Or would you absolutely always choose to know what was really going on?
2006-07-26 03:08:13 · 11 answers · asked by mdfalco71 6 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Philosophy
The expression "ignorance is bliss" was originally intended to mean the same thing as "what you don't know won't hurt you". For example, if you have been happily married for 50 years, never having known that your spouse cheated on you in year 4 of the marriage, then ignorance could be considered bliss, or what you don't know didn't hurt you.
On the other hand, if you take the expression literally, then the only time it could be true is if you have a profound wish to be ignorant and you are ignorant. I suppose then one could say, "I always wanted to be ignorant, I AM ignorant, therefor I'm blissfully ignorant.
smiles,
C. Briggs
2006-07-26 05:07:31 · answer #1 · answered by ceebriggs 2 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Yes and no. Yes in the fact that Ignorance is bliss when you make a choice and it effects people badly. For example, if I...threw a piece of garbage out the window, and a bird eats it and dies. Ignorance would be bliss in not knowing the bird died (that and a bunch of little children would cry!) But, no because ignorance cannot save you from everything. It merely...procrastinates. For example, if you have someone close to you who isn't honest with you and backstabs you without your knowing...then ignorance obviously cannot help you there. It is better to know things like that, then to have it all blow up in your face later in life.
2006-07-26 04:31:56 · answer #2 · answered by Kat 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm torn between twon answers:
1. YES, ignorance is bliss for the ignorant, which are those who would never truly understand "what is really going on", if it was handed to them on a silver platter.
or...
2. YES, ignorance is bliss and the only ones who can truly achieve this bliss are those who figured out that NO ONE can ever really know what is "really going on", so they have given up trying to figure it out.
I think it's a little of both.
2006-07-26 04:17:14 · answer #3 · answered by ? 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Some people travel through life never knowing what is going on in their life or who or what is responsible for what is happening in their life. Is this bliss or ignorance? There is a Law of the Universe that works in our lives, whether we are ignorant of it or not. It can be the servant of Mankind or the Taskmaster. Bliss is never ignorance. Bliss is achieved through ones own knowings of ones own life and what is going on around you! There are many kinds of bliss, and ignorance is just that, plain ignorance, you might add stupidity as well as lack of intelligence. We might say bliss is coming to a realization of something important on not only a physical level but a Spiritual Level as well!
2006-07-26 03:27:18 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yep.
Of course ignorance can be bliss. And I certainly wouldn't **always** choose to know what is really going on with regard to a great many issues.
In fact, there are some things I flatly refuse to know about...
2006-07-26 03:16:26 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
To me, no, ignorance is not a bliss. I always thought I had true and honest friends and I recently found out otherwise. Yes, I was happier when I trusted them but, I think it is best for me to know the truth about them and to know who I do and do not want to hang around with.
2006-07-26 03:13:15 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sure. It's nice to live in the fantasy where things are beautiful and nice and not see the reality of corruption and warfare.
A common example for me is cigarettes. Before I stopped smoking, cigarettes were like heaven to me. I was never ignorant to their harmful effects, but it was easy to not think about the harm they were causing me by focusing on the pleasure they provided.
2006-07-26 04:07:18 · answer #7 · answered by guitar4peace 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Only relatively. In Reality, bliss is achieved only with full enlightenment.... and this comes shortly after coming to know that everything that is important to know wasn't.
2006-07-26 03:58:52 · answer #8 · answered by docjp 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't know, but I can think of some examples.
What exactly is in Oscar Meyer hot dogs?
What exactly is in McDonald's meat patties?
What exactly is in our drinking water?
What kind of pesticides are on our food?
How much rat poop is allowed in pepper?
Did your husband\wife ever cheat on you?
Did your actions ever cause someone grievous harm?
How close are we to nuclear annihilation?
How many babies are aborted every year?
How many people are deliberately killed in hospitals each year?
What will be the effect of genetic manipulation in the food chain?
What happened to all the butterflies?
What will happen this fall on "Boston Legal"? "House"?
When will Jesus come back?
Who loved me and I didn't know about it?
Whose life could I have changed for the better and didn't?
Whose life did I harm by my carelessness?
Whose life did I harm by my thoughtlessness?
Who did I deliberately hurt and how did it affect their life?
How will I die?
Those are some of things I'd rather not know, so ignorance can be bliss.i
2006-07-26 03:31:58 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
not all the time. its contextual i guess...
no knowing of something that might really harm you can make you feel better but at the same time not knowing the full story can kill you. so it is a question that requires one to think further and ask questions on perspective.
2006-07-26 05:47:25 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