Ignorance and Bliss: On Wanting Not to Know

Aristotle claimed that 'all human beings want to know'. Yet we also want not to know. Centuries after the Enlightenment, mesmerised crowds still follow preposterous prophets; irrational rumours trigger fanatical acts; and magical thinking crowds out common sense and expertise. Where does this will to ignorance originate, and how does it shape our lives today?

Acclaimed essayist and historian of ideas Mark Lilla offers an absorbing intellectual travelogue of the human will not to know. He ranges with brio from the Book of Genesis and Plato's dialogues to Sufi parables and Sigmund Freud, revealing the paradoxes of hiding truth from ourselves. Lilla also exposes the illusions that this impulse can lead us to entertain: our belief in the ecstasies of prophet figures as a gateway to truth, the myth of children's wise simplicity, and the yearning for vanished, allegedly purer civilisations.

'An exuberant, inexhaustible storyteller.' Stephen Greenblatt

'A highly original study of what our desire not to know means for our lives.' John Gray

'In these murky days when we all seem to be at sea, Lilla's elegant and perceptive handbook serves both as a compass and a hopeful sail.' Alberto Manguel

'At a time when our politics is debauched with lies and fake news, Lilla asks a question which challenges our alibis: what if the root of the problem lies not with our leaders, but with us?' Michael Ignatieff

Mark Lilla is Professor of Humanities at Columbia University; a frequent contributor to The New York Review of Books and The New York Times and author, most recently, of The Once and Future Liberal also published by Hurst). His books have been translated into more than a dozen languages.

'Lucid, nuanced, ironic and stimulating.'

'Lilla helps clarify why facts and strong arguments may not change the minds of many.'

'A refreshing look at a timeless philosophical question: To know or not to know?'

'Superb … reading this book feels like attending a brilliant lecture — its best passages leave your mind fizzing with ideas.'

'The acuity of Lilla's analyses in this book, the range of the topics he covers and the breadth of his historical knowledge are dazzling. … Ignorance and Bliss is remarkable.'

‘Mark Lilla is always a challenging, fascinating mind – alert to all the power, paradox, and dangers of ignorance.’

'In this “intellectual travelogue,” Lilla… muses on the unavoidable conflicts that arise between the will to knowledge and the will to ignorance… This is a book about more than knowledge and ignorance, though. It is also about truth and delusion, certainty and uncertainty, authority and freedom, and dependence and autonomy. Today, when the turn “against reason” and “the resistance to knowledge” are particularly strong, navigating these tensions is even more necessary… Lilla is a fluid, perceptive, and engaging essayist,… The enjoyment of the book is in experiencing a supple mind and lucid writer. A welcome reminder that ignorance is not the antithesis of knowledge but essential to self-knowledge.'

'Lilla takes us on a tour through Greek mythology, religious texts, and history ... of brilliant insights into how the will to ignorance has held us from knowing ourselves.'

'Fascinating and challenging, the book makes a compelling argument.'

'Lilla's conversational foray through a broad array of religious, philosophical, and historical examples produces many surprising, thought-provoking insights... This will provide the intellectually curious with more than enough to chew on.'

'Elegant and stimulating.' 

'A timely examination ... valuable insight.'

'An informative introduction.'

'An exuberant, inexhaustible storyteller, Lilla finds the hidden, self-protective will to ignorance at the centre of our most cherished religious myths, philosophical systems, and literary masterpieces.'

‘Mark Lilla argues compellingly that a will to ignorance is as strong in human beings as any interest in knowledge. Writing with admirable clarity and subtle charm, Lilla gives us a highly original study of what our desire not to know means for our lives.’

'Ignorance is bliss, a poet once said, and Mark Lilla offers us a learned, humane and astringent guide to our incorrigible attachment to ignorance and our wavering commitment to truth. At a time when our politics is debauched with lies and fake news, Lilla asks a question which challenges our alibis: what if the root of the problem lies not with our leaders, but with us?'

‘In these murky days when we all seem to be at sea, Mark Lilla’s elegant and perceptive handbook serves both as a compass and a hopeful sail.’