What do you define as ignorance? How does this apply to our childhood and who we develop into? Are we born inherently ignorant? And if so how does this affect our view of the world as we grow?
What do you define as ignorance? How does this apply to our childhood and who we develop into? Are we born inherently ignorant? And if so how does this affect our view of the world as we grow?
Comments
Welcome to r/TrueAskReddit. Remember that this subreddit is aimed at high quality discussion, so please elaborate on your answer as much as you can and avoid off-topic or jokey answers as per subreddit rules.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
I am a follower of what´s called ´Freemasonic disappointment´. It means that if a Freemason tells his student that hey this is the truth the student is disappointed. Disappointed to learn that ignorance is NOT bliss. In Lacanian terms this means that the truth is ´object petit a´, meaning it is beyond reach until you access it.
No ignorance is how people wreck their car and get pregnant when they don’t want to be pregnant. Accidentally poisoned themselves and eat shitty food if they don’t know better. Do stupid shit in front of people who should be wanting respect from. The list goes on. Ect. Ect. …
Ignorance is a lack of knowing, of being uninformed. Purposeful ignorance, or “hiding your head in the sand” is a different topic altogether. Of course we are born ignorant, at least of all things mindful. As we live life we inherently learn and become informed of a variety of things. What we are surrounded by, who we are in contact with, and as life happens we – as a matter of just being alive – will learn. All things absorb, and cognitive beings of normal ability will become less “ignorant” by definition. Other than this, I don’t understand your question. What are you really asking?
Absolutely not. The simplest of examples I could think of I could be ignorant about a health issue, but it won’t bring me bliss. We can apply that analogy to pretty much everything.
Also, a second side people often miss is that ignorance isn’t exclusively tied to negatives stuff; ignorance would blind you to a lot of positive thing as well, denying you potential bliss.
When it comes to mainstream news, YES.
At the end of the day it’s all rage-baiting. You genuinely don’t need to most of the horrible things that happen spanning the nation or planet. You really don’t need to stress about every little thing Trump doesn’t do.
The biggest things that you may need to know you’ll find out one way or another without sitting and watching an inflammatory news broadcast.
Unless you’re literally going to go and devote your life to some cause, that hurricane that killed 500 people in Uganda or shooting that killed 30 kids in Alabama or disease outbreak that killed 200 Irish people or Israeli missile strike that killed 100 Palestinians does not matter for your personal day to day life and happiness living your life working some middle-class job in some midwestern town.
Local news impacts you far more and is also far more in your sphere of control, so energy is far better spent there. As for the rest, just do your due research ahead of voting day, cast votes accordingly, then tune the bullshit out.
Yes, if people really knew what everyone thought about them at all times, we would never have any relationships that would last. It’s better to have people filter out the rolacoaster of thoughts, feeling and emotions to the ones that are lasting and matter to their core percetion of and feelings for you.
The more you learn about human nature, the more depressing humanity becomes. It turns out we’re generally pretty awful, and the exceptions are generally people who go against that nature.
Given that human nature has a hand in literally every aspect of our lives, yeah, we’re better off not knowing.
Of course ignorance is bliss. But you’re selfish for choosing it, and you become a problem for most everyone else. Bliss is not a virtue, and is empty and without meaning. You’re much better off, long term, learning and growing rather than burying your head in the sand.
Philosophically or spiritually, yes. The truth is that we don’t matter and life is bad, and there’s nothing after death. You may say “Cool, I can’t wait to be nothing and get out of this hell-hole.” But then you remember your mom would be sad. “God damnit.” But don’t worry, there’s “hope” for you. You can still compartmentalize your feelings and believe in some type of spirituality like all the happy people. I mean, the truth doesn’t matter when our entire perception of reality is an illusion anyway. Just relax, do what you can to be happy and healthy.
I used to feel that way, because fuck knows I would rather not know about all of the things that are wrong with literally everything, but now more than ever we see that even ignorant people aren’t happy.
In fact, they’re very very angry.
at least when you aren’t ignorant, your reason for being angry makes sense.
ignorant people are angry that there are people in the world besides them, who aren’t like them, that the world doesn’t revolve around them and the shit they believe, that something they have always done and never thought about it could possibly be wrong.
They’re not happy at all.
. . . and maybe they never really were once they got out of high school.
Being knowledgeable just makes you realize existence is kind of awful and you wouldn’t wish it on anyone else.
ignorant people think “i went through it, i survived, everyone should go through it”
It is for things that don’t affect you or your life. Think about all the stuff you hear on the news and then try to look for anything that you know for sure will have a big impact on you. If it doesn’t affect your life at all, then there wouldn’t be any difference had you not known about it.
>Do you think ignorance is bliss?
in a way, yes.
