Is ignorance bliss?

Photo by Joshua Woroniecki (Unsplash)

Sometimes not knowing or straight out ignoring certain situations can mean bliss, but in other situations, it can be considered to be ignorant and rude. However, my question is when is ignorance bliss and when it is not? This phrase creates an interesting dilemma. There are as always two sides to every story and just like everything in life, it is dependent on the situation. In this article I want to discuss when ignoring is good and blissful and in which situation it is bad and wretched. Of course, this is just my opinion and there may be someone who will disagree with me.

Before I dive into that rabbit hole, one should probably first understand what is meant by it. We constantly hear the simple phrase “ignorance is bliss” and to my surprise, the phrase actually has a definition. I just did not know that the phrase needs a definition since it seems self-explanatory. The simple phrase has a simple definition just saying that “if one is unaware of an unpleasant fact or situation one cannot be troubled by it.” In my opinion, that definition hits the spot perfectly.

I also want to know if ignorance is the same as not knowing. There are many antonyms for knowing. For example stupid, unaware, unintelligent, dull, lazy, poor, slow, unskilled, inexperienced, etc… One of the antonyms for knowing is also ignorant. Does this mean that anyone who does not know is ignorant? To answer that question, I believe that it would be best to know the definition of ignorant first. Ignorant has many definitions. The first definition would be “lack of knowledge, training or information”. The second definition would be “uninformed”. There is more to ignorance than what meets the eye.

What definition applies is dependent on the situation. The question would be if someone is actively or passively ignoring? If someone is actively ignoring or does not want to learn then the first definition would apply. However, there are also a few instances where a person could passively be ignorant. For example, they did not know that the topic exists therefore they may come across as ignorant. This is where the second definition comes into play. The line between the first definition and second definition is blurry to say the least. Nevertheless, I can say for sure that not knowing does not always mean that someone is being ignorant they could just be left in the dark. As mentioned above not knowing have many synonyms and ignorant is just one of them. Maybe one should use the antonyms of knowing according to the situations and not randomly.

Now that I have the more factual aspects out of the way, I want to quickly explain why I decided to write this article in the first place. This is a question that bugged me for a long time and the reason why I asked that question is a bit personal. As a person, I like to know everything for multiple reasons. First, you can come across as an educated person and people generally take you more seriously if you are educated given the right circumstances. The second reason is thanks to my trust issues since when you know a lot then you have a lot of information you could exploit just in case things go south. The third reason is that knowledge just sates my curiosity and boredom. There are many more reasons why I like to know about everything but those are just the top three reasons. In all honesty, I still don´t feel as if I know enough and I probably never will know enough since there is always more but that is beside the point. The point is that I like to be informed and some others don´t seem to mind that much that they are not informed. Not only that but I have noticed how carefree and happy those people seem. In comparison, I am constantly worrying about something or thinking about another thing. Maybe it is just my mindset or how I was raised.

As a person who loves to know a lot. I always considered not knowing or straight out ignoring a certain topic as a bad thing. My thoughts always revolve around how bad some things are in reality and how people should pay attention instead of ignoring them. I am just a bit annoyed that some people don´t even know and just ignore the basics and the observable. It is frustrating to spend time explaining something that they are supposed to know or they could see. In that time, we may not have solved world hunger but we could have used it for something else, something more productive.

However, instead of constantly being annoyed and frustrated by other people´s ignorance, I took a step back. My frustrations were eating me up from the inside and that is just contra-productive. Being frustrated is time and energy wasted on something essentially meaningless. There are just more things out there in the world that are more important and worth the time.

As much as I hate to admit it, I care about what happens, not only for personal gain. That curiosity and care is sometimes slowly killing me from the inside. And that just got me wondering whether ignorance is bliss or not. On the one hand, I don´t want to give the impression that I do not care or do not know because I do care and I am not that stupid. On the other hand, my mental health is suffering significantly. Overthinking became a habit and constantly questioning things just seems normal. Sometimes I have to ask myself if it is even worth it to know about some things?

When you know about a topic, it´s great that you are informed. However, you may also informed enough to know that you can´t do anything to prevent it from happening. Is it at the end of the day worth knowing? Probably not, but once you know, you can´t forget that easily. The bliss can disappear quicker than one thinks.

