Summary on ignorance
Topic: Ignorance
by Michael, 2018 Cohort
Note: This entry was created in 2018, when the task was to “summarise a key reading”, and so may not represent a good example to model current primer entries on.
Introduction#
Ignorance is something we deal with in our day to day lives and can never escape. We try reducing the gap of ignorance to overcome complex problems but this doesn’t mean ignorance is necessarily a bad thing. (Caplan 2001) This primer will explore these ideas by explaining ignorance in terms of the four main categories, why ignorance comes about, what effect it has and how we can stop it.
Types of Ignorance:#
Smithson suggests the most common varieties of ignorance are:
- Non-knowledge Ignorance that can be eradicated or overcome. For example, a birthday party surprise, we are ignorant of the surprise until we discover and thus overcome it.
- Negative knowledge Ignorance that we cannot know or do not want to know. For example, what happens after we die.
- Selective ignorance Where only some knowledge is divested to us. For example, a Fox News report that talks about growing employment in the US but fails to mention a reduction in full time jobs.
- Rational ignorance Where someone elects to remain ignorant. For example, a compromising story about someones chosen political candidate is released but they choose not to read it.
Reasons#
There are many reasons that we may become ignorant, such as:
- A lack of instant gratification causing us to lose interest in learning more about an issue. (Caplan 2001)
- Believing in a certain ideology that causes us to ignore scientific truths. (McIntyre 2015)
- Believing that we are not ignorant on a topic and refusing to believe otherwise, thus becoming more ignorant. (Kruger & Dunning 1999)
- Inaccessibility to education in order us to learn more truths. (Wikipedia 2018) Uses:
Ordinarily we view ignorance as an obstacle to be overcome but it does have its uses. These are primarily to help maintain privilege, reinforce stereotypes and traditional values, and motivating effort in the face of the unknown. It also helps underpin social capital. We choose ignorance for privacy concerns or virtuous behavior to benefit us in society. An example we commonly see of ignorance could be a cigarette company lobbying the government to alter or prevent information coming out to the public about the potential dangers of smoking to help increase their profits. (Smithson 2015)
Unmaking Ignorance#
For the most part humanity strives to discover. By doing this we can help better ourselves and become more efficient. This may be as simple as discovering a new solar system or realising a governments system of oppression to keep their citizens in check. For conscious ignorance, for when we are aware of a problem but are limited from how to fix it, it can be unmasked by someone who has the privilege of knowing the answer. This could be someone in a position of power. Unconscious ignorance, for when there is a problem we are unaware of, must be brought to conscious awareness, such as an asteroid headed to earth that we are not aware of until a telescope detects it. (Smithson 2015)
Conclusion#
Ignorance will forever be at the heart of complexity. When we desire ignorance, it in-turn undermines our ability to find answers and to discuss with those who found those answers. Therefore, all issues of complexity are problems of complexity. However, this is not necessarily a bad thing. As Mark Twain once said, ‘All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then success is sure. (BarinyQuote 2018)
References:#
- BrainyQuote. (2018). Mark Twain Quotes. [online] Available at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/mark_twain_125616 [Accessed 16 Mar. 2018].
- Caplan, B. (2001). Rational Ignorance versus Rational Irrationality. Kyklos, 54(1), pp.3-26.
- En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Ignorance. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignorance#cite_ref-4 [Accessed 16 Mar. 2018].
- Kruger, J. and Dunning, D. (1999). Unskilled and unaware of it: How difficulties in recognizing one’s own incompetence lead to inflated self-assessments. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77(6), pp.1121-1134.
- McIntyre, L. (2015). The Attack on Truth. [online] The Chronicle of Higher Education. Available at: https://www.chronicle.com/article/The-Attack-on-Truth/230631 [Accessed 17 Mar. 2018].
- Smithson, M. (2015). Routledge International Handbook of Ignorance Studies. 1st ed. New York: ROUTLEDGE, pp.385-407.
Disclaimer#
This content has been contributed by a student as part of a learning activity.
If there are inaccuracies, or opportunities for significant improvement on this topic, feedback is welcome on how to improve the resource.
You can improve articles on this topic as a student in "Unravelling Complexity", or by including the amendments in an email to: Chris.Browne@anu.edu.au