The plot of Oedipus is a search for knowledge and the result of this search is its climax, where Oedipus comes out of the darkness (ignorance) and into the light (knowledge).
Which is better knowledge or ignorance? What kind of knowledge should we all possess? What things would be better off left unrevealed? To what extent are we responsible for what we know?
You can respond to each question individually or together but must post twice by November 27th at 11:59pm.
Which is better knowledge or ignorance? What kind of knowledge should we all possess? What things would be better off left unrevealed? To what extent are we responsible for what we know?
You can respond to each question individually or together but must post twice by November 27th at 11:59pm.
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49 comments:
In my opinion, it better to have knowledge than to be ignorant. However that does not mean that everyone should know everything, there are levels to everything that require at least some degree of privacy.
But relatively speaking, it's better to have a least some knowledge about what's going on around you that to go through life totally ignorantly.
I agree with the saying ignorance is bliss because there are definitely things that are better unknown. However not possessing any knowledge at all makes life impossible. After all knowledge guides you through life. I think the best knowledge is that which you gain from your experiences. Knowledge that you gain from others isn't at effective as that which you gain from your own actions. We are responsible for what we know. The more curiosity you possess the more you are going to search for knowledge. Wanting to know everything can be as bad as not knowing anything at all.
i totally agree with Teikyo, i don't think its better to go throughout life being ignorant.Sometimes though, it is better to be ignorant, if you do not know what is going on around you sometimes it can shield you from harm and protect you.But, this is not a way you should live your life.
I agree with Jessie that the best knowledge you can have is gained through your own experiances. You should know what is going on in the world, seeing as you're a part of that world. To be ignorant of the world isn't wise because then you can't learn from others mistakes, and you're more likely to make those same mistakes. This does not in any way mean that we should try to know everything, because like Ryan said, sometimes not knowing is better because you're shielded from something that could potentially hurt you.
I think that knowledge is better in the long run, than ignorance. You would rather know the information, even if the information hurt you, rather than living in curiosity. Also, if you have information you don't necessarily like or that hurts you, it can still help you in the long run. Example, someone thinks negative thoughts about you, you would want to know so you could avoid that person and not get hurt even more in the long run. I also think that nothing is better left unrevealed because you could make mistakes without knowing that information and you might not be able to prevent accidents. Also, people are responsible for everything they know because they could have knowledge that others don't, therefore they are responsible.
I think it is better to have knowledge, but it is key to know what questions to ask.
Knowledge from experience is the best way to learn something but some things should be learned through someone else. Without the knowledge and an open ear to learn all the lessons in life without going through them yourself, you can get yourself into some serious trouble. In these cases, knowledge is much better.
In other cases, your judgement needs to be used to analyse whether or not you should know about a situation or, in some events, what someone is going to do. For instance, if someone were going to committ a serious crime and you know about it, you can be held accountable. If you judge their character and don't be so curious, you can avoid those situations and keep your concience clear. Here, ignorance overrules knowledge.
As noticed, mostly everyone has agreed that knowledge is better than ignorance. The truth in the matter is that depending on the topic, ignorance might actually be a better scenario. I think when each of us were five years old we were ignorant to all of our surroundings and just didn't have a care in the world. If we had knowledge at the age of five, then we wouldn't grow up to learn the knowledge we possess today.
Yes, in most cases, knowledge is the better step to take in most paths. Being knowledgeable can bring you to farther expectations in life and most likely if Oedipus had the knowledge of knowing it was his father who he killed, he might not have killed him. This can be balanced in two ways but I definitely agree that some things are better unknown but in most cases I would prefer being knowledgeable.
In most situations in life, knowledge is better then being ignorant. The knowledge you possess can be good knowledge or bad, but either way its going to help you understand or adjust to the situation around you. Although, in life there are always situations where the knowledge you come across can make matters worse. Us as people a lot of the time come across the situation of wondering what knowledge is better off left unsaid. We may be keeping things from other people, and they may be doing the same. I think telling others knowledge is a personal decision and can be almost a responsibility. Its your responsibility to look out for your friends (by telling them what they may need to know) but at the same time you need to make the personal decision if revealing this knowledge is the best idea. It is also our personal decision to be responsible for what we know. Some people may feel they want to know everything, and they aren’t afraid of the consequences that come along with some knowledge. On the other hand, other people may feel that every once in a while its okay not to know everything, and certain knowledge is in fact better off left unsaid.
