Ignorance is a lack of

knowledge Knowledge can be defined as awareness of facts or as practical skills, and may also refer to familiarity with objects or situations. Knowledge of facts, also called propositional knowledge, is often defined as true belief that is distin ...

and

understanding Understanding is a psychological process related to an abstract or physical object, such as a person, situation, or message whereby one is able to use concepts to model that object. Understanding is a relation between the knower and an object ...

. The word "ignorant" is an adjective that describes a person in the state of being unaware, or even

cognitive dissonance In the field of psychology, cognitive dissonance is the perception of contradictory information, and the mental toll of it. Relevant items of information include a person's actions, feelings, ideas, beliefs, values, and things in the environmen ...

and other cognitive relation, and can describe individuals who are unaware of important information or facts. Ignorance can appear in three different types: factual ignorance (absence of knowledge of some fact), object ignorance (unacquaintance with some object), and technical ignorance (absence of knowledge of how to do something).

Consequences

Ignorance can have negative effects on individuals and societies, but can also benefit them by creating within them the desire to know more. For example, ignorance within science opens the opportunity to seek knowledge and make discoveries by asking new questions. Though this can only take place if the individual possesses a curious mind. Studies suggest that adults with an adequate education who perform enriching and challenging jobs are happier, and more in control of their environment. The confidence that adults obtain through the sense of control that education provides allows those adults to go for more leadership positions and seek for power throughout their lives. In 1984, author

Thomas Pynchon Thomas Ruggles Pynchon Jr. ( , ; born May 8, 1937) is an American novelist noted for his dense and complex novels. His fiction and non-fiction writings encompass a vast array of subject matter, genres and themes, including history, music, scie ...

observed: Another effect of ignorance is characterized by the Dunning-Kruger effect, named after the scientists

David Dunning David Alan Dunning is an American social psychologist and professor of psychology at the University of Michigan. He is a retired professor of psychology at Cornell University. Education He received his BA from Michigan State University in 1982 ...

and

Justin Kruger Justin S. Kruger is an American social psychologist and professor at New York University Stern School of Business. Education Kruger received his BS in Psychology from Santa Clara University in 1993 (spending his junior year at Durham Univers ...

in 1999. This theory centralizes the behavior of subjects regarding their intellectual capabilities and social behaviors. The limited information or competence of people that possess the Dunning-Kruger translates into a feeling of intellectual superiority.

is the philosophical principle that human beings could be wrong about their beliefs, expectations, or their understanding of the world, and yet still be justified in holding their incorrect beliefs. * General Ignorance, the final round of the BBC quiz show '' QI'' (2003 onwards), which focuses on seemingly easy questions but whose obvious answers are wrong. **''

The Book of General Ignorance ''The Book of General Ignorance'' is the first in a series of books based on the final round in the intellectual British panel game '' QI'', written by series-creator John Lloyd and head-researcher John Mitchinson,

'' (2006), based on the BBC quiz show. The book aims to correct

common misconception Each entry on this list of common misconceptions is worded as a correction; the misconceptions themselves are implied rather than stated. These entries are concise summaries of the main subject articles, which can be consulted for more detail. ...

s. *

Hypocrisy Hypocrisy is the practice of engaging in the same behavior or activity for which one criticizes another or the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform. In moral psychology, it is the ...

* Ignorance Is Bliss *

Ignorance management Ignorance management is a knowledge management practice that addresses the concept of ignorance in organizations. Overview Logically, ignorance management is based upon the concept of ignorance. John Israilidis, Russell Lock, and Louise Cooke of L ...

, a

knowledge management Knowledge management (KM) is the collection of methods relating to creating, sharing, using and managing the knowledge and information of an organization. It refers to a multidisciplinary approach to achieve organisational objectives by making ...

practice that addresses the concept of ignorance in organizations *

Innocence 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 relatio ...

, a term sometimes used to indicate a naive lack of knowledge or understanding. *

Jahiliyyah The Age of Ignorance ( ar, / , " ignorance") is an Islamic concept referring to the period of time and state of affairs in Arabia before the advent of Islam in 610 CE. It is often translated as the "Age of Ignorance". The term ''jahiliyyah' ...

, Islamic concept for "ignorance of divine guidance". * Newspeak, the fictional language in the 1949 novel ''

Nineteen Eighty-Four ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' (also stylised as ''1984'') is a dystopian social science fiction novel and cautionary tale written by the English writer George Orwell. It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and fina ...

'', written by

George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalit ...

. A reduced language created by a totalitarian state as a tool to keep the population in a controlled state of ignorance, and Crimestop described as "protective stupidity". * Pluralistic Ignorance a situation in which a majority of group members privately reject a norm, but go along with it because they assume, incorrectly, that most others accept it. *

Rational ignorance Rational ignorance is refraining from acquiring knowledge when the supposed cost of educating oneself on an issue exceeds the expected potential benefit that the knowledge would provide. Ignorance about an issue is said to be "rational" when the ...

a voluntary state of ignorance that can occur when the cost of educating oneself on an issue exceeds the potential benefit that the knowledge would provide *

Sociology of scientific ignorance The sociology of scientific ignorance (SSI) is the study of ignorance in and of science. The most common way is to see ignorance as something relevant, rather than simply lack of knowledge. There are two distinct areas in which SSI is being stu ...

, the study of ignorance as something relevant.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Anti-intellectualism Barriers to critical thinking Concepts in epistemology

Consequences

See also

References

Further reading

External links