#1 New York Times bestseller
Featured on The Daily Show and 60 Minutes
The acclaimed book that illuminates our world and its politics by revealing why bullshit is more dangerous than lying

One of the most prominent features of our world is that there is so much bullshit. Yet we have no clear understanding of what bullshit is, how it's distinct from lying, what functions it serves, and what it means. In his acclaimed bestseller On Bullshit, Harry Frankfurt, who was one of the world's most influential moral philosophers, explores this important subject, which has become a central problem of politics and our world.

With his characteristic combination of philosophical acuity, psychological insight, and wry humor, Frankfurt argues that bullshitters misrepresent themselves to their audience not as liars do, that is, by deliberately making false claims about what is true. Rather, bullshitters seek to convey a certain impression of themselves without being concerned about whether anything at all is true. They quietly change the rules governing their end of the conversation so that claims about truth and falsity are irrelevant. Although bullshit can take many innocent forms, excessive indulgence in it can eventually undermine the bullshitter's capacity to tell the truth in a way that lying does not. Liars at least acknowledge that the truth matters. Because of this, bullshit is a greater enemy of the truth than lies are.

Remarkably prescient and insightful, On Bullshit is a small book that explains a great deal about our time.

From the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller On Bullshit, the case for worrying less about the rich and more about the poor

Economic inequality is one of the most divisive issues of our time. Yet few would argue that inequality is a greater evil than poverty. The poor suffer because they don't have enough, not because others have more, and some have far too much. So why do many people appear to be more distressed by the rich than by the poor?

In this provocative book, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of On Bullshit presents a compelling and unsettling response to those who believe that the goal of social justice should be economic equality or less inequality. Harry Frankfurt, one of the most influential moral philosophers in the world, argues that we are morally obligated to eliminate poverty--not achieve equality or reduce inequality. Our focus should be on making sure everyone has a sufficient amount to live a decent life. To focus instead on inequality is distracting and alienating.

At the same time, Frankfurt argues that the conjunction of vast wealth and poverty is offensive. If we dedicate ourselves to making sure everyone has enough, we may reduce inequality as a side effect. But it's essential to see that the ultimate goal of justice is to end poverty, not inequality.

A serious challenge to cherished beliefs on both the political left and right, On Inequality promises to have a profound impact on one of the great debates of our time.

From the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller On Bullshit, a profound meditation on how and why we love

In The Reasons of Love, leading moral philosopher and bestselling author Harry Frankfurt argues that the key to a fulfilled life is to pursue wholeheartedly what one cares about, that love is the most authoritative form of caring, and that the purest form of love is, in a complicated way, self-love. Through caring, we infuse the world with meaning. Caring provides us with stable ambitions and concerns, and it shapes the framework of aims and interests within which we lead our lives. Love is a nonvoluntary, disinterested concern for the flourishing of what we love--and self-love, as distinct from self-indulgence, is at heart of this concern. The most elementary form of self-love is no more than the desire to love, and self-love is simply a commitment to finding meaning in our lives.

This volume is a collection of thirteen seminal essays on ethics, free will, and the philosophy of mind. The essays deal with such central topics as freedom of the will, moral responsibility, the concept of a person, the structure of the will, the nature of action, the constitution of the self, and the theory of personal ideals. By focusing on the distinctive nature of human freedom, Professor Frankfurt is ale to explore fundamental problems of what it is to be a person and of what one should care about in life.

From the best-selling author of On Bullshit... This book consists of the Tanner Lectures in Moral Philosophy, delivered by the author at Stanford University in 2004, along with commentary on the lectures.

From the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller On Bullshit, a landmark account of Descartes, reason, and truth

In this classic work, philosopher and bestselling author Harry Frankfurt provides a compelling analysis of the question that not only lies at the heart of Descartes's Meditations, but also constitutes the central preoccupation of modern philosophy: on what basis can reason claim to provide any justification for the truth of our beliefs? Demons, Dreamers, and Madmen provides an ingenious account of Descartes's defense of reason against his own famously skeptical doubts that he might be a madman, dreaming, or, worse yet, deceived by an evil demon into believing falsely.

Frankfurt's masterful and imaginative reading of Descartes's seminal work not only stands the test of time; one imagines Descartes himself nodding in agreement.

One of the most influential of contemporary philosophers, Harry Frankfurt has made major contributions to the philosophy of action, moral psychology, and the study of Descartes. This collection of essays complements an earlier, successful collection published by Cambridge, The Importance of What We Care About. These essays deal in general with foundational metaphysical and epistemological issues concerning Descartes, moral philosophy, philosophical anthropology, political philosophy, and religion. A hallmark of Frankfurt's work is his crisp and incisive style, which means that these essays should appeal to a wide range of philosophers and to readers in neighboring disciplines with philosophical interests.

Erstmals im deutschsprachigen Raum werden in diesem repr sentativen Reader Arbeiten von Harry G. Frankfurt publiziert, dessen berlegungen bedeutsam wurden f r nicht-utilitaristische Werttheorien, f r die Ethik der F rsorge bzw. der Tugendethik, aber auch f r die moderne Rationalit tstheorie. Freiheit und Determinismus sind miteinander vereinbar - diese Auffassung vertritt Frankfurt nachdr cklich. Zun chst entwickelte er ein hierarchisches Modell des W nschens und arbeitete eine philosophische Begr ndung f r das Argument aus, da die Bedingung, jemand h tte anders handeln k nnen, keine notwendige Bedingung f r Freiheit und Verantwortung bildet. In seinen neuesten Arbeiten entwirft er ein umfassenderes Konzept der Selbstbestimmung und der Rationalit t, wobei er sein fr heres Wunschmodell ersetzt durch ein erweitertes hierarchisches Modell fundamentaler Einstellungen, zu denen neben W nschen nunmehr auch berzeugungen und Emotionen z hlen, die sich daher zugleich auf Konzeptionen unseres Charakters und unserer Integrit t richten.