Aristotle claimed that all human beings desire to know. Yet it is equally true that, at times, we strive with all our might not to know. Why do we resist the truth? Why are we drawn to prophets, myths, and comforting illusions? And what does this desire for ignorance reveal about ourselves? In this lucid and provocative book, Mark Lilla explores one of the fundamental paradoxes of human nature: our simultaneous longing for knowledge and our impulse to flee from it. Drawing on sources ranging from the Bible and Plato’s dialogues to Sufi parables, Freud, and contemporary society, Lilla uncovers the ways in which we hide the truth from ourselves, as well as the fantasies we create in an attempt to escape reality. Ignorance and Bliss is an intellectual journey through the history of ideas and human self-deception—a book that challenges us to question our own beliefs and to ask how much we truly want to know.
- Year of the edition: 2026
- Cover: paperback
- Original language: English
- Translation: Marko Maras