If ignorance is bliss...?

Question

If ignorance is bliss, than how come more people aren't happy ? Also how come is an increase of people on medication in the last decade or so to manufacture happiness?

Answer 1

I think the saying may stem from something as benign as "What you don't know about won't affect you" - such as watching the news on television, etc., which can have a depressing effect on people as it is usually basically the negative things that get reported.

As for medication manufacturing happiness, if only that were so.  There is actually no such thing as the so-called "Happy Pill" - Prozac and other antidepressants do not give you a feeling of bliss or happiness.  All they do is treat chemical or reactive depressions for a while.  Contrary to popular belief, they do not give one a "lift" or "boost" of happiness.  They are prescribed in order to help depressives function normally in a society when they would not ordinarily be able to cope.

Answer 2

1) Being ignorant isn't bliss.  In this day and age, it's nearly impossible not to know things that make you sad or anger you.

2) A diabetic takes insulin which is a hormone.

An asthmatic uses inhalers and meds to breathe.

Someone with a heart rhythm problem uses meds or a pacemaker to regulate the heart.

Someone with osteoporosis takes medications because of they lack the ability to keep their bones strong.

Someone who is depressed takes medications to replace hormones/chemicals that are not being made in the brain.

At bit of info on 'manufactured happiness':  medication only REPLACES what the brain fails to manufacture in sufficient quantities.

People on medication for depression are not dancing in the streets in psychedelic euphoria.  Their medication only brings them up to speed.

Answer 3

That's funny - many people say that all the time and if it were true, more people would be happy because ignorance is abundant. I think that truth and knowledge creates situations that are too stressful for many people to handle but having the opposite, ignorance, does not in turn make one less stressed. Instead of seeking knowledge and dealing with the truth, people remain in the state of ignorance and medicate (drugs, alcohol, smoking, etc.) to create a false sense of emotional control.

The pharmaceutical industry has a lot of blame also. It is more profitable to market a pill for a problem than to suggest a behavioral type treatment.

Answer 4

People are not happy about the things they are not ignorant about. Maybe they don't know many happy things.

Answer 5

Ignorance in the true situation is bliss.

Answer 6

ignorance is bliss put perception is reality if you think you know then you do wether your right or wrong thats why people are so unhappy they think they are unhappy therefore making themselves unhappy

Answer 7

To answer your second question, I'll guess that maybe our culture has become too materialistic, and that in order to sell products, many advertisers use the same narrative - some variation of - there is something wrong with you, or your life isn't as good as it could be BUT if you buy our product, everything will be okay!  It's not difficult to find examples of this.  Anyways, what happens in real life?  A person buys the product, enjoys it for a little while, but eventually the pleasure wears off and you're back to your usual self.  I think this endless stream of shortchanged experiences really wears down on people, and eventually at some level, if only subconsciously, the endless cycle of attempting to "buy happiness" leaves some people feeling hollow, or that their lives lack meaning.  There are other things that can cause one to feel that his/her life lacks meaning: working a job you don't care about for example.

Another explanation, and this ties in with consumerism, is the direct marketing of pharmaceuticals to consumers (mainly television ads for pharmaceuticals.)  These are so ubiquitous in the US that you'd probably be shocked to learn that the US and New Zealand are the ONLY two countries in the WORLD that allow direct marketing of pharmaceuticals to consumers.  These include drugs for mental health, and these ads work the same as an ad for any other product.  I have no doubt that the direct marketing of pharmaceuticals to consumers is at least partly responsible.

Answer 8

Ignorance is bliss depending on the information.

Ignorance has no realtion to depression! Depression IMO is increasing due to the increasingly complex nature of our lives.