Prud'hon, Pierre Paul - Venus Bathing or Innocence - c

Innocence is a lack of guilt, with respect to any kind of crime, or wrongdoing. In a legal context, innocence is to the lack of legal guilt of an individual, with respect to a crime. In other contexts, it is a lack of experience.

In relation to knowledge

Innocence can imply lesser experience in either a relative view to social peers, or by an absolute comparison to a more common normative scale. In contrast to '' ignorance'', it is generally viewed as a positive term, connoting an optimistic view of the world, in particular one where the lack of knowledge stems from a lack of wrongdoing, whereas greater knowledge comes from doing wrong. Subjects such as crime and

sexuality Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied ...

may be especially considered. This connotation may be connected with a popular false etymology explaining "innocent" as meaning "not knowing" (Latin ''noscere'' (To know, learn)). The actual etymology is from general negation prefix ''in-'' and the Latin ''nocere'', "to harm". People who lack the mental capacity to understand the nature of their acts may be regarded as innocent regardless of their behavior. From this meaning comes the usage of ''innocent'' as a noun to refer to a child under the

age of reason The Age of reason, or the Enlightenment, was an intellectual and philosophical movement that dominated the world of ideas in Europe during the 17th to 19th centuries. Age of reason or Age of Reason may also refer to: * Age of reason (canon law), ...

, or a person, of any age, who is severely mentally disabled. Nonetheless, the word "innocence" is used to describe childhood innocence as a notion created and controlled by adults. As Jean-Jacques Rousseau describes 'childhood as a time of innocence' where children are 'not-knowing' and must reach the age of reason to become competent people in society. However, this is not the case anymore as technology advances, this has given children in the contemporary world a platform where they are referred to as 'digital natives', where they appear to be more knowledgeable in some areas than adults.

Pejorative meaning

In some cases, the term "innocence" has a pejorative meaning, where an assumed level of experience dictates common discourse or baseline qualifications for entry into another, different, social experience. Since experience is a prime factor in determining a person's

point of view Point of view or Points of View may refer to: Concept and technique * Point of view (philosophy), an attitude how one sees or thinks of something * Point of view (literature) or narrative mode, the perspective of the narrative voice; the pronou ...

, innocence is often also used to imply

naivety Naivety (also spelled naïvety), naiveness, or naïveté is the state of being naive. It refers to an apparent or actual lack of experience and sophistication, often describing a neglect of pragmatism in favor of moral idealism. A ''naïve'' may b ...

or lack of personal experience.

Symbolism

The lamb is a commonly used symbol of innocence's nature. In Christianity, for example, Jesus is referred to as the "Lamb of God", thus emphasizing his sinless nature. Other symbols of innocence include

child A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...

ren,

virgins Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus na ...

branches (especially in Freemasonry), non-sexual nudity, songbirds and the color white (biblical paintings and Hollywood films depict Jesus wearing a white tunic).

Loss of innocence

A "loss of innocence" is a common theme in

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...

pop culture Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * Pop (Gas al ...

, and

realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: *Classical Realism *Literary realism, a move ...

. It is often seen as an integral part of

coming of age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...

. It is usually thought of as an experience or period in a person's life that leads to a greater awareness of evil, pain and/or suffering in the world around them. Examples of this theme include songs like " American Pie", poetry like William Blake's collection Songs of Innocence and of Experience, novels like '' To Kill a Mockingbird'', '' The Catcher in the Rye'', ''

A Farewell to Arms ''A Farewell to Arms'' is a novel by American writer Ernest Hemingway, set during the Italian campaign of World War I. First published in 1929, it is a first-person account of an American, Frederic Henry, serving as a lieutenant () in the am ...

'', and '' Lord of the Flies'', and films like '' Viridiana'', '' The 400 Blows'', and '' Stand By Me''. By contrast, the ''I Ching'' urges a recovery of innocence - the name given to Hexagram 25 - and "encourages you to ''actively practice innocence''". Innocence could also be viewed as a Westernized view of childhood, and the "loss" of innocence is simply a social construction or viewed as the dominant ideology. Thinkers such as

Jean-Jaques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...

used the romanticism discourse as a way to separate children from adults. Ideas surrounding childhood and childhood innocence stems from this discourse.

In psychoanalysis

The psychoanalytic tradition is broadly divided between those (like

Fairbairn Fairbairn is a surname of Scottish origin which means "a handsome child." Notable people with the surname include: * Andrew Fairbairn (disambiguation), several people *Bill Fairbairn (born 1947), Canadian ice hockey player * Bruce Fairbairn (1949 ...

and Winnicott) who saw the child as initially innocent, but liable to lose its innocence under the impact of stress or

psychological trauma Psychological trauma, mental trauma or psychotrauma is an emotional response to a distressing event or series of events, such as accidents, rape, or natural disasters. Reactions such as psychological shock and psychological denial are typical. ...

; and those (like

Freud Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies explained as originating in conflicts in ...

and Klein) who see the child as ''developing'' innocence - maturing into it - as a result of surmounting the Oedipus complex and/or the depressive position. More eclectically,

Eric Berne Eric Berne (May 10, 1910 – July 15, 1970) was a Canadian-born psychiatrist who created the theory of transactional analysis as a way of explaining human behavior. Berne's theory of transactional analysis was based on the ideas of Freud but ...

saw the Child ego state, and its vocabulary, as reflecting three different possibilities: the cliches of conformity; the obscenities of revolt; and "the sweet phrases of charming innocence". In a rather different formulation,

Christopher Bollas Christopher Bollas (born 1943) is a British psychoanalyst and writer. He is a leading figure in contemporary psychoanalytic theory. Early life and education Bollas was born in the United States in Washington, DC. He grew up in Laguna Beach, Ca ...

used the term 'Violent Innocence' to describe a fixed and obdurate refusal to acknowledge the existence of an alternative viewpoint - something akin to what he calls "the fascist construction, the outcome is to empty the mind of all opposition".

Literary sidelights

*In '' The Golden Notebook'', a woman looks back in laughing envy at the innocence that had previously allowed her to submerge herself in the position of the 'woman-in-love'. * Ivy Compton-Burnett had one character conclude dourly of another two that "you are both of you innocent though it is an innocence rooted in your wishes for your own lives".I. Compton-Burnett, ''The Last and the First'' (1971) p. 142

References

{{Reflist Religious belief and doctrine Legal terminology Psychoanalytic theory