{"product_id":"ignorance-and-bliss-on-wanting-not-to-know-hardcover","title":"Ignorance and Bliss: On Wanting Not to Know - Hardcover","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eMark Lilla\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Mark Lilla is always a challenging, fascinating mind - alert to all the power, paradox, and dangers of ignorance.\" --Rory Stewart, author of \u003ci\u003ePolitics On the Edge\u003c\/i\u003e and co-host of \u003ci\u003eThe Rest Is Politics\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA dazzling exploration of our wish to remain innocent and ignorant--and its consequences. \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAristotle claimed that \"all human beings want to know.\" Our own experience proves that all human beings also want not to know. Today, centuries after the Enlightenment, mesmerized crowds still follow preposterous prophets, irrational rumors trigger fanatical acts, and magical thinking crowds out common sense and expertise. Why is this? Where does this will to ignorance come from, and how does it continue to shape our lives? \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eIgnorance and Bliss\u003c\/i\u003e, the acclaimed essayist and historian of ideas Mark Lilla offers an absorbing psychological diagnosis of the human will not to know. With erudition and brio, Lilla ranges from the Book of Genesis and Plato's dialogues to Sufi parables and Sigmund Freud, revealing the paradoxes of hiding truth from ourselves. He also exposes the fantasies this impulse lead us to entertain--the illusion that the ecstasies of prophets, mystics, and holy fools offer access to esoteric truths; the illusion of children's lamb-like innocence; and the nostalgic illusion of recapturing the glories of vanished and allegedly purer civilizations. The result is a highly original meditation that invites readers to consider their own deep-seated impulses and taboos. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eWe want to know, we want not to know. We accept truth, we resist truth. Back and forth the mind shuttles, playing badminton with itself. But it doesn't feel like a game. It feels as if our lives are at stake. And they are.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMark Lilla\u003c\/b\u003e is Professor of the Humanities at Columbia University and a frequent contributor to\u003ci\u003e The New York Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e and other publications worldwide. His books include \u003ci\u003eThe Once and Future Liberal: After Identity Politics\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003eThe Shipwrecked Mind: On Political Reaction\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003eThe Stillborn God: Religion, Politics, and the Modern West\u003c\/i\u003e; and \u003ci\u003eThe Reckless Mind: Intellectuals in Politics\u003c\/i\u003e. He lives in New York City.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 256\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.95 x 7.88 x 5.33 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e December 03, 2024\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51755549425952,"sku":"9780374174354","price":27.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/333d9cc93d2bdee72f21f5fbd9c36fa7.webp?v=1780061928","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/ignorance-and-bliss-on-wanting-not-to-know-hardcover","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}