Excerpt from 'Ignorance and Bliss: On Wanting Not to Know' - Harvard Gazette
Briefly

Mark Lilla's book, "Ignorance and Bliss: On Wanting Not to Know," delves into the societal tendency to embrace magical thinking, overshadowing common sense and expertise. Through an allegorical narrative, Lilla reflects on the challenge of accepting uncomfortable truths about reality versus the allure of comforting illusions. By using a cave metaphor, Lilla illustrates how many prefer a false sense of security over the harsher, illuminating truths that challenge their beliefs. The work critiques the consequences of ignorance and the yearning for warmth in the stark, truth-revealing light.
He was shattered. The woman comforted him as best she could and said she was there to take him away.
These forms, though difficult to describe, were somehow pleasing. The woman called them Ideas and explained that they, and only they, truly are.
Read at Harvard Gazette
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