Ignorance In Brave New World

During the 1930s, the times of World War II and the Great Depression, Aldous Huxley wrote Brave New World. There were several issues going on in Huxley’s time that are still present in today's world . Huxley features some of these problems in his book, Brave New World. These problems include drug or medicine usage, women and gender inequality, and traditional marriage/homosexuality. Since this book was written during the times of the Great Depression and World War II, these factors also contributed to some of these issues. Since World War II and the Great Depression are over, these do not affect the problems today. Although some of these problems are still a problem in today's world and society, they are not as much of a problem as they were during Huxley's time.

Throughout the entire world there are issues with our societies brought upon by the lack of clear thinking and/or compassion. Many of these issues may not be problems necessarily but just topics discussed when the word “issue” is brought up. One can clearly compare our society to the society described in Aldous Huxley’s novel Brave New World. In this novel the society Huxley has created is meant to be a utopia, made up of a hierarchy known as the caste system. Social classes in both societies create issues due to the fact that everyone has always had different standings in society.

The “Learning to Read and Write” by Frederick Douglass, holds the same message that people are trapped in ignorance as Socrates tries to explain in “Allegory of the cave” by Plato. In the “Allegory of the Cave,” Socrates argues that the way people perceive the world around us and the way they lead our lives is actually not “truth.” Socrates describes people in a cave, their legs and necks are chained so that they cannot turn around. The only light is a fire burning behind them, and all prisoners can see is the shadows of the objects which appear on the walls. Socrates states, “The truth would be nothing but the shadows of the image” (Plato 480). Socrates then explains that if one of the prisoners is released and free to move and go out and discover the world, he cannot directly look at the light. His eyes would hurt. Socrates states, “At first, when any of them is liberated and compelled suddenly to stand up and turn his neck round and walk and look towards the light, he will suffer sharp pains” (Plato 480). He then describes how the freed prisoner needs to get accustomed to the world. He at first would prefer reflections rather than real objects. He eventually gets used to the new world and wants to tell his friends, but the people in the cave think of him as a pariah who should be removed from the society, to preserve its belief system. Socrates’s point is that people are averse to any kind of change, and so they would kill him.

Gerd Gigerenzer in “Deliberate Ignorance” distinguishes what this self-chosen defiance of knowledge means and what people feel when confining themselves to the situation. When someone willfully decides to remain ignorant even when the answer remains easily obtained, that person has decided to become deliberately ignorant. Gigerenzer understands how systematic ignorance can wreak havoc on large populations and impact people’s daily lives. This systematic production of ignorance deflects, covers up, and obscures facts. He stated a prime example of this “the tobacco industry’s efforts to keep people unaware of the evidence that smoking causes cancer” (Gigerenzer 1). In contrast deliberate ignorance involves a phenomenon where people choose not to have specified information.

Ignorance is like going through life with shut eyes, unaware and unfamiliar. It is like a foreboding, grey cloud, – the colour of ash and soot – hanging above and blanketing people’s vision. Alternatively, in the world, ignorance has become a fluent trait in the growing population where people live through their lives in ignorant bliss because they do not take time to consider reasoning beyond a normal perspective. Ignorance does not always necessarily refer to one’s knowledge in an academic sense, but more so is one’s understanding of their surroundings and the world. Ignorance often defines and influences choices and ethics, and frequently comes from inaccurate beliefs, lack of consciousness, and misleading information; it will be people’s

Since ancient times, knowledge and wisdom have continually developed and improved. As they develop throughout time, people feel enlightened and satisfied. However, there have been plenty of instances when ignorance was truly bliss. Even in the first chapter of Ecclesiastes in the Bible, it states that the same amount of grief can be found in the identical amount of wisdom, and more knowledge leads to more sorrow. It is a true fact that in moments of depression, no one willingly wishes to acknowledge his or her state of distress. However, is ignorance truly better than knowledge? Would one prefer to stay thoughtless? This greatly depends on the circumstance; some situations are better left unknown.

