{"id":119371,"date":"2020-06-09T11:00:55","date_gmt":"2020-06-09T10:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/?p=119371"},"modified":"2023-03-08T14:26:58","modified_gmt":"2023-03-08T14:26:58","slug":"ignorance-is-bliss-racism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/ignorance-is-bliss-racism.htm","title":{"rendered":"Ignorance Is Bliss &#8211; Or is It? The Cost of Playing Dumb"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_119376\" style=\"width: 410px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/5449108066_f5b91d39b1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-119376\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-119376\" src=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/5449108066_f5b91d39b1-400x266.jpg\" alt=\"ignorance is bliss\" width=\"400\" height=\"266\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/5449108066_f5b91d39b1-400x266.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/5449108066_f5b91d39b1-180x120.jpg 180w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/5449108066_f5b91d39b1.jpg 499w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-119376\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">By: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/52480882@N05\/5449108066\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\" \">Mr. Connor<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #333399;\">By Andrea M. Darcy<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cIgnorance is bliss&#8221;. Is it true? Or<\/strong> do we need to examine our belief that what we don&#8217;t know won&#8217;t hurt us, particularly when it comes to things like racism and inequality?<\/p>\n<h2>What is ignorance, really?<\/h2>\n<p><strong>It&#8217;s easy to say that ignorance is simply<\/strong> \u2018not knowing\u2019.<\/p>\n<p><strong>But sociology would argue otherwise. Ignorance is more often<\/strong> the &#8216;known unknown&#8217;. Aware the information exists, we <em>choose <\/em>to veer away from it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>A simple example is a child who realises if she always asks<\/strong> adults if she can do things, she can be told no. If she does does things without asking, she can claim later she didn\u2019t know she wasn\u2019t allowed. Without realising it, she is practising &#8216;strategic ignorance&#8217;.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #800080;\">And while we like to think, as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/personal-accountability.htm\">responsible adults<\/a>, that ignorance is deviant, shocking, and outside of our reality? It\u2019s actually a pervasive, often accepted part of society, with &#8216;rational ignorance&#8217; used in things like business interactions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Research by British social theorist<\/strong> Linsey Mcgoey,\u00a0 titled, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/publication\/230803188_The_Logic_of_Strategic_Ignorance\">the Logic of Strategic Ignorance<\/a>,<\/em> looks at how this works in the pharmaceutical world. She shows how, from physicians to manufacturers, profit arises from who can \u201cattest to the least knowledge of the efficacy and safety of different drugs, a finding that raises new insights about the value of ignorance as an organisational resource.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #333333;\"><strong>In her paper, <em>&#8220;Advancing a Sociology of Ignorance in the Study of Racism<\/em><\/strong><em> and Racial Non-Knowing&#8221;<\/em>, Jennifer C. Mueller summarises it well:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #333399;\">&#8220;Ignorance is socially constructed, negotiated, and pervasive; ignorance is often socially inevitable, even necessary; and, without a doubt, ignorance is socially consequential.&#8221;\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2>Why do we practise wilful ignorance?<\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_119377\" style=\"width: 410px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/3884893648_d1f92f5659.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-119377\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-119377\" src=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/3884893648_d1f92f5659-400x384.jpg\" alt=\"ignorance is bliss\" width=\"400\" height=\"384\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/3884893648_d1f92f5659-400x384.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/3884893648_d1f92f5659.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-119377\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">By: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/southpaw2305\/3884893648\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noreferrer\" \">Clare Black<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>We can learn wilful ignorance.<\/strong> It might be that our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/bad-parents-are-you-one.htm\">parents<\/a> taught us to make certain <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/making-assumptions.htm\">assumptions<\/a> and not self-educate. Or it could be we were educated to be ignorant. (Until recently, for example, Canadian text books claimed there were only a handful of North American Indians when the settlers arrived, as opposed to a vast civilisation.)<\/p>\n<p><strong>And again, we can gain socially from ignorance.<\/strong> We can use it to get what we want, such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/money-stress.htm\">money<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/personal-power-how-to.htm\">power<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><span style=\"color: #333333;\"><strong>But often ignorance is related to our innate need to<\/strong> <strong>feel part of<\/strong> the \u2018tribe\u2019, a social phenomenon called \u2018pluralistic ignorance\u2019<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>What is pluralistic ignorance?