In most situations in life, knowledge is better then being ignorant. The knowledge you possess can be good knowledge or bad, but either way its going to help you understand or adjust to the situation around you. Although, in life there are always situations where the knowledge you come across can make matters worse. Us as people a lot of the time come across the situation of wondering what knowledge is better off left unsaid. We may be keeping things from other people, and they may be doing the same. I think telling others knowledge is a personal decision and can be almost a responsibility. Its your responsibility to look out for your friends (by telling them what they may need to know) but at the same time you need to make the personal decision if revealing this knowledge is the best idea. It is also our personal decision to be responsible for what we know. Some people may feel they want to know everything, and they aren’t afraid of the consequences that come along with some knowledge. On the other hand, other people may feel that every once in a while its okay not to know everything, and certain knowledge is in fact better off left unsaid.
adding on to what Mariah said,it Oedipus' situation,he did not know that the man he was killing was his father nor did he know that the woman he was marrying was his mother. I believe if Oedipus had that knowledge he would not have made the same mistakes he would have if he was ignorant. You cannot really think that Oedipus' murder was worse because he killed his father, becuase Oedipus was unaware of those facts.
I agree with Teikyo also. Everyone should have a knowledge to a certain degree. But there are times that it would be better to be ignorant. For instance, knowing the exact day and time you were going to die. This would be a time where you would want to be ignorant because it would make you so worried that you wouldn't be living a life.
In my opinion, it is better to have knowledge than to be ignorant because it's better to have knowledge then not having any at all. By having knowledge it can help you teach others to not make certain mistake that you may have experienced or that you know of someone who did. However with gaining knowledge there are certain aspects that you should remain private because it’s personal to you or you do not find it’s your place to say anything.
I believe that knowledge is better than ignorance. Without knowledge the world as we know it would not exist. Everything that we do today, is based off of prior knowledge that our ancestors have done or learned from.
Knowledge that is better left unrevealed are things that we learn that does not help the greater good of society. I believe that we are responsible for all the knowledge that we possess good or bad. We choose to share that knowledge or share it with everyone else.
It really depends on the situation if knowledge or if ignorance is better. If you can not change anything or the situation will not become better if you have knowledge then ignorance is better. Especially if you are happier with ignorance. I think information that we dont need and will hurt us or others should not be revealed
i think it is better to have knowledge. The reason is because every bit of information that you take in you learn from or it someway changes you. Information that would be better unrevealed is something that will make you in a negative mood that does not affect you directly and tha you cannot change or improve.
Going back to what Mariah was saying, I think that the reason five year olds are always so cheerful and happy, is because they are ignorant to their surroundings. They are unable to comprehend things such as death and heartbreak like we can more and more as we get older.
I'm not saying that we should be ignorant to our surroundings in order to be happy, but I think that there is certain knowledge that should remain unknown if its only going to hurt us, and not help us in any way.
In Oedipus' case, he is not guilty of killing his father, because he didn't know it was his father. If he had not been ignorant of that fact, he probably would not have killed him. Especially since he ran away from his other father due to that very same fear.
Obviously, this can go both ways, like Mariah said, think of childhood innocence, back then we were ignorant and didn't have a care in the world. But, i definately think having knowledge is better then being completley ignorant. Sometimes knowledge can be good or bad, but most of the time it turns out for the better in the end. For example, finding out something someone was hiding from you can hurt at first and you may wish you didnt know that, but in the long run it will probably help you.
I also agree with what Jessie and Patty were saying that the best knowledge is learned from your own experiences. Going through something yourself is more likely to teach you something then just hearing it from a parent or friend. Overall, i defiantely think that having knowledge is better then being totally ignorant.
I agree with what Mariah said. knowledge and the accpectancy of what you should know is dependent upon the situation and to the age of a person. When you are youunger, you are not expected to know as much as you are whn you get older. This is because you are incapable of learning and comprehending such great concepts and resources like high school and college are not open to young children. What you know is also dependent upon the situation. For example, in oedipus, Oedipus is not expected to know that he killed his father and was married to his mother because he was not raised by them and no one made him aware of this until he had already killed his real father and married his real mother.
I think it is better to have knowledge than ignorance. I would rather know something and learn to deal with it than to not know at all to prepare me later in life. Knowledge is helpful in many ways to you, but it can be hurtful if you don’t know how to use it. Knowledge can really test you and challenge your morals, if you are not a strong minded person than knowledge can be very hurtful to you. But, I feel like with the knowledge that I will take in will not change my morals. I’m not saying knowledge is all good, but it can be mostly good if you know how to use it.
