"One of the most salient features of our culture is that there is so much bullshit. Everyone knows this. Each of us contributes his share. But we tend to take the situation for granted. Most people are rather confident of their ability to recognize bullshit and to avoid being taken in by it. So the phenomenon has not aroused much deliberate concern, nor attracted much sustained inquiry."

Having established his topic, he continues, in time-honored Aristotelian fashion, to review past work in the area before he makes his major contribution. He turns to an essay, called The Prevalence of Humbug by Max Black, wherein the author suggests a number of synonyms for “humbug,” including “balderdash, claptrap, hokum, drivel, buncombe, imposture, and quackery.”

The author does not find this list helpful, but Black defines humbug as follows: “deceptive misrepresentation, short of lying, especially by pretentious word or deed, of somebody’s own thoughts, feelings, or attitudes.”

Frankfurt finds merit in the description and opts to “comment on the various elements of Black’s definition.”

In the course of his recapitulation and analysis, he also considers related thoughts by folks from St. Augustine to Pascal and Wittgenstein.