Is Ignorance Bliss ?
Alison Randall is a very intelligent and spiritual atheist (and happens to be my wife, by coincidence). Here is her take on the subject of happiness as an atheist and rationalist.
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A philosophy message board thread once asked its members: Is intelligence an impediment to happiness? The idea was presented that the more intelligent one is, the more aware one is of the harsh realities of life. In other words, Ignorance is Bliss.
It occurred to me that happiness has to do with spirit rather than intellect. Happiness is a mood, and moods are created by our physical selves. Intelligence may play a part in elevating happiness, in that how successful one is in handling tasks in one's daily life and in one's job. But depression, a clinical illness, affects both the fast and the slow.
I often hear from people who are absolutely convinced that an atheist could never be happy because there is no god in his life. It has been said that "if you think you are a tiny, insignificant speck on a tiny, insignificant speck of dust in a massive universe, and there is no ultimate justice, no afterlife where you are rewarded with eternal bliss (and untold riches), why don't you just kill yourself?"
Bah. I say, Bah! I was having this discussion with my boyfriend. He was so intrigued by our conversation that he immediately began to outline the concepts for a new form of spirituality based on Reason and the very ideas put forth in the above paragraph: our insignificance as well as our deep connection to the cosmos. He reminded me of The Total Perspective Vortex from the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams.
In short, the TPV was a black box that you were forced into in order to view a large map of the universe with a tiny arrow pointing to a smallish speck of light with the caption "you are here." The individual inside usually died of insignificance (except for Zaphod Beeblebrox who learned, just as he had expected, that he was indeed the most important being in the universe).
Franc theorized that the person who is confronted with the depth of reality as to his own true insignificance and doesn't live a life of despair and despondency (or go shoot himself in the head) is a truly enlightened person. Yes! One can live life knowing there is no god or afterlife, yet go about his business as best he can-and still be happy!
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