It's better to have knowledge than to be totally ignorant of your surroundings because though in the case of Oedipus having the truth known did case a great deal of pain and shame, it's better that Oedipus did find out. If instead he had never pursued the issue of his birth and it had been discovered by other they could have used that to further shame the kingdom, however in this case since Oedipus knew first he was able to ensure that his people would never know and that the proper measures (ex: his removal from the kingdom, and his own blinding) to ensure that the entire kingdom didn't fall with him.
I agree with Teikyo's opinion due to the fact that knowledge is better than ignorance. I also believe that the knowledge one obtains is directly related to whether or not they are mature enough, both emotionally and mentally, to handle the truth.
Although knowledge can also bring pain and sorrow, it is oftentimes better to deal with these emotions than to live on unaware.
I believe that with responsibility comes knowledge of one's actions and what you did wrong. As a result, i feel that you cannot be very responsible for something you are not knowledgeable about.
I think that knowledge is your responcibility. You determine what you want to know and what you are willing to learn. Oedipus didn't know that he was married to his mother and he killed his father but he searched for that knowledge and found it. Oedipus was determined to find out if it was really him who killed Lauis even though more than one person tried to keep him from learning it. Unfortuneately you come to see that fate overpowered freewill. Those who tried to keep Oedipus from learning the truth were trying to stop fate but they could't. It was Oedipus's fate to learn what he did. In oposition to what Rob said, I don't think that knowledge waits on whether you are mature enough. I don't think anyone is ever ready or mature enough to find that they killed their father and married their mother. Fate comes in again, he couldn't stop whether or not he found out whether he was ready or not. Knowledge doesn't always wait for whether you are ready or not but it is your responcibility once you learn it.
I think that ignorance is the rejection of knowledge, because with ignorance, somebody doesn't want to figure out the mysteries in life that is knowledge.
As the saying goes, ignorance is bliss, and the other saying that says what somebody doesn't know won't hurt them, although both are true, natural human nature wants to find the truth of what people don't know. Because with ignorance comes the small urge that shows someone wants to know the truth, the knowledge of the subject.
I agree with everyone that said that knowledge is better than ignorance. I think that knowledge gained through your own experience is the only way to better yourself as a person, you learn through what you do. But, I agree with Jessie when brought up the whole "ignorance is bliss" thing. Somethings are just better not known. Like Melissa said, if you can't change the situation you're in by gaining knowledge than staying ignorant is better because learning the truth could potentially hurt you. It really depends on the situation, in some cases knowledge is better, but in others ignorance is better.
This, as are most of the questions in life, depends on the situation. i strongly believe, though, that knowledge is better than ignorance. Knowledge that we all should possess: the knowledge that can help us live more fulfilled lives. in some cases that could be know the exact moment when you are going to die or just what you need to do to live a complete life, in other cases, knowing the date of death could cause a person to lock themselves up in a "bubble". the knowledge that each person should possess depends on how a person reacts to a certain fact or the knowledge that is given.
I also agree with Jessie and Patty in the fact that ignorance is blissful. But in retrospect, I believe with most of the other people on this blog that knowledge is something I would prefer. It is unavoidable. Like jessie said, you gain knowledge through your life's experiences. Without it, life would be extremely difficult. Personally I think that having the knowledge of something is much better than being ignorant to it. Even though the truth may be difficult to hear and adapt to we are all capable of it. Every negative situation can be turned into a positive one. A common example is if you find out you have cancer. This is obviously life-changing and probably the hardest things to find out but it is up to you to choose which way you want to handle the news. You could go on living your life in pain and anger or you could take that knowledge and turn it into something optimistic such as doing everything in life that you always wanted. Sometimes learning of something can push you to do the things you've always dreamt of.
It is my belief that it is better to have knowledge, but to somje extent. If the knowledge you gain is going to hurt you then you probabaly don't wasnt to know about it.
I also agree witgh what jessie says abort ignorance being bliss, but knowledge is still a better way to go because you can actually help people with the knowledge you gain.
Also, knowledge can change your identity and who you are. By a dark secret being revealed the truth will change your life. Being ignorant in situations can be beneficial. I agree with Vicki that by gaining knowledge that is the only way you will become a better person because you then learn who you really are. Knowledge helps you grow and guides you in the right direction.
