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Ignorance as The Most Toxic Element of Humankind: Analysis of Literary Examples

The connection between lack of knowledge and foolishness, how factual ignorance can work as a moral excuse, understanding the impact of illiteracy through fredrick douglass’ story, let us write you an essay from scratch.

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Ignorance in Dystopian Texts: The Matrix, Allegory of The Cave, and 1984

Arrogance, innocence, and ignorance in jon krakauer’s into the wild, ignorance and knowledge in fahrenheit 451 by ray bradbury, the problem of ignorance about mental illness, get a personalized essay in under 3 hours.

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The Issue of Voters’ Political Ignorance

The theme of ignorance in rowson’s charlotte temple and rowlandson’s the sovereignty and goodness of god, john rawl's perspective on moral responsibility and ignorance, the cycle between poverty and conflict: solving the problem with the help of liquidation ignorance, fighting ignorance: the documentary with representation of refugees and asylum seekers, relevant topics.

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Essay Samples on Ignorance

Examples of ignorance is a bliss and origin of the word.

The word Bliss originates from German and Middle English language and associates with extreme happiness and joy. To feel Bliss literally means to be in the state of ecstasy or in spiritual joy. The meaning of the word can also be represented as a metaphor...

• Linguistics

Knowledge & Understanding Of Ignorance In A Bible

The Republic contrasts forms, which is knowledge, form opinion, represented by appearances and its benefits in leadership. Knowledge, from a biblical basis is acquired through the Holy Spirit as a gift. In Theological-Political Treatise, knowledge is the basis of understanding the role of a state...

The Philosophy Of Ignorance And Knowledge In Buddhism

In order to prepare for the job interview, I had to hack into Buddha’s iPhone. At first, I did not know what I was looking for, but for some reason, something was telling me to do it. When I was looking through the phone I...

Motives That Drive People Towards Discrimination

Why do people discriminate against others? What is the motive? What do they hope to gain? If we understand the answers to those questions, it can help us stop discriminating against others, and enable us to understand and help those who discriminate against us, people...

• Discrimination

An Essay on Liberal Arts and Sciences: Ignorance is Bliss

The statement, ignorance is bliss implies that not having information about something negative makes one happy. Ignorance might be motivated or natural due to inadequate education or limited access to information. Some people find motivated ignorance to be invaluable especially in avoiding information that they...

• Liberal Arts Education

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The Invisible Man: The Problem of Social Blindness and Ignorance

Invisibility sounds like a great super power that anyone would want. Even best of us can get annoyed by this world and sometimes just wishes everyone would leave them alone and stop bothering them, but not everyone wishes that. Some might be wishing for the...

• Invisible Man

The Ignorance of Hitchiking in the Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

Have you ever wanted to go exploring out in the wild all by yourself? If so you might want to change your mind. Based on Jon Krakauer’s novel, “Into the wild”, The author explores the life of a young man named Chris McCandless who hitchhikes...

Socrates' Ignorance to the Mythological Concept

Myth has been known to play an important role in the lives and beliefs of people throughout time. Myth is often more closely associated with ancient Greece and its use in telling their history and creation stories. People would worship the many Greek gods and...

The Ignorance of Reality in the Ancient Times

Two prominent and correlating idioms of today are widespread throughout society. Firstly, that “Ignorance is bliss”. Secondly, that “what you don’t know can’t hurt you”. We live in a society dominated by these common phrases. Demonstrated in ancient times by two complacent and stubborn brothers...

• Ancient Civilizations

Salem Witch Trials as an Example of Extremism and Ignorance

Scattered through the history of humanity are certain episodes of inexplicable extremism. In some cases, it is strongly linked to the culture of a society, but in others it is merely the fruit of a seed planted by something or someone more important, that is,...

