Some people choose to disregard and avoid facts in addition to empirical evidence against better judgment, even though deep inside, they know they’re wrong. That’s what we call willful ignorance.
This strategy might work in the immediate present to reduce stress and anxiety, but will lead to problems down the road. That’s because the issues remain unresolved and will therefore continue to hinder your progress.
Let me explain why being willfully ignorant is bad in the long run.
Why willful ignorance leads to problems
One of the things that irks me the most about humans is when they intentionally bury their heads in the sand.
I don’t care all that much if someone is smart or not, knowledgeable or not, or even when they’re wrong about something but don’t realize it. If they’re incorrect about a subject but don’t recognize it, then that can at least be chalked up to plain ignorance or making an honest mistake. They just don’t know any better.
These variations in understanding are normal because these are naturally occurring differences in humans since even equality of opportunity will not bring equality of outcome. No matter how much some people want it to.
But intentional ignorance is another story. Because those folks realize they’re wrong, but are simply unwilling to admit it against better judgment. They’re aware of the fact that they should change something in their lives or behavior for the better, but just refuse to do so.
Actively deluding oneself
My problem with these actions stems from the fact that they’re actively deluding themselves (and often others) with lies, deceit, and excuses while rationalizing their poor behavior. They’re diluting the power that facts and honesty hold. Over time, the line between truth and lies gets blurry, and people become unable to see the world for what it truly is.
Conscious avoidance seems to me like an attempt to deal with a situation. However, I consider it to be a poor long-term coping mechanism because of its unsustainability.
While actively avoiding or repressing certain situations might be beneficial briefly by reducing stress and anxiety, this will ultimately only allow the issues to grow larger over time. Not to mention that those concerns tend to resurface again with an increased intensity and frequency later in life.
Will lead to problems in the future
Sooner or later, deliberate unawareness will cause problems in your existence. Be it through not being able to recognize what’s real anymore because you’ve been lying and making excuses for so long, or due to getting ill because you know you’ve been consciously misleading yourself.
Instead, you’re aware of the fact that you should’ve been acting with courage to modify the things you should alter to improve your existence.
Willful ignorance can lead to hate and prejudice
A large portion of hate and prejudice can be attributed to deliberate incompetence. Because they know what they’re doing is wrong and illogical, yet decide to do so anyway.
Plain ignorance can be chalked up to simply not knowing any better, but contrived ignorance is much worse since one deliberately chooses to ignore the truth.
It dilutes the truth
Furthermore, it dilutes and detracts from the truth.
It is not appropriate to live your life based on lies and like you’re stuck in a fairy tale. The reality is that life isn’t picture-perfect. It is enjoyable, but also painful and harsh. There are good times, but there are most certainly also difficult and agonizing periods. People die, we get sick, accidents happen, and war and violence are always a possibility.
So while there are certainly beautiful moments, it’s unreasonable to say that all experiences are equally optimistic.
Why do people turn to willful ignorance?
Out of laziness
Some people do so simply because they’re lazy. They’re not willing to put in the work to smarten up. To put in the time and effort to relentlessly chase after the truth, and to search for evidence and facts.
That’s why holding on to your beliefs without ever having to change them, or even think about altering them is such an attractive option to some of us.
Laziness can have some merit in conserving energy, especially in ancient times when food sources were scarce. Thus, so was our ability to acquire power. But being passive about becoming informed is not smart, and not a good survival mechanism either. It will not enhance your existence, nor will it be advantageous to your future self.
Afraid of being wrong
People can turn towards willful blindness because of an inability to admit one’s faults and weaknesses.
It takes courage to admit to ourselves and others that we are not perfect. That we are flawed as human beings.
We like to think of ourselves as the ideal representatives of humanity. Possessing all the right values, ethics, and actions to boot. This is our ego that’s talking. Our pride desperately tries to protect itself and will violently fight against everything that tries to change or attack it as a result.
Afraid of the unknown
Another potential reason could be that they’re afraid. Scared of the changes that living truthfully with themselves and those around them would produce. Frightened by all the pain that it could cause, even if it would eventually work out for the better.
The only real positives are to reduce tension for a short period and to prevent getting overwhelmed in the immediate present.
Willful ignorance as a coping mechanism
Perhaps people tend to use it as an adaptive strategy because of their inability to tolerate reality.
The truth often hurts before it can eventually set you free. Too much reality at a given time can make us anxious, and even fearful about the future. In these situations, it can be considered normal to turn to healthy coping mechanisms.
Still, I don’t consider intentional ignorance to be a healthy crutch since it’s not viable over time.
Sometimes, ignorance can be bliss, but the true question is if it is worth the cost.
Hidden benefits of willful ignorance
Coping mechanism
It can be considered a form of adaptive strategy when we know we can’t or will not be able to handle the full reality.
That’s why we might decide to not pursue honesty or any additional information that causes even more conflicting thoughts.
Thus, knowing half-truths might be considered beneficial by some. Especially in the direct present.
Protecting our self-image
We can choose to forego pursuing data that can put our belief system at odds with our actions.
Therefore, it can be seen as a defense mechanism to protect our self-image and to prevent any further cognitive dissonance from happening.
