Abstract
Ignorance is an inherently broad and comprehensive notion, which, ironically, can refer to both the worst enemy of science and knowledge-related efforts and, in its Socratic form, their best ally. Indeed, by understanding the concept of ignorance, one can discuss a variety of topics, such as error, falsity, and prejudice but also surprise, wonder, and creativity. Unsurprisingly, so, the current research about ignorance is varied and interconnected. Thus, this chapter will be divided into two main sections: the first will be dedicated to a brief presentation of the different research areas that shape current ignorance studies; in the second section, a few questions will be asked: What can we do about our ignorance? How can ignorance be exploited and become useful? How can ignorance define the limits of our possibilities? Even if the answers presented in this chapter will not provide an exhaustive picture of how ignorance interacts with human chances, they will hopefully offer suggestions for further steps in its analysis and investigation.
Oh, happy he, who still renews
The hope from Error’s deeps to rise forever!
That which one does not know, one needs to use,
And what one knows, one uses never.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe,
Faust, Dover Thrift Editions (2018), Trad. by B. Taylor, p. 32
At the simplest level, only people
who know they do not know everything
will be curious enough to find things out.
Virginia Postrel,
The Future and Its Enemies, Touchstone Edition (1999), p. 88.
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Arfini, S. (2022). Ignorance. In: Glăveanu, V.P. (eds) The Palgrave Encyclopedia of the Possible. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-90913-0_123
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