• American History
• Salem Witch Trials

Best topics on Ignorance

1. Examples Of Ignorance Is A Bliss And Origin Of The Word

2. Knowledge & Understanding Of Ignorance In A Bible

3. The Philosophy Of Ignorance And Knowledge In Buddhism

4. Motives That Drive People Towards Discrimination

5. An Essay on Liberal Arts and Sciences: Ignorance is Bliss

6. The Invisible Man: The Problem of Social Blindness and Ignorance

7. The Ignorance of Hitchiking in the Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

8. Socrates’ Ignorance to the Mythological Concept

9. The Ignorance of Reality in the Ancient Times

10. Salem Witch Trials as an Example of Extremism and Ignorance

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For some, ignorance is bliss; for others, ignorance is something else

Assistant Professor in Justice Studies, University of Regina

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James Gacek does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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Is ignorance truly bliss? Or is it destructive? What role does it play in our daily lives? What harms can it cause, or leave behind?

These are just some of the questions my colleagues and I are studying in our ongoing research of agnosis.

Agnosis means without, or lacking, knowledge . Agnotology is the study of ignorance , the apathy towards knowledge and the creation of non-knowledge and stupidity.

Unfortunately, there are plenty of examples to suggest ignorance continues to be a concern in Canada.

Often, victims of ignorance are left unaware, or at least uncertain, about the source of their harms — and sometimes, they’re not even aware they’ve been harmed.

‘Ignoring’ as an activity

People, organizations and governments can all partake in “ignoring” as an activity. When information isn’t sought out — in other words, ignored — it can offer motivation and excuses for the perpetration of even the most harmful actions.

For example, we continue to live through world events that suggest many Canadians are “ignoring” the harm they can cause when they disregard science and public health measures needed to combat COVID-19.

Too often, marginalized and immunocompromised communities face the brunt of these choices. By ignoring science and believing in conspiracies, these communities are placed in harm’s way.

Read more: 5 ways to tackle ignorance about evidence during and after the COVID-19 pandemic

In Strength to Love , Martin Luther King Jr. says “Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”

And in the current era of “post-truth” politics , there are new and very worrying developments in the generation of false “facts,” ignorance and stupidity.

When we study ignorance and stupidity together, we see how ignorance and stupidity act against a persons own self-interests and how there can be fatal consequences .

Fatal consequences of ignorance

Consider twice-impeached and disgraced former president Donald Trump . His administration’s politics invoked potentially moral dimensions of ignorance , where ignorance in decision-making processes were an indication of choosing stupidity by avoiding responsibility.

Such avoidance of responsibility by the anti-vax and “freedom” rallies that we have seen throughout this pandemic similarly speaks to Trumpist politics , as the ongoing ignorance and denial quietly (or not so quietly) moves us towards further challenges, suffering and loss.

In both cases, public attributions of stupidity are political, and the role of power here points to the challenges of balancing ignorance with, and alongside, an absence of knowledge.

Ignorance and the absence of knowledge

We know pandemic public health measures work , and complicit ignorance and denial of scientific evidence does not. But, has a failure to embrace critical thinking, or claims to extreme conservative ideologies, provided comfort to people wishing for “bliss” in their lives? Regardless of the cost to and sacrifice of others? Some would say so.

Read more: COVID-19 ‘freedom’ rallies actually undermine liberty – here’s why

In any case, when “freedom” rallies incorporate conspiracies, Nazi symbols and Confederate flags , it is difficult to see how someone’s rally stands for freedom or is backed by knowledge.

If someone’s cause garners support from conspiracists, Nazis and other hate-filled groups, it is probably worth wondering why. But I would guess there is a deeply embedded and dehumanizing ideology at work here.

Studying ignorance highlights how there are certain groups of people who become excluded from the moral and legal protections normally owed to others . It has been a shocking revelation to some, in recent years, that human deception and self-deception have remained as undiminished as they have.

Efforts to spread false “facts,” ignorance and stupidity have never been as easy as it is to spread now.

