You may have heard of the famous phrase ‘ignorance is bliss’, yet is it truly correct ? Since 1746 when Thomas Gray first wrote the saying in a poem, people have believed that not having knowledge of a certain fact may provide pleasure and happiness to that individual. Whilst this may be true for certain minor circumstances there becomes a line where certain knowledge will benefit the individual even if it may harm them at first. In this post I will take on a more Utilitarian perspective and state my view whilst also defining this so-called ‘line’ I have created.

Suppose that a person has a great fear of spiders and their friend saw a huge long legged spider creeping up your back. If their friend told them this, it is likely that they would have screamed and started hyperventilating, yet if they were not informed and their friend gently flicked it off then they would have gone about their day as normal, unfazed. Clearly one with arachnophobia is likely to want their friend to choose the second option despite them missing out on the knowledge that a spider was on them. However, it is important to consider that this knowledge  is unlikely to bring much value to the person. It is a mere piece of information that has no impact on the future of the person if they did not know. Yet if they did, then the consequences may be serious and lead to much more harm than if they didn't know. Whilst I agree that in certain situations like this, not knowing is often better for the person and may prevent any short term inflicted pain/ harm, when there are other scenarios where information will have a long term impact on the individual and is essential to how they function in society or in life in general, then it is actually more blissful to know than to not. Examples range from knowing when to say please and thank you to simply understanding at least one language. If you stayed ignorant about these certain things, your life would in fact not be bliss! 

 However, I do believe that there are moments when not knowing information is disastrous and in some cases can even be life threatening, which is where the line must be drawn. This is when I believe it is not good to stay ignorant as it may not provide you with bliss. If there was an important test coming up determining your predicted grades, but you were unaware as you were unwell on the day this information was relayed. Your friend was in so knows this piece of information but they also know that you hate revising and you get extremely stressed out  when there is an important task to do. Is it better for your friend to tell you about the test anyway as you have to do it or to not tell you and let you find out when the time comes to do it. The second option allows for you to minimise your pain in the long term and just have pain in the short run(during and after the test).Yet examining this more carefully, one can realise that actually remaining ignorant may maximise pain further in the long run then choosing the first option. This is because doing badly in the test may mean that you do not get into you dream university and may end up not being successful, possibly leaving you regretting this event for the rest of your life. This consequence is extreme but when there are high stakes and possibly long term consequences of not knowing a piece of information, ignorance is not bliss.

 Now imagine that a person knew information of there being a bomb about to explode on a train whilst the train was in a tunnel, they could either not inform the passengers to prevent their extreme stress and panic or inform the passengers even though there is little they could do to escape. With either option the people are likely to die so is ignorance the best way to minimise pain? Yes it may be as it may provide those people a peaceful last few minutes before they die. Again another extreme situation where ignorance may not be bliss but it does highlight that ignorance is only bliss for most unimportant and extreme situations. It is also important to consider is subjective to the person and unique to the scenario as one person may feel a different way about it to another.

In the situations explored above, it is clear that lying may well be the way the other person or people are kept ignorant. Now most would state that lying is morally incorrect and should not be done. Whilst I agree, it does depend on what one is lying about. Small white lies are often harmless and are able to prevent unnecessary pain.(For the purpose of this essay I will not delve deeper into the morality of lying). Yet, going back to my ’line’ ,there are certain lies that are not good to keep from a person if they are able to change the outcome.

Overall, ignorance can be bliss but only when the situations present as minimal pain as possible in the short and long run. It is vital to remember that humans are ‘rational beings’ thus they have the freedom to make their own decisions that are deemed rational for the situation even if in another situation it is not , thus whether ignorance is blissful depends upon the severity of the situation. I believe ignorance is blissful in minor situations , yet I also believe that knowledge is power and even though it may hurt you there will be a consequence in the future that makes you realise that ignorance would have been worse.