– if you are ignorant about the reality of the ongoing wars, you don’t get the anxiety, sadness etc that can come with the empathy for the victims
– if you are ignorant about the kids who dig cobalt and stuff in unsafe mines in congo so you can enjoy your smartphone looking all good from the box, they you don’t have this mental dissonance/torture of knowing that you are an accomplice of this
– if you are ignorant about processed food, pesticides, alcohol, sugar, etc being horrible for your health, then you just enjoy all the goodies for a while (until you start to have problems, but well, they take time to arrive in general)
– if you are ignorant about the reality of animal agriculture and intensive fishing in terms of ecological impact, the ethics of killing billions of animals every year, how it contributes highly to antibiotic resistance, etc), then you enjoy your food without feeling guilty or pain for those animals
– if you are ignorant about how noisy you are, then you make all the noise you want and bother your neighbors without feeling anything about it
… i could go on forever like that.
in another way, no.
– if you know that you cannot catch an STI from hugging someone, won’t die if you eat some plants or whatever that is, that can eliminate stress/anxiety (getting you closer to bliss, basically)
– if you know that some stress/anxiety/guilt inducing/whatever stuff some people people around you say are not true would do the same, but if you are ignorant, then you might believe them and potentially feel quite terrible about it.
– if you know how to fix stuff in your house, car, whatever, that can provide a great sense of safety, as you’re not dependent on others if something is needed. you see how some people literally panic when they can’t close a window… if you know how to adjust it, then you take the right tools, fix it and boom, easily move on
… i could go on forever like that.
>What do you define as ignorance?
that’s when you don’t know. information, the impact of your actions, rules, whatever that is.
FYI, the famous quote is not actually “Ignorance is bliss”, but rather:
> … where ignorance is bliss,
> ‘Tis folly to be wise.”
This is the ending of the 1768 poem “Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College” by Thomas Gray.
But to answer your question: on rare occasions, yes, but mostly no.
Good question. Ignorance IS bliss, but this doesn’t mean it’s good to be stupid. It just means we are so much happier often if we don’t know certain negative things. Sometimes we need to know those negative things unfortunately.
It’s more accurate now than ever. “You don’t know what you don’t know”. “The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence.” – Charles Bukowski
Yes. Intelligence is a gift, and a burden. If you didn’t know death existed, how would you live your life? I think (modern) ignorance is not naïveté; it’s the lack of curiosity, in fact, the absolute revulsion toward anything that requires actual research.
I do also understand that a person can be ignorant of some things, and well-informed in others. Ignorance as a state of being, though. The…incapacity to think critically, maybe.
Naïveté isn’t chosen: it’s a product of youth. You can definitely be ignorant of something because you haven’t had the opportunity to learn about it yet, but people who are ignorant – they ignore the facts before them, they don’t hear reason, they might even have a reason (like being a religious zealot, gives them purpose) but they are willfully ignoring what is plain as day.
Not blissful, but probably healthy. Too much information is unhealthy. Consuming only one viewpoint is more unhealthy than ignorance. You may lean one way or the other, but you can at least understand where 50% of the country you don’t identify with is coming from.
It seems to be for them, the ignorant. But that doesn’t mean it’s good in any way or should be pursued. It would be like hoping to be blind so you don’t see all the bad things happening, and are unable to address them
So glad this question came across this morning,
I have a story to tell you.
I work with my boyfriend, we have worked together for the last 6 years. We have been together for 12 years have 2 boys Yesterday we were finishing up a 3500 sq ft area flooring job, tensions usually high when we’re trying to finish up things. He just keeps dragging his feet . Still working but not like how he usually does. Sluggish and distracted … But he just randomly keeps walking away with his phone (which also is attached to Bluetooth) each time he walks away I can hear him typing away and getting returned messages… I can even hear pictures being taken…
I assumed it was showing progress on the job..
We had my oldest birthday party planned right for after work that day. Closer to the end of the day we still have about 50 SQ ft to lay , mostly cuts… Very time consuming..
Fast forward it’s the end of the day, no way possible meeting our goal of having it laid today… And now his is like next level mad at me in this commercial building… Screaming at me, how shitty my work is, and how I can’t make straight cuts, and I do things that no one else cares about. not holding back a bit. (Anyone who knows me, knows I work and I don’t stop. I don’t even check my phone during the day because there is always so much work to be done)
Breaks me down says the nastiest things about me and about our boys. Claiming that I was being lazy and not doing what I was supposed and it’s all my fault. Mind you THERE IS NO ACTUAL DEADLINE FOR THIS JOB. we had created a deadline for ourselves is all .
We leave the job Im sobbing my eyes out and he tells me I am making a big deal out of this. Like what he did was justified behavior for missing an imaginary deadline.
I’m covered in thinset, I have birthday guests arriving in an hour and he is still being stoned cold mean to me.
When we get home he leaves, people arriving I am a whole mess. Thankfully it was only family coming to the party. My family.. anyway went through his phone found his hinge and sooooo much more I wish I never saw. My best friend is not who I thought he was, I built my life on shifting sands, I do not trust him anymore and I do not love him anymore. I hate so much how I have built my life around him. My boys lives.
I’m a fool. But I do wish I never picked his phone up. I would have loved to still be day dreaming about our business and our lives with our boys in our house.
It’s impossible now.
