# love of ignorance



## sirgawain

If philosophy is the love of wisdom - according to the ancient Greek roots - is there an equivalent word in English or ancient Greek for the love of ignorance?    Thanks for your help.


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## Scholiast

χαίρετε!

μισοσοφία ("misosophy") would be an instantly obvious, and legitimate, coinage, certainly in classical, and I believe in modern, Greek. And in English too (cf. "misogyny", "misanthrope"). I would have no hesitation in using that word in English, but probably in an ironic context.


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## apmoy70

Happy New Year!
Καλή χρονιά!
+1 on misosophy.
How about «Φιλαγνωσία»?
«Φιλαγνωσία» Philagnosia = the love of ignorance
adj. philagnostic


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## Scholiast

Καλὴ Χρονιἀ indeed!

With all respect to apmoy70 (#3), who writes:



> How about «Φιλαγνωσία»?
> «Φιλαγνωσία» Philagnosia = the love of ignorance
> adj. philagnostic



I thought of that too. But the trouble is, at least for English speakers, that from the [γι]γν- root _agnostic _has a connotation altogether unsuitable for the OP's purposes, as "agnostic" in modern English refers to someone who thoughtfully espouses the idea that we cannot know whether God exists or not.


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## apmoy70

Scholiast said:


> Καλὴ Χρονιἀ indeed!
> 
> With all respect to apmoy70 (#3), who writes:
> 
> 
> 
> I thought of that too. But the trouble is, at least for English speakers, that from the [γι]γν- root _agnostic _has a connotation altogether unsuitable for the OP's purposes, as "agnostic" in modern English refers to someone who thoughtfully espouses the idea that we cannot know whether God exists or not.


Ah, I see, haven't thought of that aspect. But then, how about the calque philignorance? it means the same without any reference to _agnostic_
adj. philignorant


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## Scholiast

Μy sincere greetings once more

Now apmoy (#5) offers:



> ...how about the calque philignorance?



OK, I'm a Graeco-Latin pedant. I don't like these "calques" at all anyway. ("Television" is a baddie already, but we've lost that battle, not least because "telescope" already exists in a different sense.) But apart from the inherent hybrid ugliness of the word "philignorance", there would be a better, neater, Latinate term, _nescientia. _But what the OP is looking for is _willful_, determined ignorance, a posture of positive hostility to scholarship, artistic endeavour or thought.

For this, I beg to submit, μισοσφἰα cannot be far wrong.

I am of course open to any more suggestions.

Σ


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## Perseas

sirgawain said:


> If philosophy is the love of wisdom - according to the ancient Greek roots - is there an equivalent word in English or ancient Greek for the love of ignorance?    Thanks for your help.


Χρόνια πολλά σε όλους! Ευτυχισμένο και με υγεία το 2013!
A happy new year to all!

Actually, I have difficulty perceiving the image of a person who loves ignorance. We could maybe have one or two examples on that. Besides, _γνώση_ (which is an opposite of _άγνοια_) and _σοφία_ may overlay in some aspects but they are not synonym. _Σοφία_ is deeper and exists in a higher level, whereas _γνώση_ may refer even to the basic knowledge of the everyday life. Of course _γνώση_ is a precondition for _σοφία_. So, are we looking for someone who hates _γνώση_ or _σοφία_? Ι could accept the term "μισόσοφος" but only in an ironical use of speech, as has also been pointed out by Scholiast. For I cannot imagine how a person may love the knowledge and at the same time hate wisdom. Therefore I think we should direct our effort to a compound that contains perhaps words like "γνώση" or "άγνοια". How about "*φιλάγνοια*"?


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## cougr

sirgawain said:


> If philosophy is the love of wisdom - according to the ancient Greek roots - is there an equivalent word in English or ancient Greek for the love of ignorance?    Thanks for your help.



I think that misology (μισολογία) comes pretty close.


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## Scholiast

Greetings all

Perseas writes:



> Actually, I have difficulty perceiving the image of a person who loves ignorance



Amen to that. Be we Greek, Jewish, Christian or anything else, it is ignorance that compounds the idiocies of centuries.


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## Acestor

Καλή χρονιά. Let me contribute with what I’ve found in the OED:

*misogrammatist* [Gr. γράµµατα ‘letters’, pl. of γράµµα letter], a hater of letters or learning.
a1661 Fuller _Worthies, Suffolk_ (1662) iii. 68 Wat Tyler, who being a Misogrammatist (if a good Greek word may be given to so Barbarous a Rebel) hated every man that could write or read

*misosophist* [cf. Gr. µῑσόσοϕος], a hater of wisdom; so *misosophy*, hatred of wisdom.
1937 _Philos_. XII. 332 The disposition to be convinced of ill-founded or unfounded doctrines, or unconvinced of well-founded ones, is a ‘misosophical’ disposition.
1890 _Eng. Illustr. Mag._ Nov. 130, I am a mysosophist! All wisdom is vanity, and I hate it!
1820–30 Coleridge in _Lit. Rem._ (1838) III. 33 Schools of psilology… and misosophy are here out of the question.    1937 Philos. XII. 319 A fraternity of persons of kindred credulities could only constitute a school of ‘misosophy’.

So, kudos to the Scholiast!


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## Scholiast

Thanks, Acestor (#10), for the information (and the kind remarks): I had no access to the full _OED_, and it is good to know that my instincts were, for once, not misplaced. I have to confess that I had not thought of μισογραμματἰστης.

Kudos to Acestor too, therefore!


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