After some of the Socratic Seminars, and reading the book, knowledge seems to hurt almost as much as it helps. As Sophocles shows in Oedipus the King, there are some things in life that once the truth is learned, it can cause immense pain towards someone. For example, when Oedipus finds out that he had unknowingly killed his father, he stabbed pins though his eyes. On top of that, when Jocasta found out that Oedipus was her son, she hung herself. In these situations, it is better if you let knowledge come to you, rather than insisting on finding out the harmful truth.
I think that to a certain extent knowledge is better than ignorance because when you know something and understand it, it can usually help you to become a better person. But in a way, if it could be bad information or dangerous to someone, it may be better to not know certain things such as if someone is cheating on your friend. That is something you would want to be ignorant of because once you find out it seems that either way ou would hurt your friend. If you tell them, it would hurt them but if you don't they may be mad that you kept it from them.
There are some certain things that everybody should know and that is just what we need to know to get by in life. Knowing too much can make you become arrogant and then you may lose out on many good things in life.
Knowledge will always be better than ignorance no matter what that knowlege may be. We should all posses the basic knowlege about ourselves and the world around us, this can only be gained through living and learning though experiances. Most things will be revealed to you in the end no matter how hard the people around you try to mask the truths from you, so nothing should be left unknown to you, because if its a bad thing the effect it has on you is only magnified with time. We are completly responsble for the things we know, whether it is the things you learn in school or something you need to search for to learn. What you know comes down to how hard you work to know it.
In my opinion, having knowledge is more important than to be ignorant. But then again, "what we don't know won't hurt us". Although, this is somewhat true, i rather know of something than not to be informed of it at all. Oedipus' life had changed entirely right after he learned of the secret which had been hidden from him for most of his life. If he were to posses that knowledge earlier, he would have lead his life differently and maybe he wouldn't had to suffer as much as he did when he came out of the ignorance. Also, knowledge makes you a better person in the sense of what you understand. We are somewhat responsible for what we know, we can choose to be ignorant, and may not. But it is not always based on what we want but what others think is best. For example, not telling a child that they are adopted. It's not their fault they didn't know, it's because someone else choose not to let them know and left them ignorant.
I like what Nicole said about what happened in Oedipus when knowledge was aquired. But, i think that in that situation ignorance would have been better because they both ended up unhappy. If Oedipus just went on thinking that he was gone from his parents and he couldnt possibly have killed his father and married his mother, both him and Jacosta would have been happier.
I think that there are certain things that are better off left unrevealed. For example, as parents, many people try to hide a few things from they're kids when they're younger and as they become more mature, they find out more. It even could be something as simple as Santa Claus not being real. Parents want to keep that image alive in they're kids minds for as long as possible. And something a little more complicated is something like sex, obviously parents dont want they're kids to know "where babies come from" when they're 5. Certain knowledge is better off left unrevealed for a while.
I still think it is better to have knowledge than ignorance, of course knowing something is better than knowing nothing. You just have to know what to do with the knowledge you consume. People who use it under control and don't let it take over what they think should obtain a lot of knowledge in their life in every aspect. Others who do not have the same quality should not obtain the same amount of knowledge, it would only bring harm and bad things to them, such as Oedipus. In his case it was better to be ignorant, but still in the end you should know the whole truth. It is definitely better to live with knowledge instead of ignorance
i agree with amy when she says that knowing knowledge is better than not knowing it. She also went on to say that what's most important is what you do with that knowledge. Without knowledge you never will learn how to better yourself and learn from past experiences. That's why knowledge is better than ignorance.
After reading Oedipus I still think that knowledge in better because even if the information hurts you mentally, you can change and survive. The thing is that Oedipus physical hurt himself, which was unnecessary. He could have changed and lived a happy life, even with bad memories with the knowledge he gained. But he took matters into his own hand and hurt himself, which wouldn't have happened if he didn't do that.
I agree with Erin. I believe that you need both knowledge and ignorance. Each one has it's own pros and cons. Just because someone has knowledge does not mean that they will use it, or use it wisely. But knowing too much can also lead to your downfall, like in Oedipus.
In today's society you need both knowledge and ignorance. Someone can't just live their life based on just knowledge or ignorance. You need an even combination of both in order to be successful.
Well, for the socratic seminar the group I was in had the round abouts of this question. To me, I find this question easy and simple. No matter what the fact or the "truth" is, I would rather know the truth than live a lie like Oedipus did because the truth always seems to venture out in one obscure way or another. I feel that knowledge is always better than ignorance and will seek you farther places in life as well. You can only get so far in life when being ignorant because somewhere along the way the truth will be inevitable. All in all, I believe knowledge will always conquer over ignorance so there is no need for ignorance.