Not pursuing information lowers the effort and, potentially, the cost
Humans have this tendency to weigh cost and effort. Chances are large that we won’t pursue something when the toll and/or labor outweigh the benefits in our eyes. The same holds true regarding information.
An argument can be made that knowing too much, such as recognizing that one has an incurable form of cancer, is not always helpful to carry on with our daily lives.
For some, this might not be true. They might be glad to realize such looming threats to live their last moments more intensely and to take the opportunity to say goodbye to their loved ones.
But for others, recognizing this imminent, unpreventable doom might make their last moments more miserable than had they not known that dreadful information.
As we can see, being too conscious of everything going on around us has a cost too. That’s why calculated ignorance can be seen as a blessing as well.Can prevent conflicts
Intentional ignorance can even prevent conflicts in some cases.
When we know that acknowledging the full depth of data will put us at odds with ourselves or others, it might be positive not to know all the available info.
Thus, it can protect group cohesion and prevent fights from breaking out between members of the same unit.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is willful ignorance?
Willful ignorance can be defined as deliberate avoidance, disregarding, or disagreeing with facts, empirical evidence, and justified, well-thought-out arguments because they dispute or differ from our personal beliefs.
It’s the practice of avoiding becoming well-informed about something to make useful decisions. It can be considered a form of self-deception since they realize they’re wrong about their beliefs or actions to some degree.
This detrimental behavior is most typically found in ideological circles. Think of instances like political or religious philosophies. There are other causes as well, such as laziness, people not wanting to change their opinions and beliefs, fear of the unknown, and afraid of being wrong.
Synonyms of willful ignorance
Willful ignorance has many potential synonyms, such as:
- Intentional ignorance
- Willful blindness
- Conscious avoidance
- Ignorance of law
- Tactical stupidity
- Contrived ignorance
- Nelsonian knowledge
While the wording is a bit different, the meaning remains the same.
Examples of willful ignorance in life
Education
An example of willful ignorance in education can be when we receive bad grades at school.
Instead of concluding, or even entertaining the idea that we had an insufficient grasp of the study material, we frequently automatically assume that the teacher must’ve made a mistake. Or we reckon that the teacher in question has something against us and purposefully gave us bad grades to punish us.
We might choose to forego the fact that other fellow students received good grades for the sake of protecting our ego, and because it fits our narrative and current beliefs.
Sport
A sport example is when the coach decides to bench us during the match.
Instead of harboring the notion that we might’ve been playing poorly, or that a teammate might offer a tactical advantage on the field, we instinctively adopt the mindset that the coach is wrong, incompetent, or simply ill-willed.
Health
Finally, the last example is about our well-being. Imagine that we have someone that’s obese.
Instead of accepting the simple fact that being overweight is unhealthy and can lead to a whole host of chronic diseases, they might argue that they don’t drink or smoke and that this means they’re healthier than non-obese folks who don’t exercise.
They purposefully ignore the available info that being overweight is extremely harmful, and that it can be damaging to our overall well-being since it greatly taxes our organs such as the heart and lungs.
What is the difference between ignorance and willful ignorance?
Ignorance means that someone has little to no knowledge about a certain topic.
It differs from willful ignorance since an ignorant person doesn’t realize they lack expertise and aren’t intentionally wrong or disregarding that information. On the other hand, a willfully ignorant person chooses to bury their head in the sand on purpose, fully cognizant of what they’re doing.
Thus, we can describe someone who’s intentionally ignorant as a person who is conscious that they’re not as educated as they could and should be. Instead, they decide not to learn more about a subject out of laziness, fear, easiness, peace of mind, or possibly to reduce cognitive dissonance.
Is ignorance the opposite of intelligence?
Intelligence is knowing what to do, and/or how to do it, while ignorance conveys not knowing what to do, and/or not knowing how to get it done.
Nevertheless, an ignorant person may think they know what to do and how to do it just like an intelligent person.
Yet, it’s potentially also true that an ignorant person thinks they don’t discern how to do something, or how to do it, while the intelligent person thinks precisely the same.
However, an ignorant individual typically thinks they have all the answers due to a lack of understanding most of the time. An intelligent individual regularly acknowledges how much they know, but more importantly where their limitations lie regarding their expertise.
Is ignorance a coping mechanism?
Ignorance isn’t a coping mechanism since it involves an authentic lack of expertise about a particular topic.
Nevertheless, being willfully unaware can be an adaptive strategy since it’s intentional. That’s because they’re fully aware of what they’re doing and because it can serve a purpose. Nevertheless, it isn’t a helpful or tenable way of dealing with stressors in the long run.
Nonetheless, it can aid in reducing tension in the present day and briefly thereafter by decreasing cognitive dissonance and providing peace of mind all the while being an easy solution.
Yet, over time, it will cause more issues than it solves since we aren’t as capable and informed as we know we could and should be regarding the topic at hand.
Call to action
Question your own beliefs. Never assume yourself to be right all the time, no matter how smart you might be.
You shouldn’t see being wrong as something bad, but rather as an opportunity to evolve into an improved version of yourself with a better understanding of the world. That’s why you should go from blissful ignorance to becoming self-aware in life.
Chase the truth by searching for evidence rather than solely depending on your feelings to decide.
Intentional ignorance will not improve your life, especially not your future self.
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