<\/h2>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #800080;\">It\u2019s a term used in social psychology when the majority of a group don\u2019t actually agree with or support something, but go along with it anyway, because they incorrectly assume everyone else supports it.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Think of the story \u2018the Emperor\u2019s New Clothes\u201d, where<\/strong> everyone assumes everyone else assumes the Emperor is dressed so says nothing. Except in real life the phenomenon of pluralistic ignorance is at once more powerful and more dangerous.<\/p>\n<h2>Pluralistic ignorance and racism<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Pluralistic ignorance is linked to how racial segregation stayed in place<\/strong> as long as it did.\u00a0 Professor of Sociology <a href=\"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/poq\/article-abstract\/39\/3\/313\/1850175\">Hubert J. O\u2019Gorman wrote<\/a> in the late 1960s about how White Americans overestimated how other Whites supported racial segregation. Even if they personally didn&#8217;t agree that segregation was a good thing, they agreed with things like discrimination in housing because they thought everyone else did.<\/p>\n<p><strong>In the noughties, researchers connected it to lack of integration of racial groups.<\/strong> A <a href=\"https:\/\/spcl.yale.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/files\/Shelton_Richeson2005(intergroup).pdf\">study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology<\/a> found that groups of people from different racial backgrounds assumed the other side didn\u2019t want interaction. This happened even though both groups also had the same <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/worry-and-anxiety-difference.htm\">worries<\/a>, such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/the-private-hell-of-rejection-why-does-it-keep-happening-to-you.htm\">being rejected<\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #800080;\">More recently, pluralistic ignorance has been connected to passivity around racial inequality. A <a style=\"color: #800080;\" href=\"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1111\/0162-895X.00187?__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=pmd_Rp5yrsjHsgiWuILGe63w2y7GWEnHOur1dUus7fDrTM0-1635263809-0-gqNtZGzNAjujcnBszQ29\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">study of students at Cornell university<\/span><\/a> found that\u00a0 our desire to seem politically correct and not racist or culturally insensitive can mean we don\u2019t look at or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/good-questions-to-ask.htm\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">question<\/span><\/a> our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/doubt-in-relationships.htm\">doubts.<\/a> And it means we overestimate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/reaching-out-support.htm\">the support of others<\/a> for affirmative action. <\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<div id=\"attachment_119378\" style=\"width: 410px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-119378\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-119378\" src=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/markus-spiske-QozzJpFZ2lg-unsplash-400x266.jpg\" alt=\"ignorance is bliss\" width=\"400\" height=\"266\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/markus-spiske-QozzJpFZ2lg-unsplash-400x266.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/markus-spiske-QozzJpFZ2lg-unsplash-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/markus-spiske-QozzJpFZ2lg-unsplash-180x120.jpg 180w, https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/markus-spiske-QozzJpFZ2lg-unsplash.jpg 709w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-119378\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">photo by markus spiske<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>A great excuse to indulge in a lot of politically correct talk, but not <\/strong>educate ourselves or take action.<\/p>\n<h2>Ignorance is bliss, or ignorance is expensive?<\/h2>\n<p>What about the personal cost or not pushing ourselves to know more?<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #993366;\">1. You never know your own potential and power.<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>To really know what we are capable of we need to accept we do not know everything, and learn to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/good-questions-to-ask.htm\">ask good questions of ourselve<\/a>s. This leads to a search for knowledge and knowing that also leads us to realise our own <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/find-your-inner-resources.htm\">inner resources<\/a> and power to choose and create change.<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #993366;\">2. You damage your self-esteem.<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Again, ignorance is often a choice to not know. On a certain level we know we are avoiding something, or making a choice that affects others negatively. And when we know we aren\u2019t doing our best, it affects our<a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/who-am-i-identity-crisis.htm\"> identity<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/negative-thoughts.htm\">self-esteem<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #993366;\">3. You miss opportunity.<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Ignorance might be comfortable, but it actually means we are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-is-the-unconscious-mind.htm\">unconsciously<\/a> shutting doors. We stay stuck with social groups that don&#8217;t challenge us, or even <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wrong-career-path.htm\">hold ourselves back career wise<\/a>, when higher-ups notice our disinterest in awareness.