Ignorance

[Specforces]

I'm interested in all the possible responses:

Is it immoral to be Passively Ignorant?

This means the person is not acting to avoid learning, he just spends his time on more menial tasks.

Is it immoral to be Consciously Ignorant?

This means the person actually abhors learning- he finds intelligence to be boring, and believes intelligent people are laughable snobs.

Is it immoral to be Accidentally Ignorant?

This person does not want to be ignorant, but his flawed logic always leads him to the wrong conclusions- that is, he just doesn't get it.

Is it immoral to be Decisively Ignorant?

This person has his mind made up and believes other opinions are intrinsically flawed and are indefensible, immoral, repulsive, have been refuted by someone else somehow, or are generally a waste of time. This man is ignorant not only of possibly correct alternatives- he ignores alternatives in general.

Is it a vice to be Ignorant?

Be careful what you answer- if do not believe this to be a vice because it's natural, it may turn out we don't have any vices at all.

Is it a Virtue to be Intelligent?

Same here.

Specforces

WSC

[IronMonk]

spec i think you should probly do some research into a guy named pyhrro. he considdered human perception to be so flawed that you could be truly sure of anything that you didnt purly think of. thus anything that acts apon your sences is inherantly flawed and theirfor unworthy to know.

ignorance is everywhere, ignorance is only immoral when intentional. and intelegence is a virtue. i say this simply because i do not believe in morals, but the world would be better off if people thought the same as me in this respect. there would definatly be less idiots.

[Anonymous]

To the first four questions: No. There are many times when the adage "Ignorance is bliss" is quite appropriate; I've been passively, accidentally, consciously, and decisively ignorant before and have no shame about it, nor do I think it's at all immoral to do it. As Iron Monk said, ignorance is all around us. We are all ignorant of lots of things and he who denies that fact is only prideful. So, if ignorance is immoral, that would make everyone immoral. That would contradict morality, which is basically a collection of widespread beliefs to which the majority adheres.
However, ignorance could lead people to do something immoral, but the fact that they did not actively seek knowledge specific to their immoral action does not make their ignorance immoral.

As for intelligence, I do not believe that it is a virtue. People without it can be extremely virtuous, while those with it can be horrible people. Virtue is judged by a person's character, which is independent of intelligence. I see virtues as things that I want everyone to have so that the world would be a better place (if everyone were virtuous), however, I don't think intelligence fits in with other virtues. Take the experiment in Brave New World about a society of (extremely intelligent) alphas. It completely failed without those of lower intelligence. I realize that that's science fiction, but I think the analogy could apply to a world where everyone had the "virtue" of intelligence.

...Let's see how many times I can type "immoral", "virtue", and "intelligence" in two paragraphs...

--Guido

http://andy.mikee385.com/

[GuidoHunter]

Since when does clicking "preview" log you out? Jeez....
Anyway, if you couldn't tell by my sig, that was me. I just wanted credit for my post...

--Guido

http://andy.mikee385.com/

[Omeganitros]

Intelligence is not a virtue.

[IronMonk]

ok omega why!

*sigh*

i believe that intelegence SHOULD be a virtue, and it is a a virtue to me. if all the people of the world were more intelegent then there would definatly be less problems.

[Omeganitros]

Depends on the type of intelligence.

I can be intelligent in knowing 50000 ways to kill a human being, just as much as I could be intelligent in knowing 50000 ways to bring world peace.

[Laharl]

This topic will be mostly about the arguing of the word, or the case, of ignorance.

Ignorance simply means the lack of a certain knowledge.

Those that embrace it are evil people, I believe. That is the only "true" ignorance. If someone simply lacks a knowledge that once uncovered and they LEARN the lesson to be learned, they are not ignorant.

[perfect_fat]

Passive ignorance is far from immoral. One of my favourite characters of all time is passively ignorant. Boxer the horse from 'Animal Farm.' He is told he needs to work hard for the sake of his people, and he works as hard as he can. You may aruge that his blind faith in Napoleon was Conscious ignorance, but Boxer truly did not know any better.

Conscious ignorance is often on the level with nationalism and religion. It is the strictest adherence to ones belief system based solely on second hand knowledge, and indoctrination. A refusal of any new ideas, regardless of their validity or benefit to mankind. Undying selfishness.

Accidentally ignorant brings to mind the neo-nazis. The accidental ignorance comes from a lack of knowledge, and refusal to accept wisdom from an opposing view point. Often attributed to a need for acceptance and lack of self-esteem.

Decisively ignorant is conscious ignorance for intellectuals. That's all that needs to be said.

Ignorance itself isn't a vice, but the comfort provided by a total understanding of the world, and of the intentions of our rulers. Comfort is a goal of nearly every human being. Ignorance brings stability, and calm to one's life and that is more addictive than heroin. Our culture of consumerism is slowly destroying our planet, yet we can not stop, because these modern "neccessities" such as running water and electricity are the only life we know. The awareness that everytime you turn on a light, or drive somewhere you are destroying the planet is an unsettling thought, hence ignorance saves us from our own conscious and reason.

I think intelligence is another curse. The ability to think outside the box and to examine yourself subjectively leads only to sorrow and disappointment.

[Anonymous]

this is very similar to a thread i had up here earlier.

"Is ignorance crime"

i think ignorance is when someone chooses not to know something. so it's always conscious but maybe not deliberate. so its when u do something to prevent yourself form knowing something.

"passive ignorance" i think is kinda a dumb...thing to say, because not knowing the name of some little boy's pet rat in south india, would be passive ignorance if such a thing existed.

ignorance: "i dont want to hear about it" or *acting in some irresponsible way resulting in the lack of neccessary knowledge.* and *not paying attention*

not ignorance: *walking in the dark and tripping over a box* you didnt know it was there...but its not your fault

i think there are 2 kinds of ignorance.

harmful ignorance: Joe is saying dont smoke at the gas station. You are busy lighting a cigarette, when u should be paying attention to joe.

harmless ignorance: someone wants to tell you about a darwin award where some guy was in a car with his girlfriend and they...but you say "...i'd rather not know"

judging whether choosing not to know something is going to be harmful or not is a life skill.

[Jam930]

ugh...that was me..

well i could

1. learn to type faster
2. request they make the idle time longer. at least for the critical thinking forum, because we're writing essays or whatever and need to think.

=/

[alainbryden]

I beleive intelligence is something a person devellops through introspection and an interest in various subjects with higher levels of thinking. Allthough a person can be born with a higher capacity for intelligence than other people, it is still the responsibility of the individual if he is ignorant or if he is aware of his various conditions. I do think it is a virtue to be intelligent because it displays a bravery in seeking out what one may not want to discover about life or the world.

[perfect_fat]

Originally Posted by Jam930

ugh...that was me..

well i could

1. learn to type faster
2. request they make the idle time longer. at least for the critical thinking forum, because we're writing essays or whatever and need to think.

=/

Or! You could type it out in notepad, then paste it into the reply box when you're finished.

[alainbryden]

or you could click [ ]remember me