Ignorance might be bliss if the person stays in a bubble but once exposed to the outer world and different opinions and rational pushback, ignorance might just be ignorance.
It can be but that also depends on what is going on. Some of the lessons, I want to give back to Pandora’s box. Things like the news, I think it’s good informed but media tends to push the worst case scenario because that is what people interact with.
I thought this was the basis of the Adam and Eve in Eden. Taking a bite from the apple getting knowledge. It’s so why we protect children from too much information. The world is wonderful until you learn that it’s not.
As someone that used to be pretty ignorant and saw the world through rose colored glasses due to being pretty sheltered…. Yes it can be. But I think it’s why I am the way I am now… I am able to detach myself from all the shit in the world and live more authentically and intentionally in my own life without having the world weigh me down so much…. I really love that.
My adult son has moderate autism. He will never be able to hold a job, has no concept of money beyond “give this paper to receive this candy”. He can’t add into 2 digit numbers, has no concept of carrying the one. He will have me to care for him the rest of my life, for as long as I can. Then perhaps his sister, or a group home.
But every day is a happy day for him, completely free of any knowledge of mass shootings, politics, police brutality, global warming, wars, plagues, or anything going on in the world. Weary of these concerns, I sometimes envy him.
And I will utterly destroy anyone who tries to break his bubble of happiness.
It has to be. It’s been scientifically proven that the more intelligent a person, or thing, the more it’s able to understand it’s feelings. The more it understands it’s feelings, the more overwhelming they become. Being more intelligent inherently makes a person more self aware, as well as aware of others, and their awareness of him. (Now ‘it’s’ a ‘him’, he might become a ‘her’ later in this relaxed, rando-rant, for inclusion’s sake.) Awareness inevitably leads to countless other things who’s outcomes depend on emotional intelligence… As well as honor. Anyway, in conclusion, it must be bliss, as a relatively intelligent OCD, w severe impulse control disorder (among other things) and an acute affinity for stories and adventure, and making stories. To someone like me, ignorance sounds like it MUST be bliss. Yet, that implies the ignorant generally have little to nothing going on in their heads. Also, or, that their concerns, hopes, pain, ECT are less important, less urgent, neglecting any of them won’t make any difference whatsoever. That’s a slippery slope to dramatically stand atop. Every job is important at the end of the day, at the end of every regular, uneventful, boring day, anyway. Those big, important, or complicated jobs that the world depends upon being done successfully. All necessary functions met in proper methods, skillfully… Well, I guess I can tolerate some snobbery… Ok, I rambled, apologies.
Modern human society seems to overvalue intelligence and people with higher IQ are actually special needs. They reason and analyse too many situations and interactions and we can always find shady aspects in every human activity.
Knowing that every ingredient you buy is indirectly tied to harm to other humans is a burden to bear. Knowing that avocado trade is part of cartel income, every diary product is a result of taking away their calf and ranked as very harmful for cows, most of your clothes being produced by underage children and even western society is rich due to their very immoral means to achieve it.
People who are average or of lower intelligence are generally happier due to their inability to look beyond their own direct environment. Some people do not correlate the low prices on temu to child labour, they do not know about the uyghurs modern slavery and organ theft. They live in a more peaceful world as they cannot understand and do not read indepth journalistic investigations. Overall, people with higher intelligence are less content with their life due to their deeper understanding of how everything you interact with is indirectly responsible for harm to others.
Absolutely…
Let me give you just one example, I’m well off, I could be traveling and buying shit I want and probably don’t need but that would give me a moments pleasure left and right but I don’t, I don’t travel, I try to buy the least possible all because I fuckign know about overconsumption and global warming and how that lifestyle is in part responsible for it all…
Meanwhile I’ve got friends that make less but have carefree fun all the time doing things that are absolutely what we need to stop doing if we want to even limit global warming but they don’t give a crap because they don’t understand or know about the issue
I would not be happy with who I was if I could enjoy ignorance if anything. I want to know it all….my brain ain’t cowardly. Now there are things I’m not capable of knowing or understanding but I find the struggle towards getting closer to that knowledge is rewarding enough.
Ignorance is the lack of knowledge or awareness. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ignorance
If you do not know about something, you can not worry about it or be frustrated by it. In application, children do not know much, as they are still learning about the world, and thus are happy creatures. When humans get older they start adulting, which requires knowledge and awareness of things, and become curmudgeon cynics and skeptical. Some older humans choose to remain children in knowledge and awareness and thus are blissfully happier for it, but are a drain on society.
Ignorance can be blissful or harmful, depending on circumstances.
Being ignorant of bad, worrisome things that are unlikely to personally harm you is probably OK-ish, in that your lack of knowledge should not have a bad impact upon your life. And in fact, such strategic ignorance may make you a happier person!
However, being ignorant of things that may in reality cause you harm is not such a great idea. “I had absolutely no idea that smoking cigarettes could lead to lung cancer! Who knew??”. “I had no idea that the Big Beautiful Bill would cause me to lose my medicaid coverage!! I didn’t vote for this!!!”.