I agree and disagree with Nicole M when she says “Some things in life that once the truth is learned, it can cause immense pain towards someone”. She then tied her opinion to Oedipus: (Oedipus stabbing his eyes, Jocasta killing herself). It is true that when Oedipus found out the truth there was a lot of guilt and hurt; but under this circumstance Oedipus’s ignorance towards the truth hurt him the most, and caused the most damage. I also disagree with her statement “It is better if you let knowledge come to you, rather than insisting on finding out the harmful truth.” I disagree with this because at the end of the book Oedipus pushed his ignorance to the side and started questioning his wife, and the Shepard. Both of these people denied the truth and avoided it till last minute. If the truth happens to be harmful, either way (if you hear it or seek it) it will hurt you in the end, therefore I think you should find things out for yourself and search for truth because the hardest truth is hearing it from someone else.
I agree with what Sara said nabout having both knowledge and ignorance in our lives. Even though we strive to find out as much knowledge as we can I believe it is only better to know the knowledge that you need to know because otherwise it can end up destroying your life. We can't live in constant fear because it can eat away at us and it can be our tragic downfall.
It's better to have knowledge because it can be beneficial in many different situations even if it's not worth the cost. People seek out for knowledge even if it's not their business and they're not always happy when they find out, but it can help guide them in their lives and when they face a tough problem, they have the knowledge for it.
I do believe that knowledge is better than ignorance, but I do think Mariah is right about being ignorant because when you don't know the truth about a some things it can make life a whole lot better. Like around christmas time when little kids believe in Santa it just makes christmas so much more magical than when you don't believe and you just look forward to just presnts. So in a situation like that, I would rather be ignorant than have the truth lie within me.
i like what Amy said about knowing what to do with the knowledge you acquire. For Oedipus it worked out better when he did not have the knowledge. Once he had it, he used it to commit horrible things such as making himself blind. When he was still ignorant, he wouldn't think of that, and he also wouldn't be ashamed because there was no reason for that. Once he had gotten the understanding of his identity, he acted from guilt and did things which only harmed him.
I dont agree with Teikyo, in my opinion ignorance is better to have than knowledge. I totally agree with the saying, Ignorance is bliss. This is because, knowledge can only give you more power, but it can also have the capacity to make you feel bad or good. But if your ignorant you don't know anything. Thus, you're not neutral
You are not (morally) held responsible for actions that you did because of you ignorance. For example, if I unwittingly parked in a no-parking zone and my father's car got towed, I wouldn't feel as guilty as I would if I knew it was a no-parking zone. I believe people are all entitled to have knowledge about matters concerning themselves. We are responsible for what we know because it can potentially hurt other people. If we possess this knowledge we are responsible for keeping it to ourselves.
I think that knowledge is better than ignorance. A lot of people have been saying that knowledge was bad in Oedipus, but without that knowledge Thebes wouldnt have been saved. So although it was destructive to Oedipus, it saved everyone else. There are limits though. Personal things should be kept personal. I dont think that that drunk guy should have told Oedipus that Polybus wasnt his real father. They should have been the ones to tell him that.
I like what Sara said in her first post. Everything that we do, every decision we make is based on knowledge. Without any knowledge we would make worse decisions than without, and we would be worse off than if we had knowledge. But you are responsible for that knowledge. Even if you arent the cause of something bad that happens, you are still somewhat responsible. Thats why you might feel guilty about something if you think that you could have done something about it. You feel like its your fault even though it isnt.
Mithun brought up a good point, that ignorance makes on less guilty. However, this is not the truth. If I were to kill an animal that was protected by law without knowing it had been protected, I would still be guilty of a federal offense, and the law would view it that way. I may plead ignorance, but in law that is no excuse. While you may feel morally excused you are not legally excused or perhaps morally excused by others.
When Sam mentioned the Santa situation, it got my thinking about how kids are almost always ignorant to most things. But I also believe they are mostly content with the things they know. Today at thanksgiving I was noticing how my younger cousins we're really shy but curious around new people. For some reason it got me thinking about this blog. Although they are unfamiliar to many things, they're curious to figure things out. We can only blame this on ourselves. We're mostly responsible for the things we know because we're naturally curious. The only other way for us to gain knowledge is with other people. But it is also our responsibility to take or reject that knowledge. I think all things should be left out in the open because then you could never be hurt my unknown things. People always seem to get hurt from things they don't know. If we all knew everything, wouldn't people's feelings be hurt a lot less often?
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