The potential of our “post-truth” era far exceeds what George Orwell could have ever dreamed of in his time. He presented a predictive and dystopian vision in 1984 , but even he couldn’t have envisioned the agnosis we see today.

Our age of agnosis is increasingly coming into contact in ways beyond historical standards and recorded memory. Empathy, not apathy, is needed now more than ever before. My colleagues and I continue to explore agnosis, hoping to save critical thinking from obscurity.

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Ignorance Is A Bliss or Illness: Argumentative Essay

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“We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid.” “Where ignorance is bliss, ‘tis folly to be wise.” Last year, I was handed these two quotes on a piece of paper and asked my opinion about two phrases. The first quote is from Benjamin Franklin who was a famous American polymath and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States while the second quote is from the beautiful poem of Thomas Gray titled ‘Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College’. The main goal of this exercise was to understand how the choice of words directly affects our perception of the message. Clearly, in the first sentence, the word choice is blander and gives a less descriptive view that staying ignorant is almost as difficult as being informed. The second is a much more emotionally charger sentences where Thomas Gray was waxing philosophical about a time when he was able to be ignorant in his childhood. By no means Thomas Gray was encouraged to be ignorant, rather was making a point that children know less as compared to adults and therefore, they have the privilege to enjoy their days without the “weight of the world” on their shoulders. So, while ignorance isn’t bliss exactly, it sure makes one’s days lighter and more carefree. This was definitely an effective example and made me realize the importance of choice of words.

I started wondering what the connections that went along with these words and shaped my understanding could possibly incite the same understanding for someone else who is reading these two phrases. These statements are a form of idiom, which means that these phrases are not meant to be taken literally. Similarly, to understand this question we must first clearly understand the statement, “Ignorance is Bliss”. Ignorance can be simply defined as a lack of knowledge or information(Lloyd and Mitchinson, 2009). Knowledge can be obtained through reason, perception, emotion or language. The question is will knowing more about something will lead to problems. The first question that comes to mind is that is it dangerous to be lacking in knowledge? Or is it something, a blessing in disguise. When I was six years old, I wanted to go to Disneyland and at that time I had no idea how much it cost. This was one of the main reasons that the trip I went with my family in 2012 was the best trip I ever had. If at that time I had known the cost associated with this trip, my enjoyment would have been compromised. As in the back of my mind, I would have been doing the calculations that how much money have I spent till now and what is the total budget of my trip.

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At the same age, ignorance was bliss for me as I used to eat whatever I want and whenever I want without thinking about the total calories I was consuming per meal. This lack of knowledge helped me enjoy guilt-free delights throughout my childhood. Although the previous paragraph explains that ignorance is bliss, this statement does not always hold true. Jim Rohn who is a famous American entrepreneur, author and motivational speaker once quoted that “Ignorance is not bliss. Ignorance is poverty. Ignorance is devastation. Ignorance is a tragedy. And ignorance is an illness. It all stems from ignorance”. In young people the state of happiness requires fewer worries; naturally, ignoring becomes a habit. Such people adopt the mindset of “Don’t worry, Be happy”, therefore becoming insensitive to their surrounding. One such example of ignorance is devastations are drug addicts and abusers. As such people are not aware of the consequences of their actions, these people often end up destroying their life. Ignorance related to the outcome of such actions and its influence on their lives is the main reason for the tragedy. Speaking of tragedy there are certain incidents that are bound to happen and are beyond the control of humans. One such example is death, we are all human beings and will have to die one day. Everyone knows that, and it is the reality of everyone’s life.