<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #993366;\">4. You can be lonely.<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>By choosing not to know we are purposely playing a a game of pretend. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/healthy-relationships-is-it-one.htm\">Good relationships<\/a>, on the other hand, require <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/authentic-relationships.htm\">authenticity<\/a>, which means <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/being-honest-does-it-matter.htm\">being honest<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-does-feeling-vulnerable-mean.htm\">vulnerable<\/a>. Deep <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/connecting-with-people.htm\">connection<\/a> with others comes from making mistakes and admitting to mistakes, not by avoidance and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/denial-in-psychology.htm\">defensiveness<\/a> that can be the byproduct of ignorance.<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #993366;\">5. &#8220;Ignorance is bliss&#8221; means constant dissociation. <\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Another reason we can claim &#8216;ignorance is bliss\u2019? We are avoiding being \u2018triggered\u2019. If you had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-is-childhood-trauma.htm\">childhood trauma<\/a> that caused you psychological and emotional pain, you can spend your life trying to avoid information and situations that might \u2018trigger\u2019 that pain. But this doesn\u2019t heal the trauma and leaves you in a constant state of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/dissociation.htm\">dissociation<\/a>, floating through your life and never hitting your potential.<\/p>\n<h2>The real bliss?<\/h2>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #333399;\">Often the first step away from ignorance and towards understanding others and the world around us it to start with understanding ourselves.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>Therapy helps you <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/how-to-listen-to-yourself.htm\">understand how you think and feel<\/a>, what <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/examples-of-core-beliefs.htm\">core beliefs<\/a> are holding you back, what your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/what-is-perspective.htm\">perspective<\/a> is and why you are stuck in it, and how you can<a href=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/self-compassion.htm\"> be more compassionate with yourself<\/a>. From there, you can extend compassion and understanding to others.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #800080;\"><strong>Harley Therapy offers some of <span style=\"color: #333399;\">London&#8217;s best talk therapists<\/span> at four locations. Or find <a href=\"https:\/\/harleytherapy.com\/?utm_source=Harley%20Therapy%20Blog&amp;utm_content=Mid%20Post\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\">UK-wide affordable therapy<\/span> <\/a>and <a href=\"https:\/\/harleytherapy.com\/?utm_source=Harley%20Therapy%20Blog&amp;utm_content=Post%20End\"><span style=\"color: #333399;\">online counselling<\/span><\/a> on our <span style=\"color: #333399;\"><a style=\"color: #333399;\" href=\"https:\/\/harleytherapy.com\/?utm_source=Harley%20Therapy%20Blog&amp;utm_content=Mid%20Post\">booking site<\/a><\/span>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em>Still have a question about why &#8216;ignorance is bliss&#8217; is far from the truth? Want to share your experience of moving beyond wilful ignorance with our other readers? Use the comment box below.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #333399;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-117271 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.harleytherapy.co.uk\/counselling\/wp-content\/uploads\/headshot-yellow-397x400.png\" alt=\"Andrea Blundell\" width=\"173\" height=\"174\" \/><strong>Andrea M. Darcy<\/strong> is a personal development\u00a0 expert with training in person-centred therapy and counselling. Find her @am_darcy<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Andrea M. Darcy \u201cIgnorance is bliss&#8221;. Is it true? Or do we need to examine our belief that what we don&#8217;t know won&#8217;t hurt us, particularly when it comes to things like racism and inequality? What is ignorance, really? It&#8217;s easy to say that ignorance is simply \u2018not knowing\u2019. But sociology would argue otherwise. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":119377,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"yes","_lmt_disable":"no","footnotes":""},"categories":[125],"tags":[3155,379,3156],"class_list":["post-119371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-self-esteem","tag-community","tag-relationships","tag-self-awareness","has_thumb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.0 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Ignorance Is Bliss - Or is It? The Cost of Playing Dumb - Harley Therapy\u2122 Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ignorance is bliss. Or is it? 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Darcy","author_link":"#"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Andrea M. Darcy \u201cIgnorance is bliss&#8221;. Is it true? Or do we need to examine our belief that what we don&#8217;t know won&#8217;t hurt us, particularly when it comes to things like racism and inequality? What is ignorance, really? It&#8217;s easy to say that ignorance is simply \u2018not knowing\u2019. 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