Friday 20 June 2014

Philosophical Questions...

Recently, many philosophical questions about all things life have been circulating my mind, and I'm not going to lie... it terrifies me a little. I'm the kind of person who has debates with themselves, and this is just one example...

Ignorance is bliss... Or is it?...


They say (I'm not exactly sure who "they" are, but let's go with it anyway) that ignorance is bliss, that if you're unaware of something, that something cannot hurt you. Now, this phrase has been going around in my mind for a while, yet, I still can't decide how I feel about it...

There have been things in the past that I've found out, things that I didn't necessarily want to know... And often I think to myself, "I wish I didn't know that", and let's be honest... we've all thought that at least once in our lives. The reason for this thinking, is that if I was unaware of this particular thing, obviously it wouldn't occupy my mind, therefore not having an effect on me. 
But, is that necessarily a good thing?... This is what sparked my interest in the phrase "ignorance is bliss", because what if, that 'something' you found out, changed your life for the better? Yes, it may hurt and have repercussions at first, and you wish you were still ignorant towards it, but eventually, it could lead to a positive outcome...

Can you be stressed over things you don't know about?... Personally, this is something I both agree and disagree with. Obviously, if you are oblivious to something, you can't be stressed over it. However, in many cases, the fear of not knowing something is one of life's biggest stressors. The majority of time we are searching for answers, hence not knowing something can essentially cause us to over-think it, and our minds become filled with even more questions, does it not?


I'm aware that this is mainly down to personal interpretation, and everyone has different opinions as to whether they'd be happier living a life full of knowledge and burning questions, or whether they would prefer a life that is more free-going with less over-thinking


Ignorance is essentially a lack of knowledge, and in some ways this lack of knowledge can be said to lead to a more satisfied life. However, knowledge can often be the key to open doors to countless opportunities. So, my question is, would you rather know nothing? Or everything?