In November, a report came out that the Houston Astros
had been using hidden cameras to illegally steal signs in
order to inform their hitters about what pitch was coming.
For some context, the Astros have been the most successful
team in the MLB for the last 3 years (two World Series trips,
including one win).
For non-baseball fans, this is bad. Imagine going through
an interview for a job and having the questions sent to you
before they are asked. It isn’t fair to other applicants: It’s cheating.
This scandal potentially screwed other players and organizations
out of millions of dollars and, in some cases, out of a championship.
Harry Frankfurt is a philosopher that essentially specializes in human
bullshit. In chapter 2 of his book On Truth, Lies, and Bullshit,
he explains there is an obvious difference between lies and bullshit.
Lies entail knowing the truth, and are sometimes used to hide the truth
from others for their own good. However bullshitting is a purely selfish
act and entails a mix of both lies and the truth, “He doesn't care whether
the things he says describe reality correctly. He just picks them out,
or makes them up, to suit his purpose.”
What the Astros did -- in my opinion -- is combine both bullshit and lying.
Cheating is putting yourself at an unfair advantage by breaking the rules
and can be explained by selfish motivations; similar to the motive of a
bullshitter. To pile on top of the cheating, they constantly lied in public
about these actions for months leading up to their investigation.
The Astros combined their cheating with lies. This case simply can’t be
one or the other but a combination of them both. The Astros manager
was asked about giving signals to their hitters on multiple occasions
and continually said they would never do such a thing.
The combination of cheating, lying, and bullshitting have the whole Astros
organization under fire from the sports world. Athletes and media have
requested the Astros be stripped of their World Series title. Their selfish
motives coupled with continuous lies have made many well-respected
individuals in the organization be seen in a completely new light. It is one
thing to confess for cheating, but it is another to have the audacity to lie
on top of your bullshit and think you can get away with it.
Shame on you, Astros.
Kunal, this is a great revision of your previous blog post! You did a much better job of explaining the evidence you found in the readings. You used the definitions to explain why you claimed that what the Astros did was a form of bullshit and lying, and this added to your argument. The new graphics you used enhanced the post because they directly related to the cheating situation that your post is centered on. Great post!
ReplyDeleteHi, i enjoyed reading your blog post! Compared to your previous post, you had a much more concise discussion of the reading which I think added to the flow of your post. Style wise, you improved the readability by spacing your paragraphs more evenly and having a uniform font. To improve, I think you could more your second paragraph up to be your introduction and change it a little bit and it would be a great hook. I think the first picture added to your argument as well. Good work!
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