Harry Frankfurt obituary

Veteran philosopher Harry Frankfurt passed away on July 16, 2023, at the age of 94.

Frankfurt had passed on in a nursing facility. He is survived by his wife, Joan Gilbert, his daughters, Kate and Jennifer, plus three grandchildren.

Who Was Harry Frankfurt?

Harry Frankfurt was an American philosopher born on May 29, 1929, in Pennsylvania, United States.

Frankfurt was professor emeritus of philosophy, and made significant impact in the area of ethics and philosophy of mind.

Beginning from the early 1990s, Frankfurt served as professor in Princeton University, Yale University, Rockefeller University, Ohio State University, and SUNY Binghamton

Frankfurt was famous for his 1986 paper On Bullshit, which digs deep into the philosophical concept of “bullshit”. The paper was made into a book, and became a bestseller in 2005. In 2006, he published a second book titled On Truth.

His philosophical concept of “bullshit” explains that “bullshitting and lying are different, in that it is an act that has no regard for the truth.”

The concept opines that “It is impossible for someone to lie unless he thinks he knows the truth. On the contrary, bullshit requires no such conviction.”