No one can be immortal but is it necessary to realize all the time that we will die? Or exactly to know beforehand that when one’s life is getting over. Although life and death both are the harsh realities, of human existence and no one can choose to live forever or chase death. These are inevitable facts and one knows it somewhere in the back of their head but then when it’s someone’s birthday, they celebrate a year spent well and not a reduced year from your age. Because life isn’t a journey, it’s a celebration and death though inevitable, you don’t know exactly when it will come to you. So, the saying that ignorance is bliss is true when talking about things that are beyond the control of humans. If all of us knew how many years we were going to live, no one would have bothered to struggle and improve the quality of life(A Life After Death Experience – Elizabeth Jean Levy – Google Books, 2010). Ignorance is bliss in many situations as in the example given above, but many times, it can be fatal too. If you are in the habit of ignorantly judging anyone and anything based on their looks or mannerism, your bliss might be blissfully shaken. This argument can perfectly be backed up by countless examples for everyday life. In nature, there are millions of pretty looking creatures, who are the first instance to give you the feeling that they are completely harmless. But in actual they are poisonous and can kill humans. One such example is of dart frog, although these species of frog are tiny as compared to bigger size frog and have attractive color.

These frogs are known to have enough poison to kill ten grown men. Similarly, there are a variety of plants like Fiendish Flora, Monkshood, etc. that are poisonous and humans need to stay away. So, if humans are ignorant of such threats, the result can be fatal. Humans need to have the required knowledge which can help them prevent contact with such troubles. There is a famous saying that “Prevention is better than cure” which is true as it’s easier to stop something happening in the first place than to repair the damage after it has happened. Indeed, there’s certainly no lack of ignorance in the world, on just about every subject, issue and topic one could name that are directly or indirectly impacting their lives. The truth is that ignorance in itself is somewhat understandable. The pace at which our ancestors used to spend their life was completely different from what we are spending now. Working adults are not only responsible to earn the bread and butter for their family, but are also responsible to take care of their children. So, it is next to impossible for them to gain knowledge about all the aspects of life. On the other hand, the evolution of technology has made it easier for humans to gain knowledge. This means that the total amount of time and effort required to gain the required knowledge has reduced considerably. Today’s learners have access to relevant, mobile, self-paced, and personalized content. This need is fulfilled with the online mode of learning; people can learn at their own comfort and requirement.

Under such a scenario it is hard to understand the stubborn part of ignorance. There are people who are proud to be ignorant and have dug their heels deep into their ignorance is bliss philosophy. There are the people who under all the circumstances defend their point of and no matter how many facts you will present in front of them, they will remain unmoved. Which is completely wrong, as even the bible says that “the truth will set you free”, so why on earth do people prefer to remain ignorant. Stubborn ignorance goes even beyond the simple failure to recognize the gaps in knowledge. It is a deliberate effort of people to deny or dismiss the better information available to them. Such people are satisfied with remaining ignorant. Unfortunately, the distance between ignorance and mastery is usually fairly long. People are afraid of asking questions as they are afraid of the perception other people will create about them being ignorant. Ultimately, people prefer to remain in their comfort zone of ignorance which is wrong. The following quote by Martin Lurther King Jr best describes how ignorance should be taken: “Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity”.

• A Life After Death Experience – Elizabeth Jean Levy – Google Books (2010). Available at: https://books.google.com.pk/books?id=l7IAQ9Gcdo4C&pg=PA181&dq=death+universal+realty&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj-
• Lloyd, J. and Mitchinson, J. (2009) If ignorance is bliss, why aren’t there more happy people? : smart quotes for adumb times. Harmony Books.

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The Pleasures of Ignorance by Robert Lynd

The pleasures of ignorance.

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Born in Belfast, Robert Lynd moved to London when he was 22 and soon became a popular and prolific essayist , critic, columnist, and poet. His essays are characterized by humor , precise observations, and a lively, engaging style .