I started to wonder what the reasons are that people ignore certain aspects. If we take the definition of that phrase, we understand that if one is unaware then one cannot be troubled. “Ignorance is bliss” is just such an enticing phrase. Not having to care at all, just sounds like a dream come true. Some other people ignore it because of their mental state. Maybe some are ignoring to not fall deeper into the never-ending rabbit hole consisting of doubt and misery. Some are just not told the whole truth whether they like it or not since it is supposed to help them in some way. There is just no saying if people are ignorant for a reason or just are not aware that they are being ignorant in the first place.

However, there are also the people who are ignorant for all the wrong. They know that the problem exists and have the power to make a change but instead, they are finding excuses not to help. And that is when ignorance should not bliss. Honestly, that is the situation where ignorance is not bliss, no questions asked. The other situations can still be debated but this one is not for debate.

I know it is hard to read about a topic without an example, so… This is an example tons of doctors have to deal with. I am sure that doctors are already prepared for these kinds of situations so that they have the ideal response. However, one never asks how much thought goes into this. For example, the doctor’s patient only have a year left to live. Should the doctor tell their patient? The patient has a right to know, right? However, does the patient want to now? The doctors can´t just tell their patient and erase their memory later in case the patient does not want to know. On the one hand, the patient should know and make their life worth living. The patient could make arrangements to make their passing go as smoothly as possible. However, the patient could also start dwelling on it and waste the precious time they have left. On the other hand, the patient should not know to make their present life more pleasant and put their mind at ease. Their passing would come as a surprise to most people and the relatives have to scramble with the arrangements. Then again, the patient could be at ease and still waste that precious time they have left. Full disclosure, I do not know how doctors would respond to these kinds of situations but I am curious.

It is a dilemma. This is a hard choice. However, no matter what the doctor tells the patient, it is up to the patient what they do with that information. If the doctor does tell their patient, they may have a bad feeling in their gut since being the bearer of the bad news is never fun. There may also be a persistent feeling that they just ruined their patient’s life since the patient might react emotionally to the bad news. Whether the patient reacts with sorrow, fear or anger is dependent on the patient and that is something completely normal. The doctor can´t control the reactions and they should not. The happiness of the patient is not that dependent on the bad news the doctor gives, but it is dependent on what the patient decides to do with that piece of bad news. It is out of the doctor’s hands what the patient does. The patient could be grateful for receiving the bad news since they now know they have to make the most of their time and prepare people they love for that unfortunate eventuality. Alternatively, they could do the opposite. There is no way of saying.

Then there are not so morbid situations. Throughout my life, I have received tons of presents from my friends and family on every occasion. I am grateful for all these presents but I was always curious about the price tag. I am fully aware that one should never check the price tag but my curiosity got the best of me. Once, I saw how much a present cost, my excitement died quickly. On the one hand, I am honoured that people will get me these kinds of presents. On the other hand, with that present, I probably could not have ended poverty but it could have improved someone else´s life at least by a little bit. Don´t get me wrong, I use every one of those gifts regularly but after knowing about the resources put into the present just gives me a bad feeling. I am still not sure if I rather not know or know how much the present cost or what resources goes into the production. Nevertheless, one thing is for sure, now I appreciate the person who gave me the present more since they were willing to spend so much on me. Sometimes there is just an unworthy feeling deep inside me; it is great that people are willing to prove me wrong through not only generous presents but also simple gestures. It is simply fascinating how value is dependent on so many factors.

Of course, there are more examples and I provided a link to another article, so you can find out for yourself whether ignorance is bliss.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/how-do-life/201610/when-is-ignorance-bliss

With this article, I believe that I have proven that ignorance can be bliss but is also can be something else. There is no perfect way to go about situations when it comes to that statement. Ignorance is not always bliss. However, if you ever do find yourself in an “ignorance is bliss or not” situation where you have to tell a person some news, there are a few things you should keep in mind. First, there is no such thing as a perfect response. Then you could ask yourself if it harms the person more if you told them or not. Maybe it will calm you more if you think about the consequences. Writing it down makes your thoughts and ideas may help. Last but not least, how the person responds is out of your control and all you can do is help that person in any way you can. The advice can also help in situations where you have the choice between finding out or not.

Now the question that may remain is if ignorance will ever be bliss since ignorance can also be harmful. On one side, you will have the facts but you will also have a terrible gut feeling. On the other side, you live in a world free of worry and completely oblivious to the dangers looming in that world. I think this is a “would you rather” situation. Would you rather be an innocent child with no worries and no idea or would you rather be the adult who is always prepared but also constantly worried? There is no right or wrong and this is a decision you have to make constantly so you don´t have to choose only one. Maybe you could even find a way to balance the scales.