it, Lippmann makes the point that all of us have a version of the world inside our heads that resembles, but is not identical to, the world as it is. “The real environment,” he writes, “is altogether too big, too complex, and too fleeting for direct acquaintance.” We construct a version of the world in our heads, and feed that version, for modifying it too much will require too much effort. If facts conflict with it, we ignore those facts, and accept only those that conform to our worldview. (Cognitive psychologists call this the “Confirmation Bias”.) Lippmann sees this as a challenge for democracy, for how are we to elect our leaders if we cannot comprehend the impact they will have on the world?
MEANINGS AND WORDS
) Fleeing
Meaning: Run away from a place or situation of danger.
Example: “to escape the fighting, his family fled from their village”
Synonyms: Escape, Abscond
2) Liberated
Meaning: Set (someone) free from imprisonment, slavery, or oppression.
Example: “the serfs had been liberated”
Synonyms: Release, Discharge
Antonyms: Confine, Enslave
3) Ousting
Meaning: Drive out or expel (someone) from a position or place.
Example: “the reformists were ousted from power”
Synonyms: Expel, Remove
4) Simplistic
Meaning: Treating complex issues and problems as if they were much simpler than they really are.
Example: “simplistic solutions”
Synonyms: Facile, Superficial
5) Anarchy
Meaning: A state of disorder due to absence or non-recognition of authority or other controlling systems.
Example: “he must ensure public order in a country threatened with anarchy”
Synonyms: Disorder, Revolution
Antonyms: Government, Order
6) Breeding ground
Meaning: A place or situation that favours the development or occurrence of something.
Example: “the situation is a breeding ground for political unrest”
7) Footing
Meaning: The position or status of a person in relation to others.
Example: “the suppliers are on an equal footing with the buyers”
Synonyms: Standing, Status
8) Caliph
Meaning: The chief Muslim civil and religious ruler, regarded as the successor of Muhammad. The caliph ruled in Baghdad until 1258 and then in Egypt until the Ottoman conquest of 1517; the title was then held by the Ottoman sultans until it was abolished in 1924 by Atatürk.
9) Resurrection
Meaning: The revitalization or revival of something.
Example: “the resurrection of the country under a charismatic leader”
Synonyms: Revival, Restoration
10) Ushering
Meaning: Show or guide (someone) somewhere.
Example: “a waiter ushered me to a table”
Synonyms: Escort, Accompany
11) Conspiring
Meaning: Make secret plans jointly to commit an unlawful or harmful act.
Example: “they conspired against him”
Synonyms: Scheme, Intrigue
12) Otherness
Meaning: The quality or fact of being different.
Example: “the developed world has been celebrating African music while altogether denying its otherness”
13) Fuzzy
Meaning: Difficult to perceive; indistinct or vague.
Example: “the picture is very fuzzy”
Synonyms: Blurry, Blurred
Antonyms: Clear, Sharp
14) Bullshit
Meaning: Complete nonsense or something that is not true; to try to persuade someone or make them admire you by saying things that are not true.
Example: He gave me some excuse but it was a load of bullshit.
Synonyms: Tricking
15) Deceive
Meaning: Deliberately cause (someone) to believe something that is not true, especially for personal gain.
Example: “I didn’t intend to deceive people into thinking it was French champagne”
Synonyms: Swindle, Defraud