Knowledge is the beginning of wisdom. Knowledge is a gift from God. Knowledge is God, God is a someone, not a something. Full knowledge concerning God can’t be explained.

"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.", says Martin Luther King Jr. Truer words have never been spoken, for when ignorance is bliss, there is a steep price to pay. In The House of the Scorpion, Nancy Farmer creates a character named Matteo Alacrán, and for the first half of the book, he is ignorance personified. When Matt learns the truth about his identity, his bubble of bliss is shattered, but perhaps it was for his own good. The great poet Thomas Gray writes, "Where ignorance is bliss, / Tis' folly to be wise." Yes, ignorance is bliss, but it is just as much of a "folly" as wisdom.

Everyone has ignorance and it will always be present. It is a matter of how knowledge intervenes that judges the outcome. James Madison describes a similar aspect. He mentions knowledge as the power that relieves ignorance and allows people to be their own governors. In Fahrenheit 451, the character of Montag is a great example. He is once an ideal, ignorant citizen, but it all changes once he meets Clarisse, who unlocks a vault full of knowledge to him. Moreover, the crave for knowledge grows and Montag meets Faber who helps reveal the meaning of knowledge, allowing Montag to

Jamie Holmes’ article The Case for Teaching Ignorance links with our Honors Summer Assignment in multiple ways. She cites Stuart J. Firestein, the same man who introduced us to the idea of ignorance in his Ted Talk: The Pursuit of Ignorance, and they both came upon this concept when learning that their students were under the false impression that we knew everything we need to know because of the one thousand page textbook. In addition, she also puts an emphasis on the importance of “answers breeding questions” (Holmes 2). Throughout the summer assignment we focused on knowledge generating ignorance and questions, this article forces us to remember this concept and provides us with a new method to understand it. Holmes uses Michael Smithson’s metaphor of an island of knowledge (Holmes 2) to allow us to gain a new perspective on how knowledge and ignorance are connected. Because of this idea, I was able to further understand that it is questions that drive our desire to know more and “grow” the island and its shoreline.

In this passage, Zak reiterates the crucial nature of acceptance and the need to experience before judging. The road from ignorance to intolerance and then to terrorism is very much shorter than many may think. Ignorance can be easily used as a way to cause hate against others, as the victim of the propaganda would not know any better, however this can change. The injury of bigoted propaganda can be counteracted and healed by the very person it is affecting. Anybody can make the choice to change and become a survivor of the damaging impact of the indoctrination. Once free, one can do miraculous things. He or she could advocate and try to help those in the same predicament. They know what it is like to blindly discriminate, so they may dedicate

So, is ignorance bliss or is it better to be knowledgeable?    Ignorance can be bliss and is better than intelligence. Charlie is happier when he is ignorant. He does not know his friends are mean to him. As he states, “their really my friends and they like me.”

People think so differently, some of them are convinced to know everything when there are jailed in the paradigm of their ignorance. It means that they ignore what ignorant they are. They are blind on their weaknesses. To improve their level of intelligence, they should proceed by questioning, which will open their mind, clarify their thoughts, and will help them to properly identify how things should be seen. Without that proper identification, people can neither build any theorem, nor develop concepts and logical thoughts.

We as individuals have to constantly make decisions, as it is a part of life. We can choose a path of ignorance, since ignorance keeps us firmly rooted in our own world, in what we see and have seen. However,

Ignorance is a slavery tool that is widely used by slaveholders to administer acts of slavery. Initially, many individuals were made to believe that slavery was a natural occurrence. People believed that blacks did not have the capability of actively participating in their civil rights, and therefore should be owned by white community. In this narrative, the whites are depicted as individuals who access power and keep blacks from the time they are born till they die. Slaves are ignorant of important aspects in their lives, not because they like it, but are forced to be in this status. The ignorance that is enforced ensures that the slave children are deprived of the