From the Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, one of the definitions of ignorance is:
the want of knowledge in general, or in relation to a particular subject [ link ]Random House Dictionary has a similar definition:
lack of knowledge, learning, information, etc. [ link ]So ignorance is just a lack of knowledge. While it is sometimes used in a pejorative manner, that is certainly not my intent here.
In fact, it is my honest desire to plumb the depths of my own ignorance, so that I might begin to learn what I do not yet know.
It is humbling to delve into a subject, especially when having some superficial familiarity or presumed knowledge, only to learn just how very much I don't know about it at all. After digging down and discovering the extent of my ignorance, then I may build up my knowledge.
Ignorance is something to be discovered, so that it might one day be removed.
I sometimes reflect on how we are often ignorant about our own ignorance. Quite ironic, isn't it?
However, I've learned lately that sometimes ignorance is bliss. Sometimes we discover things that we wish we hadn't. There is a certain amount of peace in the phrase "What you don't know can't hurt you."
