IP Guest Seminar | Bullshit Inquiry | Rima Basu (Claremont McKenna College)

Bullshit Inquiry 

Rima Basu (Claremont McKenna College)

Abstract

Academic journals serve dual roles: they exist to advance knowledge and the publications within are used as arbiters for career advancement. This duality can lead researchers to employ publication optimization strategies in an attempt to game the system through a variety of means including fraud, plagiarism, deception, poor citation practices, and more generally, so-called “scholarshit”. This paper introduces a previously overlooked strategy, "bullshit inquiry". Bullshit inquiry poses a unique moral and epistemic challenge in philosophy. A key methodological principle of philosophy is the principle of charity which asks us to interpret others in the most persuasive and truth-supporting manner we can. Bullshit inquiry, characterized by a reckless disregard for truth or falsity, demonstrates not only a lack of respect but it also manipulates interlocutors into either abandoning charity or entertaining insincere beliefs, thereby undermining the foundational principles of philosophical discourse. 

Rima Basu an assistant professor of philosophy at Claremont McKenna College. The central theme of Rima's work is that when it comes to what we should believe, morality is not voiceless. What we owe each other is not just a matter of what we do or what we say, but also what we believe.