Most people value the spread of knowledge and perhaps think that increases in ideas will, in the long run, increase what we know. Maybe that is true, but in the short run at least it may be possible for ideas to actually encourage ignorance rather than knowledge.
I think it’s a useful perspective to think about how ignorance can actually be created, generated, or encouraged by particular ideas. It seems that sometimes an idea can both help to generate lots of knowledge growth and ignorance at the time.
-Karl Popper-
Intelligent design, for example, tends to do this with some people: by positing an unknown and unknowable, supernatural creator as responsible for life, it attempts to cut off further research and, therefore, the possibility of acquiring more knowledge.
Do you agree/disagree? What other ideas can you think of that may actually hinder the development of knowledge rather than help increase what we know?
Source: about.com
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I disagree on this one. Ignorance is lack of knowledge. And ideas...well, they could be productive. If this was "Imagination Encourages Ignorance" then I would agree with that. The whole Intelligent Design topic for me is like any other topic I choose to remain neutral on it. I don't consider neither side to be ignorant...because to be honest...that in itself would be an ignorant judgement to make.
but by stating that (which is true) you do take a stance on the ID debate........as there is no knowledge contained within the pro-ID side. Knowledge is based directly on facts. Facts are determined by physical evidence and recordable data. Intelligent design offers no facts or recordable data.......therefore no knowledge........therefore ignorance. The same can be applied to any religion and/or god.
I agree. There are certain ideas that can hinder knowledge and the pursuit of knowledge. most of these ideas come from the religious camps, where everything is a result of the particular supreme creators: "Daddy why did Grandma die?" "God decided it was her time, son" "But I thought it was cancer" "No, it was God, now go to bed."
The absence of all ideas is complete ignorance. Adding ideas to that absence can never *increase* the ignorance you have, though some ideas decrease ignorance very little or none at all.
Ignorance is ignoring proven facts and believing something. Like witches. They were just used as an excuse for bad things happening. Deep down they knew that witches were made up. Kind of a bad example BUT NONE THE LESS.
I agree. Ideas can be used to create the illusion that you are doing something for yourself even if you are not. Ideas can give ya the illusion of confort and knowlegde, even if you are completely ignorant. But some people just want to feel safe, they do not want to evolve.
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Re: Can Ideas Encourage Ignorance?
Without the gaining of an understanding as to our ignorance we would be unable to rectify said ignorance. In other words, ignorance is required before being capable of learning something new.
Now, if we are speaking of persistent ignorance being created by an idea, one has just to look at the religious impeding of scientific advance throughout history to acknowledge the assumption as holding some merit. It cannot be said that religious ideas in history have not had adherents that embraced the idea so fully that all other ideas became threatening and avoided by these same adherents.
some ideas (like Intelligent Design) in my opinion don't help people to gain a better understanding of the world around them, wether or not this can be called ignorance, I don't know.
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Aug 11th, 2006 03:25 PM
