Deliberate ignorance

Deliberate ignorance (sometimes willful ignorance) is the practice of refusing to consider or discuss logic or evidence disproving ideologically motivated positions. Related concepts are wishful thinking and the fallacy of invincible ignorance. Examples of deliberate ignorance include:

• liberal denial about the ability to leave the harmful homosexual lifestyle, as thousands have successfully done
• Howard Dean, a physician, former Governor, and longtime politician, refusing to recognize that taxpayer-funded abortion increases the number of abortions
• abortionists refuse to address the undisclosed hcritics of Richard Sternberg, whom they ostracize for having published an intelligent design article
• Democrats refusing to acknowledge [[Barack Obamof material explanation for migration and homing
• evolutionists refuse to address the lack of a plausible evolutionary path for the whale and the other counterexamples to evolution.
• Believing that only one ideology could ever make mistakesroductivity
• Liberals who refuse to acknowledge the many fundamental truths in the Bible and even dismiss out-of-hand the many examples of Biblical scientific foreknowledge but refuse to read the Bible.
• Advocates of the global warming theory refuse to consir any scientific evidence which shows that natural causes have always had a greater effect on terrestrial air temperature than human activity.
• Liberal cafeteria Christians refuse to consider Bible verses that contradict their preconceived notions of what the Bible should say.
• Liberal Internet discussion boards quickly delete posts than all the objective facts clearly indicate that said fallacies are false.
• Liberals who claim that the first amendment says that public officials are not allowed to acknowledge America's Christian heritage.
• Pushing a "scientific" theory for political purposes or because it fits one's belief system or preconceived notions, while dismissing actual scientific evidence that discredits the theory

Common expressions of deliberate ignorance include:

• "I find that hard to believe!" (Howard Dean, June 11, 2008, in response to a fact ignored by liberals)
• "I'm not aware of that!" (without admitting a failure to look)
• "I've never seen that in the New York Times!"
• "That's not what it said in my (public school) textbook!"
• "Let's talk about something else!"
• "I'm not interested in that!"
• "That [[Logical fallacy#Appeal t "persecution" consists only of pointing out inconvenient facts or logic)
• "That's not true in my experience," with the implication that it therefore cannot be true at all

Deliberate ignorance is clearly quoted from the Bible in 2 Peter 3:3-6: "Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since ancestors do the world of that time was deluged and destroyed." (NIV) This is only referring to the denial of God's magnificent handiwork in the creation.

Crime of deliberate ignorance

Deliberate ignorance can be a crimess/technology/articles/2006/05/11/enron_jury_to_consider_deliberate_ignorance/</ref>

Shift of meaning of "igance"

The word "ignorance" used to peain more to the willful act of ignoring information more than "not knowing" it. So phrases like "willful ignorance" or "deliberate ignorance" would mean "willful willful not knowing" or "deliberate willful not knowing".

A translation of a 13th century Chuence" is used. However, this word is virtually unknown today.