2007-09-30 04:38:29 · 33 answers · asked by cajungirl_2004 4 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
John B & judy2...I really like what you guys said =)
Thanks to everyone who answered =)
2007-09-30 04:56:42 · update #1
Thinking that you know that anything is certain. Someone believing that the big bang is certain would be ignorant. It's not certain. A highly plausible theory, but not certain. Someone who believes that a god is certain would likewise be ignorant. Intelligence comes from the realization that we really know little if anything and have much to learn.
2007-09-30 04:47:15 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
That's not really a very good question. 'Ignorance' is merely a 'lack of knowledge'. EVERYBODY starts out 'ignorant'... a blank slate.
What is important, really, is the ability to ascertain what qualifies as 'knowledge', and what does not. First and foremost, it is necessary to realize that all knowledge is 'provisional'... it is subject to change. There is no way that we can establish that what we 'know' is actually congruent with 'objective (fundamental) reality'... we don't even know what objective reality IS.
(Of course, I am nt talking about 'trivial' knowledge here... like "Gilligan's Island comes on at 7:00 PM", or "my dog's name is Arglebargle." I am referring to knowledge pertaining to existence and reality, and the way the world [the universe] works.)
One important consideration is 'intellectual honesty'... the willingness to question and doubt one's own presumptions. Another is 'openmindedness'... the intellectually-honest willingness to consider alternative possibilities.
One thing to watch out for is the ILLUSION of knowledge... i.e., 'belief'... a.k.a. 'self-delusion'. People feel funny when they are faced with something important that they cannot explain... questions like where do we come from?... what holds the sky up?... why is there thunder and lightening?... why do things grow?... what are all them little-tiny lights up there in the sky?... why do people get sick, and die? So, in the past... before people had any way to really figure these kinds of things out for themselves, their only recourse was to 'invent' answers. That's where the idea for 'gods' came from... if you encountered something you could not understand, make up an answer based on the 'supernatiral', and accept it as a matter of 'faith'. The 'god' answer had a big advantage, because it provided a convenient answer for EVERYTHING that nobody could understand.
Somewhere along the line, some people figured out that they could make a living at this. Thunder and lightning... god is angry... make sacrifice. People would bring food to the temple, the priest wold wave his arms and chant something... and then he'd get a free meal, without having to work for it.
Today, we know better. We know why there is thunder and lightening. We know that the sky is not a 'thing' which needs to be held up. We know that it is viruses, bacteria and genetic defects that make people sick... not 'evil spirits', or 'demons'. We know why things grow. We know that all of those little-tiny lights up there in the sky are not tiny at all... they are HUGE... and very far away.
Yet today, these priests and shamans STILL exist... duping and fleecing the gullible. We KNOW how our planet was formed, and how it 'evolved' with the life upon it.... yet there are millions of people who have beed duped and deciieved by modern-day witch-doctors to believe the fairy-tale that it was done in a few days by an invisible, magical sky-fairy.
That is 'willful ignorance'... and it is inexcuseable.
I have just taken a look at all of the other answers, and I am amazed at the number of people who answered... MOST of them, in fact... who have absolutely no idea what 'ignorant' means. OK... this 'lack of knowledge' is something that could easily be cured by a 30-second visit with a dictionary. All of these people who don't know the definition of 'ignorant' are... guess what?... IGNORANT. The fact that they don't even KNOW that they are 'ignorant' of this little bit of knowledge means that they are ALSO... guess that?... yeah... 'stupid'.
2007-09-30 05:25:01 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
According to Google Definitions:
Ignorant
-uneducated in general; lacking knowledge or sophistication
-uneducated in the fundamentals of a given art or branch of learning; lacking knowledge of a specific field
- unaware because of a lack of relevant information or knowledge
Someone who fits these criteria can be considered an ignorant person.
2007-09-30 05:46:53 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Ignorance is often confused with lack of intelligence. Ignorance is just lack of information. For example a child can be really intelligent but just ignorant of the ways of the world.
2007-09-30 04:41:42 · answer #4 · answered by megalomaniac 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
People always mix up the word ignorant with the definition of "rude," when it reality it means having a lack of knowledge. So I guess what makes one ignorant would be their lack of an education or lack of common sense.
2007-09-30 04:45:16 · answer #5 · answered by Kaylee 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
the only thing that makes you ignorant is not knowing. we therefore are all ignorant in one sense or another. this is where we each begin, we choose to remain ignorant or open ourselves up to learning new things. for instance at 51 yrs old i could choose to stop listening to new music and miss the creative expression of young people. but instead i choose to continue to open my mind and listen to what's out there. i do this with spirituality, politics, and differing cultures
never too old to learn!!!! great question ! peace 2 u
2007-09-30 04:52:27 · answer #6 · answered by judy2 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
In my eyes it is when someone is oblivious and unswayed by someones elses opinions or feelings. That person will always know best...
I also feel ignorance is very close to arrogance.
Sadly there are too many ignorant people around these days.
2007-09-30 04:42:43 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
If you don't know 1+1 you are ignorant on the subject of math
If you don't know how to spell DOG you are ignorant with your English.
2007-09-30 04:41:27 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
lack of knowledge about the given topic. you can have brilliant scholars that are ignorant to things they have no interest in.
i.e. great in all thing literature
knows nothing about math.
2007-09-30 04:41:55 · answer #9 · answered by Brian 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Some of us just have the beauty and the brains and some of the others just don't. It's God's little plan to separate the wheat and the chaff.
2007-09-30 04:41:31 · answer #10 · answered by Ask Donna 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