This posting is a condensed version of a new entry on the Talking Points page. The subject is Agnotology, the study of ignorance. We certainly have an abundance of ignorance and outright lying these days!
The study of ignorance, its origin and nature has been termed agnotology,[1] which was crafted from the same Greek word as agnostic. One way to study ignorance is to divide it into three basic types. The first of these is native state; these are things we have not yet discovered. The second is called lost realm, which are things we previously knew but have forgotten. The final type is the one we are interested in: strategic ploy, deliberately constructed ignorance by a group promoting a certain agenda.[2] “Ignorance can be an actively engineered part of a deliberate plan.”[3]
The deliberate spreading of falsehood is one of the tactics used by the followers of our fallen planetary prince; this activity is deliberate and they know exactly what they are doing. This deliberate spreading of lies is the way they operate. What they disseminate is misinformation, and they know it is false. Furthermore they actively promote and spread these statements they know to be lies; their motto might be: “we rule you if we can fool you.”[4]
This type of agnotology is spread by special interest groups having an ideology not generally accepted; they fully believe in their agenda, so much so they will do anything to bring it into a wider acceptance. Since they have such a firm belief in their tenets they feel justified in spreading lies to attain their goals. Indeed there is no limit to the techniques they will use to further their plans; for them the end does justify the means, there is no cultural or moral restraint to their activity.
In our society the spreading of deliberate lies has become simple due to our internet technology and social media; for these outlets there is little checking of facts, everything put out there is assumed to be absolute truth. There are even students of The Urantia Book who believe outrageous lies published on these media. Each of us needs to be critical of information we receive; we need to think for ourselves.
Truth is diluted by an avalanche of lies in this process; the forces opposing truth can put out a blizzard of lies obscuring all truth and leading many astray. Thinking persons must be careful and attempt to discover where truth resides; we must consider the source of any information we receive before we make up our mind.
One of the most glaring examples of agnotology is the tobacco industry denying their product causes cancer; an executive of that industry “stated doubt is our product.”[5] The tobacco industry utilized countless agnotology schemes to create doubt concerning the scientific evidence about the cancer causing effect of tobacco. Among these are: advertising, funding questionable research, set up organizations acting as a mouthpiece for the industry, press releases containing falsehoods, compiling friendly research for publication in poplar outlets and many other such projects. They also had a vast amount of money to fund these efforts.[6] At every turn the industry denied, spread falsehoods and did everything to obfuscate reality, even though there was good scientific research linking tobacco with cancer.[7]
Willful dissemination of falsehood has become so commonplace it is hardly noticed, and this is a sad commentary on our society. It seems we cannot trust anyone to tell the truth; this is not a modern phenomenon; lie telling has been with us for a very long time indeed.
Deliberately spreading lies was one of the main techniques used by Hitler and the Nazis in their rise to power. There is a well-known quote by their propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels to this effect: “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.” And: “the truth is the greatest enemy of the state.”[8] The methods and results of the Nazis are well known.
The political arena is fertile ground for lie telling. It is too easy to make up a wild story defaming one’s opponent and publish it without any basis in fact whatsoever. Another tactic frequently used is cherry picking voting records; they pick a few votes bolstering the position they want to promote against their opponent while ignoring the vast number that do not. Lie telling has become prevalent in our society; a consequence of not having a strong moral foundation.
This prevalence of lie telling is what happens when any society ignores spiritual reality. Certainly if we ignore future eternity, if we ignore God, if we ignore true values, then we are free to do whatever we might want. Where will you be in a thousand years? What will be the spiritual harvest of your actions? The quality of our decisions during life in the flesh determines the nature of our service and adventure opportunities in eternity. We can ignore truth only so long; eventually it rises up and asserts itself. When reality rises up and bites you on the buttocks will you be on God’s side or on the side of those who cannot face spiritual reality?
We recognize a serious problem, what can each of us do about it? First is stick to the truth, not in any circumstances stoop to the level of truth deniers, because when we fall to their level we become one of them. It is imperative we stick to truth and emphasize reality. The moment we fall to their level we may be lost. Those working against truth have much experience; they absolutely know what they are doing. Therefore we must be patient, follow the internal guidance each of us has, and fearlessly confront the truth deniers.
They can be defeated by reason, patience and determination; we must not be caught up in the emotional displays they use to obscure their falsehoods. When we consistently stick to truth, we weaken their position. They have no real facts to bolster their position, they can only bring up half-truths or harangue about nothing until those upholding reality give up. As long as we, truth tellers, stick to our positions, and if we are strong, we will be able to withstand the sophistry of evil.
We must counteract lie tellers point by point, dealing with each false issue they concoct. One problem lie tellers have is keeping all their lies consistent; we who stick to truth have only one story making it easier for us. We must not be dismayed when liars publish wild and untrue stories about us, and we must be steadfast declaring truth even though nobody may believe it. Eventually truth will come out.
Tags: Agnotology, Ideologically Driven Processes, Moral Foundation
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“Agnotology: The making and Unmaking of Ignorance” Edited by Robert N. Proctor and Londa Schiebinger, Stanford University Press, Stanford California, 2008, p. vii ↑
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Proctor p.3 ↑
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Ibid p. 9 ↑
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Ibid p. 11 ↑
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Proctor p. 1 ↑
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Ibid p. 17 ↑
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During the first half of the twentieth century the author’s uncle, Dr. Leonell C. Strong, was one of these researchers and he remembers visiting Dr. Strong’s lab when young. Among other research Dr. Strong painted tobacco tars on mice and observed the tumors formed. A biography of Dr. Strong can be found at: https://acsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.3322/canjclin.29.1.54 ↑
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Thinkexist.com/quotation/-if_you_tell_a_lie_big_enough_and_keep_repeating/345877.html, retrieved 4/13/2020 ↑