The Two aspects of Human Thought: Ignorance and Arrogance

Mohammad Muslim

“Ignorance blocks innovation by limiting exposure to new ideas, while arrogance destroys collaboration by rejecting others.”

Arrogance and ignorance are two different traits; however, they often co-exist and are interrelated. While one may represent overconfidence (arrogance), the other may well represent a lack or deficit in understanding (ignorance). It is the overlap between the two that negatively impacts the growth of each of them along with the relationship between people and to society as a whole. This article will define and describe both traits, as well as investigate their psychological basis, social consequences, and possible solutions. By breaking them down in order to gain a greater insight into how they show up in people’s lives every day, it is evident that it is important to address both traits for cognitive and emotional development.

 Arrogance versus Ignorance: Arrogance is defined as excessive or over-exaggerated self-importance, self-worth, or self-value. Therefore, arrogance can be defined as a result of hubris (an over-exaggeration of one’s worth) and a general disregard for another person’s different opinion from their own. Arrogance has been linked to narcissism (the tendency to place self-love above empathy) in an individual’s psychological make-up. An arrogant person is likely to dominate the conversation, devalue co-workers, and reject criticism because they believe their word is law and should not be questioned.

Ignorance refers to not being aware of something. Although there are cases of innocent ignorance, such as when someone does not know anything about quantum physics, due to their profession; there are also cases of culpable ignorance, such as when one purposely does not learn something so that they can maintain their comfort zone. Ignorance is not a bad thing because we all have areas of ignorance that are natural to all of us in the fields that we do not know much about; but when it becomes a contributing factor to making poor decisions or reinforcing negative beliefs, then it becomes a problem.

The primary ways to differentiate between arrogance and ignorance are intent and one’s self-concept. Arrogance is defined as thinking you know something, or that you have knowledge, and therefore placing a value on the knowledge, but being unaware of the fact that you might know less than you think you do; ignorance is being uninformed and/or unwilling to learn. However, while it appears at first as though there are two distinct terms/definitions, the lines are often blurred when considering that arrogant individuals will often fail to identify their limitations and have a phenomenon that is referred to as the ‘Dunning-Kruger Effect’ which is characterized by an overreliance on one’s perceived abilities in an area of lack of experience.

While there are many distinctions between ignorance and arrogance, the two represent a dangerous partnership because of the many similarities that exist between them. One commonality could be ego-protective cognitive biases; something referred to as Confirmation Bias (the tendency to look for evidence that supports one’s preconceptions) increases arrogance through the creation of an exaggerated self-image, while at the same time encouraging ignorance because contradictory data is ignored. Both arrogance and ignorance have a similar effect on individuals in that they leave them feeling isolated from others in a social context. An ignorant person will post false information on social media without knowing the facts; whereas, an arrogant person would post false information while believing it to be true without any supporting evidence. Hollow and unsupported beliefs combined with the dismissal of expert opinion and ignorance of scientific methodology can create echo chambers for conspiracy theorists, thereby increasing the divide between them and the rest of the population.

Additionally, both impede advancement. A lack of understanding or knowledge prevents people from being able to innovate (create new things) by stopping them from being exposed to new ideas. An arrogant mind-set stops people from working well together and results in believing that one extraordinary person is enough to accomplish the job at hand. There are numerous historical examples of this. For example, if one looks at history, they will find that the arrogant rulers (leaders) of the Roman Empire failed to see the geopolitical (international scene) changes occurring in the world, which contributed in part to the demise of the Roman Empire. In today’s society, companies continue to collapse due to the arrogant actions of CEOs (chief executive officers) engaging in immoral financial manipulations that come from being ignorant about moral boundaries and future implications of their actions, such as the Enron case.

From a psychological aspect, both maintain defence mechanisms for our thoughts. Lack of understanding will protect us from the extreme complexity of the world, while the arrogance confers to a fragile (insecure) sense of self.

People with low abilities will often have an exaggerated view of their skills due to the ignorance-arrogance combination (Dunning & Kruger), so people will have to deal with both often when dealing with a problem.

Differences: Significant Differences While there are some similarities between ignorance and arrogance, they are two completely different things that have a different effect on both people and communities. For instance, arrogance tends to be a more active (obvious) quality than ignorance. It can show itself through the following types of behavior’s: arrogance, interruptions, and bragging. An arrogant physician will not take into account their patients’ concerns and/or act upon them and misdiagnose them not because they do not know but rather because they have too high of an opinion of themselves., but rather because they think they are perfect. Ignorance, however, is passive and subtle. Voters may support a policy without understanding its implications, not because they are better than others, but simply because they are uninformed.

