Whether or not ignorance is bliss will depend upon a number of factors? Firstly the definition of ignorance is lack of knowledge. If you are about to walk into an exam room this is definitely not a state of bliss. It can refer to choosing to be ignorant of something, as when one partner in a marriage ignores signs that the other has embarked upon a relationship with a third party. They convince themselves that all is well. They have no real proof that it isn’t, but the facts are there and they nag at the back of their minds. There is certainly no bliss in such a position.
If however you have tucked your skirt into your panties or, in the case of males, failed to tuck everything away after a visit to the bathroom, as long as no one tells you will be quite happy, but the embarrassment when you discover the truth makes up for the peace of ignorance.
Yet as the song by Living Colour says :-‘You see…Ignorance is bliss. Problem solved with just one kiss’ The same writer goes on to say ‘Ignorance is no excuse’ – the reference is to crime. Ignorance of the law is not a valid reason in court – They’ll still hang you, as they used to say. So in legal terms ignorance isn’t bliss.
There will be occasions when it is better not to know something perhaps – the bad news that is put off for a while. But then there are other occasions, such as when you see a bargain in the sales and ignore the fact that it was created by children working in a sweatshop. This though isn’t true ignorance – it is in the papers, it soon the news such as the 2007 report about children in Thai sweat shops from Mark Osborn of Ethical Threads – but the dress or trainers or whatever look really good and the price is amazing, so its convenient to be ignorant. That however does not make it right.
References
- Osborn, M.( 16th June 2007) Children in Thai sweatshops, Ethical threads,, retrieved 19th December 2008 from http://www.nosweat.org.uk/story/2007/06/16/children-thai-sweatshops
- Living Colour, Lyrics ‘Ignorance is bliss’, Retrieved 19th December 2008 from
- http://64.233.183.132/search?q=cache:http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/l/living_colour/ignorance_is_bliss.html&hl=en&strip=1
