agnorance

I was talking with a friend about the recent theme on this blog of arrogant ignorance.

Arrogant ignorance ... arrogant ignorance ... arrogant ignorance ... arrogant ignorance ... arrogant ignorance ... arrogant ignorance ...

Whenever I type the same combination of words over and over again, I start looking for a shorthand.

I would like to propose a neologism:

agnorance
I mean it as a portmanteau of arrogance and ignorance, but if it reads as "aggravated ignorance" I can live with that.

The opposite of agnorance is intellectual humility.

Socrates concluded that his wisdom consisted in knowing that he didn't know anything. He was ignorant, but he was not arrogant in his ignorance the way the prominent men of Athens were. The Athenians were agnorant.

If someone says, "Me and my friends went down to the Piggly Wiggly for some cold ones," then that person is speaking informally. Perhaps he's ignorant of the formal construction, but perhaps he just doesn't care. More power to him.

But if someone says, "Between you and I, whomever did it should feel badly," well, that's just egregious agnorance.

It will take years for me to correct my historical ignorance.

Agnorance, ideally, can be shed with a simple decision.

See also:

"incorrectables"