University Professor Writes Book With Unprintable Title

Candace Braun

Princeton University Professor Harry Frankfurt's latest book was listed as the number one non-fiction best-seller this month in The New York Times.

But what sets Mr. Frankfurt's book apart is that the Times can't print its full title. Neither can Town Topics, for that matter.

In On Bull ----, which was recently published by Princeton University Press, the author defines the word and the function it serves for the people who use it.

"Society must tolerate it for a reason," said Mr. Frankfurt at a talk at Barnes and Noble Princeton last Thursday.

Since the book's publication, Mr. Frankfurt has been busy answering phone calls and giving television and radio interviews. Among the programs he has been on so far are The Daily Show With Jon Stuart, 60 Minutes, and The Today Show.

"I'm not surprised it has had some success, but I'm bewildered that it's number one," he said, adding that people from all walks of life have gotten in touch with him since its publication, including an old girlfriend he hasn't spoken to in decades. After meeting up, she now wants to represent him as his literary agent when he publishes his next book, he said.

On Bull---- was actually the author's first book, since it evolved from an essay he wrote in 1986 while working at Yale University. Among the author's other works are The Defense of Reason in Descartes' Meditations (1970), The Importance of What We Care About (1988), and most recently, Necessity, Volition, and Love (1999).

"The discrepancy between Bull---- and Love may be that people don't see a difference between the two," was the author's comic response when a member of the audience asked him about the new book's popularity compared to his other works.

On writing the book, Mr. Frankfurt said that although he isn't quite sure what his interest in the subject is, he knows he's always had one: "I've always been interested in the truth and the deformities of the truth."

The professor said some of his interest comes from his mother.

"I'm not so sure my mother was a wonderful woman, but she was an interesting woman," he said, recalling an instance when he went to visit her in a nursing home and found her in her room, watching the rocket launch to Mars on television.

He said his mother's first question was, "What are Mars?" and when he explained it was a planet where we believe there may be intelligent life, she responded: "Oh, there isn't any there."

Mr. Frankfurt said the difference between bull---- and lying, is that a person who indulges in bull---- is falsely representing himself and the facts with a purpose.

"He wants to manipulate people.... He makes it up as he goes along."

When asked which profession attracts the most bull----, Mr. Frankfurt answered that it is most obviously politics. However, he continued, politicians are frequently put in a position where they are forced to come up with quick answers: "If they say they don't know the answer, they look like they are unqualified for their job."

The author was asked if he pondered over the title of his book, and if he had considered calling it something else.

Mr. Frankfurt looked puzzled before responding: "It was the first and inevitable title. What else could I call it?"

A Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at Princeton, Mr. Frankfurt has worked at the University since 1990. Previously he chaired the philosophy department at Yale from 1978 to 1987, and lectured in the School of Law. He has also taught at Rockefeller University, the State University of New York, and Ohio State University.

In 1999, he was named the Romanell-Phi Beta Kappa Professor at Princeton, an honor recognizing both distinguished achievement and potential contributions to public understanding of philosophy.