Ignorance and Knowledge
"The man who is too old to learn was probably always too old to learn."
I would like to address the subject of knowledge and ignorance, thus forming a different perceptive. On the surface, the reason was to help me to grasp the concepts briefly and, through my understanding of them, the reader would follow what they are. It is a fact that not everyone understood these two concepts. Most people believe that ignorance is bliss and "not knowing" is harmless. In our society and in everyday life, I have seen this ignorance in action.
What if you walk freely through a massive forest and you are filled with the beauty of the trees and wondrous sounds as you walking on a rocky pathway. Then, you come by this small plant and you look at it in wonder. You pick it up and touches it shapes, admiring them. With both hands, you touched it as gently as you would. But, you do not know the name of this plant and you may think that its name does not matter. That you do not care about it, and you are taken in only by this plant’s shape, color, and other features. However, what if you knew the plant was called "poison ivy?" Would you touch it then?
In this brief article, I mostly will use a book titled The Sufi Path of Knowledge by William Chittick to incorporate the understanding of both knowledge and ignorance. In this book, Professor Chittick explored the meaning and understanding the vision of Ibn al-‘Arabi, who was considered to be a famous philosopher and a mystical thinker of Islamic society. The work of Ibn al-‘Arabi’ is translated by Chittick, and this book is very intriguing and most recommended for the readers.
I will begin with the concept of "ignorance." As one knows, ignorance is a lack of knowledge and/or a state of being unaware. When one is ignorant, one is consciously choosing to ignore new information that was presented to him or her in which contracted with or against one’s previous view or belief. If I were to say, "I saw a ghost in my house! It was a female, and she was dressed in white. I wonder if there is anyone else experienced something like that." Another person would said, "I think you’re crazy. There’s no such thing as ghosts. I don’t believe in them." The second person would be considered as ignorant because the idea of a real "ghost" went against this person’s beliefs. This person is not open-minded, as in being open to all possibilities and options. What if this same person experienced the same phenomenon? Would her/his views be changed or continuing to remain ignorant?
Ignorance also means more than just a lack of knowledge. Being ignorant, one can be exposed to dangers. More to the point, by being ignorant is itself a dangerous position. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity" (from Strength to Love, c. 4, 1963). When one considered thinking that "ignorance is bliss," it is due to the fact that one wanted to be "safe." For them, it is better not to know and stay away from their idea of "danger." Being ignorant is also an attitude of turning away from the "light" or possibilities. In the words of Ibn al-’Arabi:
If you turn away from your own shadow, you will have turned away from your possibility. Once you have turned away from your possibility, you will have become ignorant. (II 303.28, in The Sufi Path of Knowledge)
A possibility leads to a discovery, and we learn by discovery. We do this almost constantly, during our interactions with the people, at our jobs, in our family and friends environments, and so on. However, it is in certain subjects that we would decide to remain ignorant of. What if you are ignorant of the existence of UFO or aliens, then the next day there was an alien knocking on your door, desiring to eat you? Would you like to know more about them and gain a certain understanding whether or not if they are hostile? Gaining knowledge include gathering of facts and data to support such thesis or opinions. Because of facts, we would formulate a thought about the truth underlying the facts. But, ignoring or denying those facts, without being open to them, is an example of one’s being ignorant. Another trait of being ignorant is boredom.
Boredom is the greatest proof that man has remained ignorant of God’s preserving his existence and renewing his blessings at each instant. (Ibn al-‘Arabi, II 653.25)
Boredom is recognition of the fact that we would not be willing to learn. One sits on a comfy couch, watching a mindless television for hours on end is boredom. How would one learn anything if one will not be willing to stand up and learn?
When the darkness of ignorance takes up residence in the heart, it makes it blind. Then the heart is not able to perceive those realities in respect of perceiving which it is called a ‘knower.’ (Ibn al-‘Arabi, III 369.31)
Ignorance is darkness and it is what blinds ourselves to hopes, visions, new information, and unique understandings. Even worse, it made us to believe in the lies created in our world that ultimately leads us to self-deception. Lying to ourselves is even worse than lying to others. Being ignorant closes the box of our personal reality, thus locking us on a narrow road with no possibilities of growth. In a way, we are sleeping. As Ibn al-’Arabi pointed out, "The regret of ignorance is the greatest of regrets" (IV 313.22).
We all began from being ignorant to being knowledgeable throughout our lives. It is part of our growth. However, if we "stop" learning and choose to ignore reality, one would become ignorant or asleep. One’s development on personal growth would be halted, and one would not grow and evolve unless one starts back on the path of learning. It takes strong will and great courage to do so. Knowledge is light and it is essential to one’s survival and growth.
According to an online encyclopedia, knowledge is information of which a person is aware, "gained either by experience, learning and perception or through association and reasoning…[it] is also used to mean the confident understanding of a subject, potentially with the ability to use it for a specific purpose" (from Cassiopedia). Knowledge is what will protect you from many dangers and by being aware of them, you would be safe. However, a simple reading on a certain subject just would not do much help.