Extrinsic factors, like a lack of education, cultural isolation, or information overload in the digital age, are often the cause of ignorance. On the other hand, arrogance is more inward-looking and has to do with one’s character and upbringing. While those who are denied educational opportunities remain ignorant, children who receive excessive praise for their innate abilities may become arrogant. There are also differences in the emotional cost. When enlightened, ignorance can lead to regret “I didn’t know better” which encourages self-improvement and humility. But arrogance resists change and often results in failure or loneliness. While ignorance may be excused as human error, the saying “Pride goes before a fall” highlights the destructive nature of arrogance.

When people were unaware of climate change in its early discussions, for example, it allowed for slow instruction. This is an example of collective ignorance in society. Conflict and stagnation result when arrogance is institutionalized; take the way authoritarian regimes dismiss international criticism.

Philosophical and Psychological Perspectives: Bankers’ arrogance in high-risk investments, which was made worse by regulators’ ignorance of complex derivatives, was exemplified by the 2008 financial crisis. Overcompensation for insecurities is psychologically consistent with arrogance. It is a superego imbalance, according to Freudian philosophy, where ego inflating masks id-driven concerns. Cognitive theories suggest a connection between ignorance and schema gaps mental models that are deficient due to experience deficiencies.

Socrates is a major influence in philosophy and is often quoted as saying, “ I know that I know nothing,” which exemplifies humility—an important concept in philosophy because it opposes both ignorance and arrogance. Ignorance is defined here as being apathetic to the gap between what you know and what you don’t know, whereas arrogance is defined as having a false sense of superiority; both are seen by Buddhism and other eastern philosophies as delusions caused by ignorance (Maya) or attachment to the self. Modern neuroscience indicates that while the average uneducated person shows significantly lower levels of frontal lobe activity (thinking critically), an arrogant individual will show significantly higher levels of activity in the reward circuitry of the brain when exhibiting superiority over others. This demonstrates that both ignorance and arrogance have biological underpinnings; however, experience plays an equal or larger role in establishing levels of ignorance and arrogance. The greater the number of experiences a person has in a variety of ways develops their competence, thereby producing less ignorance and greater humility. On the other hand, the more responsibility people accept for their own actions, the more likely they will develop humility, and this will diminish their sense of superiority.

The medical field has examples of both types. Individuals who do not receive vaccinations due to lack of education ultimately have negative impact on the health of the population. Egotistical surgeons do not take into account input from others in the operating room, which leads to egregious mistakes. The COVID-19 crisis was a clear example of both. Individuals did not wear masks based on misinformation and egotistically believed the pandemic was finished long before it was actually over.

Business leaders such as Elon Musk demonstrate the balancing act of displaying immense self-confidence through their grand ambitions while displaying moments of ignorance regarding operational difficulties (as evidenced by Twitter’s transformation to X). On the opposite end of the spectrum, humble leaders exemplified by Warren Buffett grow their businesses while candidly acknowledging their ignorance and refraining from projecting an air of superiority.

Addressing these two flaws requires self-awareness along with intentional action. Lifelong education is the solution to ignorance by educating oneself through varied readings, seeking mentors and developing genuine curiosity. Tools such as online learning can help democratize knowledge, thereby converting passive ignorance into active enlightenment.

To address one’s arrogance requires developing humility-based practices which involve active listening, asking others for feedback, as well as acknowledging one’s mistakes. Engaging with therapy, in particular cognitive behavioural approaches, can assist people in changing along the narcissistic spectrum. Practicing mindfulness and meditative techniques can also heighten an individual’s level of awareness regarding gaps created by their egos.

The focus is to create balance: to have confidence without being arrogant; and to have knowledge without having pretension. As Albert Einstein observed, “The more I learn the more I understand my limitations” – this mantra clearly defines how one can create balance that is so necessary in today’s business environment.

Is Arrogance Greater than Ignorance?

Ignorance seems like something you can fix pretty easily, just by learning more or getting a better understanding of things. But arrogance, that is tougher, because it basically means you have to let go of your ego to even start moving ahead. I think that is why dealing with the bad stuff from ignorance gets way harder when arrogance is in the mix.

Both of them end up holding back what people can really do, you know, like they drag down human potential in similar ways. Empathy comes into play here, along with asking questions about ourselves and the people around us. In this connected world we live in, that stuff is key for making smart choices, or building communities that actually work, and even just feeling good about your own life.

The battle against arrogance and ignorance does not wrap up fast. It takes time, and it is all about sticking with self-examination, staying open. Some might say it is never really over, but committing to that practice helps over the long run.

Writer is a student, columnist and can be reached at mdmuslimbhat@gmail.com