Ignorance

By Victor M Fontane

What if self-deception was our most common form of ignorance? 

Søren Kierkegaard, one of the great existentialist philosophers, expressed it with brutal clarity:

“There are two ways to be deceived: one is to believe what is not true, and the other is to refuse to believe what is. "

This phrase not only points to logical errors or magical thinking, but to an uncomfortable truth: the denial of evidence can be as damaging as blind greed.

In an era of overinformation, conspiracy theories, and viral disinformation, many fall to one extreme:

They create falsehoods without questioning them.

They reject fact-checked because they challenge their previous beliefs.

Kierkegaard invites us to review our certainties, to stay critical and not to confuse "feeling like something is true" with knowing that something is true.

True intellectual freedom requires bravery: that of accepting truths we don't always like, and letting go of lies that once gave us comfort.

Have you ever been to either of these two ends? What helped you change your perspective?