Understanding ignorance: the surprising impact of what we don't know

Description

Ignorance is trending. Politicians boast, "I'm not a scientist." Angry citizens object to a proposed state motto because it is in Latin, and "This is America, not Mexico or Latin America." Lack of experience, not expertise, becomes a credential. Fake news and repeated falsehoods are accepted and shape firm belief. Ignorance about American government and history is so alarming that the ideal of an informed citizenry now seems quaint. Conspiracy theories and false knowledge thrive. This may be the Information Age, but we do not seem to be well informed. In this book, philosopher Daniel DeNicola explores ignorance--its abundance, its endurance, and its consequences.;I. Images of ignorance : The impact of ignorance : Public ignorance ; A culture of ignorance ; Knowledge over ignorance ; Understanding ignorance ; The study of ignorance -- Conceiving ignorance : Negative concepts ; Paradox ; The language of ignorance ; Ways of knowing and not knowing ; Metaphors of ignorance -- II. Ignorance as place : Dwelling in ignorance : Ignorance as hell or heaven ; In Plato's cave ; Recognizing ignorance ; A basic typology from Rumsfield to Žižek ; The vagaries of knowing and not knowing ; Introspection and agnosognosia ; Skepticism -- Innocence and ignorance : The Garden of Eden ; The cave and the garden ; The concept of innocence ; Learning and loss ; Epistemic community ; Places of ignorance as thought experiments -- III. Ignorance as boundary : Mapping our ignorance : Boundaries, borders, and maps ; Mapping professional ignorance ; Natural and constructed boundaries ; Locating the boundary of the known ; Borderlands and public ignorance -- Constructed ignorance : Rational nescience ; Strategic ignorance ; Willful ignorance ; Privacy and secrecy ; Forbidden knowledge ; Constructing ignorance inadvertently -- The ethics of ignorance : The ethics of belief ; From possibility to moral necessity ; Epistemic rights ; Epistemic obligations ; Ignorance, action, and responsibility ; Epistemic injustice and ignorance as privilege -- Virtues and vices of ignorance : The moral assessment of learning ; Curiosity ; Epistemic restraint ; Discretion ; Trust ; Intellectual humility ; Modesty as a virtue of ignorance ; The virtuously ignorant schoolmaster ; Epistemic achievement -- IV. Ignorance as limit : The limits of the knowable : Temporality ; Biological limits ; Conceptual limits ; The limits of science and mathematics ; The end of knowledge ; Omniscience ; Arguments from ignorance -- Managing ignorance : Responding to the unknown ; Coping with ignorance ; Transformations in the dark ; Unpredictability and commitment ; Chance ; From possibility to probability ; The chance of rain ; Other intellectual tools -- V. Ignorance as horizon : The horizon of ignorance : Epistemic luck ; How learning creates ignorance ; Freedom, creativity, and ignorance ; Ignorance and the possible ; Wonder and the shepherd of possibility ; Ever more: a conclusion -- Epilogue : Ignorance and epistemology : Epistemology: context and content ; Beyond propositional knowledge ; Negation and complexity ; Bivalency and scalar gradience ; Discovery and justification ; Individual knowers and epistemic communities ; Epistemic value ; Conclusion. I. Images of ignorance : The impact of ignorance : Public ignorance A culture of ignorance Knowledge over ignorance Understanding ignorance The study of ignorance -- Conceiving ignorance : Negative concepts Paradox The language of ignorance Ways of knowing and not knowing Metaphors of ignorance -- II. Ignorance as place : Dwelling in ignorance : Ignorance as hell or heaven In Plato's cave Recognizing ignorance A basic typology from Rumsfield to Žižek The vagaries of knowing and not knowing Introspection and agnosognosia Skepticism -- Innocence and ignorance : The Garden of Eden The cave and the garden The concept of innocence Learning and loss Epistemic community Places of ignorance as thought experiments -- III. Ignorance as boundary : Mapping our ignorance : Boundaries, borders, and maps Mapping professional ignorance Natural and constructed boundaries Locating the boundary of the known Borderlands and public ignorance -- Constructed ignorance : Rational nescience Strategic ignorance Willful ignorance Privacy and secrecy Forbidden knowledge Constructing ignorance inadvertently -- The ethics of ignorance : The ethics of belief From possibility to moral necessity Epistemic rights Epistemic obligations Ignorance, action, and responsibility Epistemic injustice and ignorance as privilege -- Virtues and vices of ignorance : The moral assessment of learning Curiosity Epistemic restraint Discretion Trust Intellectual humility Modesty as a virtue of ignorance The virtuously ignorant schoolmaster Epistemic achievement -- IV. Ignorance as limit : The limits of the knowable : Temporality Biological limits Conceptual limits The limits of science and mathematics The end of knowledge Omniscience Arguments from ignorance -- Managing ignorance : Responding to the unknown Coping with ignorance Transformations in the dark Unpredictability and commitment Chance From possibility to probability The chance of rain Other intellectual tools -- V. Ignorance as horizon : The horizon of ignorance : Epistemic luck How learning creates ignorance Freedom, creativity, and ignorance Ignorance and the possible Wonder and the shepherd of possibility Ever more: a conclusion -- Epilogue : Ignorance and epistemology : Epistemology: context and content Beyond propositional knowledge Negation and complexity Bivalency and scalar gradience Discovery and justification Individual knowers and epistemic communities Epistemic value Conclusion.