Assholes: A Theory

Assholes: A TheoryAaron James Assholes: A Theory New York: Doubleday, 2012Reviewed by Howard A. DoughtyA few years ago, I commented at length upon a book called On Bullshit (Doughty, 2005) by Harry Frankfurt. It was a smash hit (the book, not my comment). Its provocative title alone would not have ensured its success. Dirty words can be found anywhere and you don't need a world-renowned moral philosopher like Frankfurt to generate juvenile jollies. On Bullshit might not have been Harry Frankfurt's most profound book, but it did win him an audience in unexpected corners of the ubiquitous virtual bookstore. One of the reasons was that, once an attentive reader got beyond the title, the book had some important things to say about the nature of argument and public discourse.The times are right for a follow-up. In fact Aaron James's Assholes is just one of a number of semi-serious works on the subject. There's also Geoffrey Nunberg's Ascent of the A-Word (2012) and Robert Sutton's The No Asshole Rule (2010)-an award-winning book for aspirant business executives. James's volume is in roughly equal parts a philosophical meditation, a pop historical survey and a practical guide to negotiate the treacherous rectal waters in which we swim; but, its true value lies in his attempt to define the term precisely.At first glance, James's Assholes seems to fit into the same category as Frankfurt's Bullshit-a serious book about a serious subject which is of both scholarly and popular interest, but with a title meant to titillate (so to speak). Sometimes first glances are not deceiving and you can tell a book by its cover; sometimes they are not and you can't.Aaron James may not (yet) have acquired the stature of Harry Frankfurt, but he is a much younger man. There is still hope. Meanwhile, he will be taking his interest in rationalism and the foundations of moral judgement to New York University from his home base at the University of California at Irvine as a Visiting Professor in the Fall of 2013. He already has a substantial inventory of professional publications to his credit. Given another half-century, he may well supersede Harry Frankfurt (age 83) with or without the use of attention-grabbing vulgarities on his book covers.At first glance, James's Assholes seems to fit into the same category as Frankfurt's Bullshit-a serious book about a serious subject which is of both scholarly and popular interest, but with a title meant to titillate (so to speak).Rather than further obsessing on the name of the book, however, let us probe within. Aaron James has spent time at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University and has written about matters such as fairness, with a suitable nod to John Rawls (James, 2012). He is deeply engaged in the application of moral theory to practical life. His next big project is a book on practice-based justification and global justice. He is a still young man with healthy ambitions.In Assholes, he is doing more than poking fun at all the people we like to despise. His examples are familiar. We know who he's talking about. My favourite example is the dolt who insisted on offering Joan Baez a cigarette, knowing she didn't smoke, but (I suppose) hoping to enhance his status by making her feel ever-so-slightly uncomfortable.- assholes normally act within the law and do not exact a great material toll on society. They are not quite sociopaths. They are, however, habitual and incurable. They are what they are and generally irredeemable.Assholes, as he describes them, are not significantly evil. They are merely annoying examples of thoughtlessness, indifference to others' sensitivities and blindness to social contexts. They are borderline sociopaths whose actions do not quite rise (or, rather, descend) to the degree of pathology necessary to merit inclusion in the always expanding list of official mental diseases and disorders certified by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association. …

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