Ignorance (from Latin ignorant) is the lack of knowledge in particular or of culture in general. The person who ignores something does not know or does not understand it. For example: “Don’t talk to me about chemistry: my ignorance in that matter is absolute”, “Ignorance can only be fought with education”.

Ignorance, therefore, can be considered in absolute sense (the person or social group that lacks training: “There is a lot of ignorance in this country”, “It is convenient for the powerful that there is ignorance among the people: this way it is easier to subdue them”) or with respect to a concrete content (when someone does not know something certain: “I decided to take a course to end my ignorance about computers”).

In addition to all of the above, we cannot ignore the fact that the term in question is also widely used in the field of law. Thus, in this sector, with the aforementioned word, an attempt is made to express that someone is completely unaware of the prevailing law. However, this cannot be argued in a trial as an exposing cause, since it is established that once the legislation is published, all citizens have to know it.

ignorance in philosophy

In the philosophical field there is an expression in Latin that makes use of the concept that we are now analyzing. It is specifically about learned ignorancewhich is used to make it clear that the sage maintains a very prudent attitude when it comes to addressing what is the limitation that exists on the faculties of knowledge or on the problems of the Universe.

The theologian Nicholas de Cusa, considered the father of German philosophy, was one of the historical figures who made the most use of this Latin expression. But he was not the only one because San Buenaventura or San Agustín also did the same.

Another of the most important philosophers in history who also addressed the term ignorance with interest and depth was the Greek Plato. For him, said ignorance was to blame for all the ills that plagued society at that time. Specifically, he considered that when someone did evil, it was the tangible result of his lack of knowledge, of his ignorance.

Beyond the absence of knowledge, ignorance can also be given by the imperfection in the contents of knowledge or by the lack of validity of the information that is handled: “What ignorance! The neighbor is convinced that Rio de Janeiro is the capital of Chile”.

See also: Reflex action