Ignorance Is A Bliss or Illness: Argumentative Essay

“We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid.” “Where ignorance is bliss, ‘tis folly to be wise.” Last year, I was handed these two quotes on a piece of paper and asked my opinion about two phrases. The first quote is from Benjamin Franklin who was a famous American polymath and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States while the second quote is from the beautiful poem of Thomas Gray titled ‘Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College’. The main goal of this exercise was to understand how the choice of words directly affects our perception of the message. Clearly, in the first sentence, the word choice is blander and gives a less descriptive view that staying ignorant is almost as difficult as being informed. The second is a much more emotionally charger sentences where Thomas Gray was waxing philosophical about a time when he was able to be ignorant in his childhood. By no means Thomas Gray was encouraged to be ignorant, rather was making a point that children know less as compared to adults and therefore, they have the privilege to enjoy their days without the “weight of the world” on their shoulders. So, while ignorance isn’t bliss exactly, it sure makes one’s days lighter and more carefree. This was definitely an effective example and made me realize the importance of choice of words.

I started wondering what the connections that went along with these words and shaped my understanding could possibly incite the same understanding for someone else who is reading these two phrases. These statements are a form of idiom, which means that these phrases are not meant to be taken literally. Similarly, to understand this question we must first clearly understand the statement, “Ignorance is Bliss”. Ignorance can be simply defined as a lack of knowledge or information(Lloyd and Mitchinson, 2009). Knowledge can be obtained through reason, perception, emotion or language. The question is will knowing more about something will lead to problems. The first question that comes to mind is that is it dangerous to be lacking in knowledge? Or is it something, a blessing in disguise. When I was six years old, I wanted to go to Disneyland and at that time I had no idea how much it cost. This was one of the main reasons that the trip I went with my family in 2012 was the best trip I ever had. If at that time I had known the cost associated with this trip, my enjoyment would have been compromised. As in the back of my mind, I would have been doing the calculations that how much money have I spent till now and what is the total budget of my trip.

At the same age, ignorance was bliss for me as I used to eat whatever I want and whenever I want without thinking about the total calories I was consuming per meal. This lack of knowledge helped me enjoy guilt-free delights throughout my childhood. Although the previous paragraph explains that ignorance is bliss, this statement does not always hold true. Jim Rohn who is a famous American entrepreneur, author and motivational speaker once quoted that “Ignorance is not bliss. Ignorance is poverty. Ignorance is devastation. Ignorance is a tragedy. And ignorance is an illness. It all stems from ignorance”. In young people the state of happiness requires fewer worries; naturally, ignoring becomes a habit. Such people adopt the mindset of “Don’t worry, Be happy”, therefore becoming insensitive to their surrounding. One such example of ignorance is devastations are drug addicts and abusers. As such people are not aware of the consequences of their actions, these people often end up destroying their life. Ignorance related to the outcome of such actions and its influence on their lives is the main reason for the tragedy. Speaking of tragedy there are certain incidents that are bound to happen and are beyond the control of humans. One such example is death, we are all human beings and will have to die one day. Everyone knows that, and it is the reality of everyone’s life.

No one can be immortal but is it necessary to realize all the time that we will die? Or exactly to know beforehand that when one’s life is getting over. Although life and death both are the harsh realities, of human existence and no one can choose to live forever or chase death. These are inevitable facts and one knows it somewhere in the back of their head but then when it’s someone’s birthday, they celebrate a year spent well and not a reduced year from your age. Because life isn’t a journey, it’s a celebration and death though inevitable, you don’t know exactly when it will come to you. So, the saying that ignorance is bliss is true when talking about things that are beyond the control of humans. If all of us knew how many years we were going to live, no one would have bothered to struggle and improve the quality of life(A Life After Death Experience – Elizabeth Jean Levy – Google Books, 2010). Ignorance is bliss in many situations as in the example given above, but many times, it can be fatal too. If you are in the habit of ignorantly judging anyone and anything based on their looks or mannerism, your bliss might be blissfully shaken. This argument can perfectly be backed up by countless examples for everyday life. In nature, there are millions of pretty looking creatures, who are the first instance to give you the feeling that they are completely harmless. But in actual they are poisonous and can kill humans. One such example is of dart frog, although these species of frog are tiny as compared to bigger size frog and have attractive color.

These frogs are known to have enough poison to kill ten grown men. Similarly, there are a variety of plants like Fiendish Flora, Monkshood, etc. that are poisonous and humans need to stay away. So, if humans are ignorant of such threats, the result can be fatal. Humans need to have the required knowledge which can help them prevent contact with such troubles. There is a famous saying that “Prevention is better than cure” which is true as it’s easier to stop something happening in the first place than to repair the damage after it has happened. Indeed, there’s certainly no lack of ignorance in the world, on just about every subject, issue and topic one could name that are directly or indirectly impacting their lives. The truth is that ignorance in itself is somewhat understandable. The pace at which our ancestors used to spend their life was completely different from what we are spending now. Working adults are not only responsible to earn the bread and butter for their family, but are also responsible to take care of their children. So, it is next to impossible for them to gain knowledge about all the aspects of life. On the other hand, the evolution of technology has made it easier for humans to gain knowledge. This means that the total amount of time and effort required to gain the required knowledge has reduced considerably. Today’s learners have access to relevant, mobile, self-paced, and personalized content. This need is fulfilled with the online mode of learning; people can learn at their own comfort and requirement.

Under such a scenario it is hard to understand the stubborn part of ignorance. There are people who are proud to be ignorant and have dug their heels deep into their ignorance is bliss philosophy. There are the people who under all the circumstances defend their point of and no matter how many facts you will present in front of them, they will remain unmoved. Which is completely wrong, as even the bible says that “the truth will set you free”, so why on earth do people prefer to remain ignorant. Stubborn ignorance goes even beyond the simple failure to recognize the gaps in knowledge. It is a deliberate effort of people to deny or dismiss the better information available to them. Such people are satisfied with remaining ignorant. Unfortunately, the distance between ignorance and mastery is usually fairly long. People are afraid of asking questions as they are afraid of the perception other people will create about them being ignorant. Ultimately, people prefer to remain in their comfort zone of ignorance which is wrong. The following quote by Martin Lurther King Jr best describes how ignorance should be taken: “Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity”.

References

1. A Life After Death Experience – Elizabeth Jean Levy – Google Books (2010). Available at: https://books.google.com.pk/books?id=l7IAQ9Gcdo4C&pg=PA181&dq=death+universal+realty&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj-
2. Lloyd, J. and Mitchinson, J. (2009) If ignorance is bliss, why aren’t there more happy people? : smart quotes for adumb times. Harmony Books.