Is Ignorance Really Bliss?
The definition of ignorance from dictionary.com is:
The condition of being uneducated, unaware, or uninformed.
From the above definition, there are three traits to discuss regarding being ignorant. The three traits are:
- Being uneducated
- Being unaware
- Being uninformed
So I ask, is being uneducated bliss? Is being unaware bliss? Is being uninformed bliss? This post will go into each of those three questions and hopefully answer them.
Being Ignorant is Being Uneducated About a Topic
Your boss comes up to you and asks if you can do a particular task that requires a complicated piece of machinery and software. You do not know this machinery or software. As a result, you tell your boss you will be unable to do the task. Your boss seeks someone else and sticks them with the work.
Now, is it blissful that your ignorance kept you from doing additional or a different kind of work? What if your boss decides you are no longer necessary since you are indeed ignorant? Would it still be blissful to be ignorant?
Being Ignorant is Being Unaware of a Topic
Say for example that you had a warrant out for your arrest. You were unaware of this warrant and continued to live your life normally. During that period of normalcy, the police caught on to your location and finally served the warrant. Would all of the days before that warrant had been served be blissful?
Another example that was brought to my attention within the past few weeks was that of cancer. What if you had cancer, but didn’t know it yet. How could you be blissful in your ignorance if you had no knowledge of the ignorance you possessed? It would appear that ignorance could only be blissful if one was aware of said ignorance, thus making the ignorance only blissful in hindsight.
Being Ignorant is Being Uninformed About a Topic
A lot of people I know love American Idol, or golf, or sports in general. I could personally care less who wins American Idol, and I don’t follow sports. Is my lack of knowledge of these topics blissful? Actually, for me it’s quite painful because I have no idea what people are talking about and I appear as the outsider.
Another example is of a recent shooting near my apartment. A guy had shot his father and was consequently on the run with an AK-47 and a .45. My friend pounded on my door and asked if I was alright. Another friend called me and asked if I was alright. I do not have cable TV and do not watch the local news. Even though the event happened near me, I was uninformed (and unaware) that something had happened. The whole apartment complex was shut down and I couldn’t even leave if I wanted to.
Now if my friends had never called or came by, I would have never known something had happened. How could by ignorance be blissful in that circumstance? Because I was unaware and uninformed? In hindsight, my ignorance could have caused me great harm had I ventured outside with the police swarming around.
Is Ignorance Bliss?
Is ignorance really bliss? Please weigh in.
Join the Discussion (8 Comments)
I don’t believe that ignorance is ever a good thing. It is always better to know and be able to deal with that than not know and be unprepared.
I have always had a need to understand things to a certain extent so I don’t understand how many people can be happy denying themselves knowledge as so many people do.
Posted on May 21st, 2007 at 1:58 am
Andrew,
Yes. I’d like to see a boxing match between the “knowledge is power people” and the “ignorance is bliss” people. Perhaps the ignorant people will refrain from learning boxing?
Posted on May 21st, 2007 at 6:21 am
For me the only time the ignorance is bliss it’s when we don’t know all the details of people’s private life.
In all other cases I agree with Andrew and Ronald. However, there are many people who prefer to be ignorant on certain subject matters, especially if they’re related to their government policies and misdemeanors.
Posted on May 21st, 2007 at 7:43 pm
That’s a good point inspirationbit (Vivien). Being ignorant about people’s personal lives is somewhat bliss.
Posted on May 21st, 2007 at 9:56 pm
Sometimes knowing too much overwhelms you with thoughts and you can’t seem to stop thinking about a particular issue. Then you’d wish you never knew. I remember while ago I read an article about this photographer who used to go to Africa to photograph their life and stuff.. as he got to know more about their life and how misrable that part of the world really is he got really depressed and ended up taking his own life. I think ignorance would have been a real bliss in his case. Ignorance shouldn’t mean not knowing AT ALL but in some situations we need to not know ( as in people’s personal lives) or know as much as we need to keep us informed.
Posted on May 22nd, 2007 at 7:29 pm
These comments have made me rethink my position a little. It never occurred to me that knowledge includes knowledge of the world’s atrocities.
I think then I would make the distinction between ignorance of the facts, and denial of the truth.
Posted on May 22nd, 2007 at 11:39 pm
Ignorance may be bliss for people who cannot accept striking facts (like the photographer in Dee’s story). If your wife is cheating on you, is it better to know or not to know it? She can be a great wife and life companion who only needs a bit of “adventure” in her life. Not knowing that, you could live together happily ever after. What about when knowing it?
However, I think that it’s better to be informed, no matter how your decisions would be after that.
Posted on May 25th, 2007 at 6:57 am
I sometimes tell myself, “Wow, I wish I didn’t know that.” For example, if I know there are onions in something, I won’t eat it. I also love sushi, but please don’t tell me what I’m eating.
In the case of a wife cheating on me, I’d rather know. It may hurt more knowing, but at least action can be taken. Just think, life plans are being made (retirement, kids, house) while a spouse is cheating?
Posted on May 28th, 2007 at 6:10 pm