Ignorance is a boon and a bane!

IGNORANCE IS A BOON AND A BANE!

Cl. Mario D’Couto SDB

            As the oft repeated dictum goes, “Ignorance is bliss”, it would seem that ignorance is truly a positive phenomenon. Well, that is one side of the story. It also has its dark side. Let us now examine the good and the bad side of ignorance.

            The bad side of ignorance is that if ignorance were truly bliss then why is it that there is still poverty around? Philosophers like Nietzsche would speak about the “Superman”. The “Superman”, for Nietzsche, is the one who is able to make sense out of non-sense. This is closely tied up with Sartre’s idea of freedom of the will. As human beings, we constantly face a lot of choices and our lives depend on the kind of choices we make.

            I remember once when I was doing my Masters in Philosophy, one of my professors had remarked that Nietzsche’s contribution to the understanding of human nature was definitely something commendable and the reason for it is that unless we take responsibility for our lives, nothing is going to happen. In this regard, he was citing the example of the city of Bombay and other big cities in India. He asked the question, “Why is it that in the city of Bombay, the rich seem to be getting richer and the poor seem to be getting poorer?” The answer is simple. They don’t want to change! Of course this is not to deny that there are some who are genuinely from a troubled background, but yet, if we try to take a close look, if one walks in the “galis” (a Hindi word for a small narrow road) in the slums of Bombay, it is but natural to see youngsters just wasting their time on frivolous things. Of course, they cannot be blamed entirely. Perhaps they don’t have any good role models to look up to, no proper family upbringing and so on. But even then, that does not and should not stop a person from achieving his or her dreams. Besides, there have been many true “Rags to riches” stories where people have overcome all odds in order to achieve their goals. Hence to be overtly steeped in ignorance is like digging one’s own grave.

            On the other hand, ignorance can also be a positive phenomenon. Sometimes ignorance can act as a “tranquilizer”. It helps us not to be overtly worked up with the troubles of life. For example, if there are some people who are talking ill about another person; that person need not feel bad since if he or she truly believes that he or she is innocent and has done nothing wrong, then, the best would be is to ignore  

            The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step and the first step towards any solution to a problem begins with the awareness of the problem. Awareness solves half of the problem. It is like saying when a person goes to a doctor, the first thing that a doctor does is that he tries to diagnose the sickness. Diagnosis is the first step to the cure of any illness. Hence, we cannot afford to live with a “Frog in the Well” attitude if we really want to make a difference in our lives or else we can keep being ignorant till our last breath.


            Ignorance, therefore, has both, the positive as well as the negative side to it. I guess what we really need is to cultivate a sense of balance between either extremes for to tend too much in either direction would not be healthy.  

Popular posts from this blog

In the world yet not of the world

Image
  IN THE WORLD YET NOT OF THE WORLD MARIO D’COUTO           Being in the world and yet not of it is something that can be a struggle, at least for me and what I mean by that is in as much as we desire to be good and to do good, God is not going to put a glass jar over us and say that just because we choose to love Him and follow Him more closely, that He is going to shield us from the temptations of this world. To make things clear though, this is not to say that the world in itself is bad or evil nor are the things found in the world either but how we deal with it is what will make us or break us. We all have responsibilities and important things that need our attention. If we are not careful though, our hearts and minds can be consumed with the task of keeping them afloat. Rather than centering ourselves in Christ and letting the other elements of our lives take their rightful place around that center, we can end up shifting our attention fr...
Read more

The Gift of Life

  THE GIFT OF LIFE  Mario D’Couto  The above video may seem to put human existence in a rather pessimistic way as if to say that our lives did not really matter and while no doubt there is some element of truth in it, I still feel that if lived well, there is meaning and purpose to our lives and that none of our lives is some sort of haphazard creation.  As I celebrate my gift of life tomorrow, I suddenly began to think that if we compare ourselves to the vastness of the universe and everything else that exists in it, we may perhaps be nothing more than a tiny dot floating on the surface of the earth and yet in as much as such a thing may appear insignificant, the One who created everything chooses to have a personal relationship with that tiny dot, that is, ourselves. This is something truly uplifting, which gives meaning and purpose to our lives and our existence. At the same time, it is also a reminder for us to stay grounded especially in those moments when w...
Read more

Are you creative?

Image
  ARE YOU CREATIVE? Mario D’Couto                         Can you imagine a world without creativity? What would the world look like if there was no creativity? Well, for all we can expect, it would be pretty boring and dull. There would be no speech, no songs, no tools, no ideas such as love, freedom or democracy. It would be an existence so mechanical and impoverished that none of us would want to be a part of.             To achieve the kind of world we consider human, some people had to dare to break the thrall of tradition. Next, they had to find ways of recording those new ideas or procedures that improved on what went on before. Finally, they had to find ways of transmitting the new knowledge to the generation to come. Those who were involved in this process we call creative. What we call culture or those parts of our selves that we internalized from the social...
Read more