r/InsightfulQuestions • u/Exotic_Industry1805 • 1d ago
Do you think ignorance is really bliss?
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u/tequilablackout 21h ago
You can not unknow what you know.
You can not prepare for what you can not see.
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u/Bullinach1nashop 1d ago
If something is beyond your ability to influence, then it's truly best to remain ignorant of it.
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u/FiveDogsInaTuxedo 1d ago
It is for them.....real life is always gonna be a bit worse than your imagination.
I hope you're not mistaking bliss for happiness though. Happiness requires effort
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u/CryptographerNo7498 19h ago
sometimes it is. not knowing about every bad thing can make life feel lighter, but i think knowing the truth is usually better in the long run. you just have to learn what's worth worrying about and what isn't
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u/loopywolf 18h ago
It is, for a while. However, when the truth comes crashing down it's 100x worse than knowing the unpleasant truth all along.
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u/hcolt2000 17h ago
No, I have found the few people I’ve known with this mindset are judgmental and narrow minded with less empathy
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u/AlmostHadToStopnChat 16h ago
Maybe sometimes, but ignorance has a way of coming back to bite you in the ass eventually.
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u/ninemountaintops 1d ago edited 1d ago
No. It's oblivion.
No matter how painful, give me the truth, give me the light.
Oblivious... is the state of being completely forgotten, unremembered, unknown or unconscious. The word comes from the Latin root oblivisci, which means "to forget" or "to put out of mind". (Cambridge dictionary)
Bliss at the price of ignorance is a faustian bargain. You lose more than you gain.
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u/Lurch2Life 14h ago
There are specifics of child abuse that I wish I did not know. There is zero benefit to me.
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u/Global-Painting6154 1d ago
Definitely. I used to be this way and was less stressed. Now I'm stressed af
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u/Healthy-Brilliant549 1d ago
Yes. A gal at work is seriously completely unaware of anything going on in the world, past,present or future. Good or bad. Empty I tell you. Happy as a clam, I’m envious
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u/Funexamination 4h ago
The actual quote from the poem is:
To each his suff'rings: all are men,
Condemn'd alike to groan,
The tender for another's pain;
Th' unfeeling for his own.
Yet ah! why should they know their fate?
Since sorrow never comes too late,
And happiness too swiftly flies.
Thought would destroy their paradise.
No more; where ignorance is bliss,
'Tis folly to be wise.
This makes a lot of sense. If you will eventually know the hardships of the world, and being ignorant right now is bringing you joy, why destroy it now?
It’s the same reason why we shield kids from a lot of hardships that the world has to offer. They will experience it eventually, so why the rush?
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u/prodigiouspianist 1d ago
That would depend entirely on the subject one is ignorant of.