According to Ibn al-‘Arabi:
Know – God confirm you – that knowledge is for the heart to acquire something as that thing is in itself, whether the thing is nonexistent or existent. Knowledge is the attribute gained by the heart through this acquisition. The knower is the heart, and the object of knowledge is that acquired thing. Conceiving of the reality of knowledge is extremely difficult. (I 91.91)
And, in the words of William Chittick:
Knowledge can be acquired through reflection, unveiling, or scripture. The human subtle reality…also called the ‘soul’…, knows in a variety of modes. When it knows through reflection, the mode of its knowing is called ‘reason.’ When it knows directly from God, the mode of knowing is called the ‘heart,’ which is contrasted with reason. Whatever the means whereby the soul acquires knowledge, the knowing subject is one. (p. 159)
For more reading upon the understanding of acquiring knowledge, it would be a suggestion for the readers to obtain The Sufi Path of Knowledge, as I will not address further on how to gain knowledge. It would be a great deal of information to reveal but it would be presented in a different article. But, here I discuss on why knowledge is important. Having or acquiring knowledge is useful for several reasons, as although they can be either negative or positive.
From knowledge comes practice. Ibn al-‘Arabi stated that "knowledge requires practice, and necessarily so, or else it is not knowledge, even if it appears in the form of knowledge" (III 333.17). Knowledge can be passive or active, if one choose to do the practice, and it would become active, in a sense. By practicing what you know, you thus begin to save yourself from the dangers. If you are expecting the personal attack from elsewhere, it would be wise to know the every possible modes of the attack and know how to counteract those modes if and when the attack does occur. It is about knowing how to protect yourself and others.
Also, knowledge is about being aware of several or more subjects. True, one cannot know everything. But, one can gain knowledge as much as one can, and with good reasoning. If you do not know about the human nature, study the subject of psychology. If you do not know about the so-called "paranormal" phenomena, read up on them. Increase your library and build more doors to knowledge. Curiosity and soul quest are what fuel our passion for knowledge. To know is the greatest goal that one can achieve than falling prey to ignorance.
In the past, when I was reading on a subject of quantum theory or psychology, I discussed a topic with one of my friends. However, she then stressed out: "I don’t believe in that." That caught me off guard. What does belief have to do with knowing about certain subject? I would like to bring here an intriguing quote: "And so, let me repeat: who wants to believe - let them believe. But I do not want to believe, I want to know" (an old philosopher in "The lost future" by K. Borun and A. Trepka, SF novel - in Polish language). Knowing about certain subject or gaining knowledge does not need to be considered or requires a "belief." According to Dr. Haha Lung, "belief is the most powerful of mental filters, determining whether information we reassemble inside our minds is reality, or merely a reflection of the way we’d like things to be" (Mind Manipulation, p. 23). When one knows about something and understood, one can either choose to believe and/or be aware of them. One’s belief system can limit one’s perception of reality, and sometime it can lead to ignorance.
More to the point, when one understood and assimilate knowledge which in turn increases one’s awareness, an increased awareness will lead to an increased personal growth. Thus, belief is not the same as knowing, but it is a fixed faith in what you know. And, an understanding may not be the same as knowledge.
But, Boris Mouravieff has stated:
Simple ideas are the most difficult to grasp. They escape us because the extreme complexity of our minds makes us complicate everything. It is only simple ideas and formula: that matter in life…Let us now consider the relation between these notions: to know, and to understand. We can know without understanding, but we cannot understand without knowing. It therefore follows that understanding is knowing to which something imponderable is added. We are touching on a problem which is simple but at the same time can raise great difficulties. We pass from knowing to understanding to the measure that we assimilate knowledge. The capacity for assimilation has its limits: man’s capacity to contain understanding differs from person to person. (Gnosis, p. 12)
And, from the writings of Ibn al-‘Arabi:
Reporting about things is called ‘expression’ and interpreting dreams is called ‘interpretation.’ This is because the expresser/interpreter ‘crosses over’ by means of his words he passes from the presence of his own self to the self of the listener. Hence he transfers his words from imagination to imagination, since the listener imagines to the extent of his understanding. Imagination may or may not coincide with imagination, that is, the imagination of the speaker with that of the listener. If it coincides, this is called his ‘understanding;’ if it does not coincide, he has not understand…We only make this allusion to call attention to the tremendousness of imagination’s level, for it is the Absolute Ruler over known things. (III 454.1)
It is of great importance that one would reach to the point of "understanding" of the knowledge that one has acquired. Knowledge is everywhere, but just knowing might or might not help. We tend to forget what we know. But, once one understands, one would also be able to increase one’s awareness.
In conclusion, it may be quite obvious to the readers that knowledge and ignorance has already been discussed and the case was closed. But, why then one continues on becoming ignorant and ignoring the importance of knowledge? It is with a great thought that it really all comes down to a choice: to know or not to know. Ultimately, the use of knowledge always would protect you and don’t let ignorance endanger you.
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Works Cited:
Chittick, William C., The Sufi Path of Knowledge: Ibn al-‘Arabi’s metaphysics of imagination. New York, State University of New York Press, 1989.
King, Martin Luther, Jr., Strength to Love. New York, Harper & Row, 1963.
"Knowledge," Cassiopedia: The True Encyclopedia website. from http://www.cassiopedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=Knowledge.
Lung, Haha. Mind Manipuation. New York, Citadel Press, 2002.
Mouravieff, Boris. Gnosis: Book One: The Esoteric Cycle. East Sussex, Agora Books, 1989.
