A Passion for Ignorance: What We Choose Not to Know and Why

Renata Salecl

Published by Princeton University Press 2020

A Passion for Ignorance

What We Choose Not to Know and Why

Renata Salecl

https://doi.org/10.1515/9780691202020

Overview
Contents

About this book

An original and provocative exploration of our capacity to ignore what is inconvenient or traumatic

Ignorance, whether passive or active, conscious or unconscious, has always been a part of the human condition, Renata Salecl argues. What has changed in our post-truth, postindustrial world is that we often feel overwhelmed by the constant flood of information and misinformation. It sometimes seems impossible to differentiate between truth and falsehood and, as a result, there has been a backlash against the idea of expertise, and a rise in the number of people actively choosing not to know. The dangers of this are obvious, but Salecl challenges our assumptions, arguing that there may also be a positive side to ignorance, and that, by addressing its role in society, we may be able to reclaim the role of knowledge.

Drawing on philosophy, social and psychoanalytic theory, popular culture, and her own experience, Salecl explores how the passion for ignorance plays out in many different aspects of life today, from love, illness, trauma, and the fear of failure to genetics, forensic science, big data, and the Incel movement—and she concludes that ignorance is a complex phenomenon that can, on occasion, benefit individuals and society as a whole.

The result is a fascinating investigation of how the knowledge economy became an ignorance economy, what it means for us, and what it tells us about the world today.

Author / Editor information

Renata Salecl, a philosopher and sociologist, is professor at the School of Law at Birkbeck College, University of London and senior researcher at the Institute of Criminology at the Faculty of Law in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Her books include The Tyranny of Choice and On Anxiety.

Reviews

"In this pithy, elegant book, Renata Salecl documents and explores today's pervasive passion for ignorance and how it operates at so many different levels of society. Written in an accessible, lively style, the book analyses our efforts not to know through a wide range of examples that touch on most people's lives. Fascinating, illuminating reading."—Darian Leader, author of The New Black: Mourning, Melancholia, and Depression

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
1. The Many Faces of Ignorance Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	10
2. Empty Graves: Ignorance, Forgetting, and Denial in War Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	31
3. The Secret in the Body: Knowledge and Ignorance about Genes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	51
4. Denial of Illness Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	75
5. Love Is Blind Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	96
6. The Fear of Being Ignored: From Incel to Impostor Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	113
7. The Delusion of Big Data Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	128
Conclusion Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	149
Acknowledgments Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	155
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	157
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	175
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	189