Perspectives on Ignorance from Moral and Social Philosophy

<p>This edited collection focuses on the moral and social dimensions of ignorance—an undertheorized category in analytic philosophy. Contributors address such issues as the relation between ignorance and deception ignorance as a moral excuse ignorance as a legal excuse and the relation between ignorance and moral character. In the <i>moral</i> realm ignorance is sometimes considered as an excuse; some specific kind of ignorance seems to be implied by a moral character; and ignorance is closely related to moral risk. Ignorance has certain <i>social</i> dimensions as well: it has been claimed to be the engine of science; it seems to be entailed by privacy and secrecy; and it is widely thought to constitute a legal excuse in certain circumstances. Together these contributions provide a sustained inquiry into the nature of ignorance and the pivotal role it plays in the moral and social domains.</p>