You're Full Of It...

...or why Americans distrust and the French admire bullshit!

Before you sign off on this blog because of its juvenile vocabulary, bear with us a minute. Via Kevin Drum, we have an intriguing discussion on the nature of bullshit (definitely worth a read for the references to politics). From our perspective here at J2T, the key lines are these:

"...the defining characteristic of bullshit is not that the bullshitter is lying, an act that requires the perpetrator to know the truth in the first place, but that the bullshitter doesn't care one way or the other. The actual facts are irrelevant, and if the bullshitter ends up telling the truth, that's fine. He just doesn't care."

This definition of bullshit spells out perfectly one of the biggest differences between French and American culture. The French praise it while Americans abhor it. To Americans it is a demonstration of intellectual dishonesty; to the French it is a superb display of intellectual capabilities. Whence the difference?

One need look no further than the famous American essay or the popular French dissertation. The former asks the writer to form a personal opinion and express it, while the latter asks that the student take a disinterested position and debate different sides of a main problematique/position. The essay inherently leads to an investment of personal beliefs and therefore personal feelings. A criticism of one's position is taken as a criticism of the person. The French, on the other hand, argue from a more removed position and are less likely to have a personal stake in the the debate. A debate about politics can remain just that, a debate about politics. It's not about hurting feelings, but scoring points.

A French bullshitter then is seen as someone who can take any position and argue it effectively while his American equivalent is considered by his fellow countrymen as morally depraved, someone with no moral compass, an individual with no interest in seeking the truth. So while the French vote for politicians who can argue effectively (who better to argue your interests?), the Americans vote for those with superior moral fiber (who better to represent you?). Yet one more reason that many Americans voted for President Bush and most French find his election incomprehensible - the French would much rather have a gifted speaker, the Americans a moral saviour.

UPDATE: courtesy of an American reader, the following link gives you a bit more on the book and the relationship between bullshit and politics.