From Ignorance To Discov ery

Writing under the pseudonym of Y.Y., Lynd contributed a weekly literary essay to the New Statesman magazine from 1913 to 1945. "The Pleasures of Ignorance" is one of those many essays. Here he offers examples from nature to demonstrate his thesis that out of ignorance "we get the constant pleasure of discovery."

by Robert Lynd (1879-1949)

• It is impossible to take a walk in the country with an average townsman—especially, perhaps, in April or May—without being amazed at the vast continent of his ignorance . It is impossible to take a walk in the country oneself without being amazed at the vast continent of one's own ignorance. Thousands of men and women live and die without knowing the difference between a beech and an elm, between the song of a thrush and the song of a blackbird. Probably in a modern city the man who can distinguish between a thrush's and a blackbird's song is the exception. It is not that we have not seen the birds. It is simply that we have not noticed them. We have been surrounded by birds all our lives, yet so feeble is our observation that many of us could not tell whether or not the chaffinch sings, or the colour of the cuckoo. We argue like small boys as to whether the cuckoo always sings as he flies or sometimes in the branches of a tree—whether [George] Chapman drew on his fancy or his knowledge of nature in the lines:

When in the oak's green arms the cuckoo sings, And first delights men in the lovely springs.

Ignorance And Discovery

• This ignorance, however, is not altogether miserable. Out of it we get the constant pleasure of discovery. Every fact of nature comes to us each spring, if only we are sufficiently ignorant, with the dew still on it. If we have lived half a lifetime without having ever even seen a cuckoo, and know it only as a wandering voice, we are all the more delighted at the spectacle of its runaway flight as it hurries from wood to wood conscious of its crimes, and at the way in which it halts hawk-like in the wind, its long tail quivering, before it dares descend on a hill-side of fir-trees where avenging presences may lurk. It would be absurd to pretend that the naturalist does not also find pleasure in observing the life of the birds, but his is a steady pleasure, almost a sober and plodding occupation, compared to the morning enthusiasm of the man who sees a cuckoo for the first time, and, behold, the world is made new.
• And, as to that, the happiness even of the naturalist depends in some measure upon his ignorance, which still leaves him new worlds of this kind to conquer. He may have reached the very Z of knowledge in the books, but he still feels half ignorant until he has confirmed each bright particular with his eyes. He wishes with his own eyes to see the female cuckoo—rare spectacle!—as she lays her egg on the ground and takes it in her bill to the nest in which it is destined to breed infanticide. He would sit day after day with a field-glass against his eyes in order personally to endorse or refute the evidence suggesting that the cuckoo does lay on the ground and not in a nest. And, if he is so far fortunate as to discover this most secretive of birds in the very act of laying, there still remain for him other fields to conquer in a multitude of such disputed questions as whether the cuckoo's egg is always of the same colour as the other eggs in the nest in which she abandons it. Assuredly the men of science have no reason as yet to weep over their lost ignorance. If they seem to know everything, it is only because you and I know almost nothing. There will always be a fortune of ignorance waiting for them under every fact they turn up. They will never know what song the Sirens sang to Ulysses any more than Sir Thomas Browne did.

​The Cuckoo Illustration

• If I have called in the cuckoo to illustrate the ordinary man's ignorance, it is not because I can speak with authority on that bird. It is simply because, passing the spring in a parish that seemed to have been invaded by all the cuckoos of Africa, I realised how exceedingly little I, or anybody else I met, knew about them. But your and my ignorance is not confined to cuckoos. It dabbles in all created things, from the sun and moon down to the names of the flowers. I once heard a clever lady asking whether the new moon always appears on the same day of the week. She added that perhaps it is better not to know, because, if one does not know when or in what part of the sky to expect it, its appearance is always a pleasant surprise. I fancy, however, the new moon always comes as a surprise even to those who are familiar with her time-tables. And it is the same with the coming in of spring and the waves of the flowers. We are not the less delighted to find an early primrose because we are sufficiently learned in the services of the year to look for it in March or April rather than in October. We know, again, that the blossom precedes and not succeeds the fruit of the apple tree , but this does not lessen our amazement at the beautiful holiday of a May orchard.

​The Pleasure Of Learning

• At the same time there is, perhaps, a special pleasure in re-learning the names of many of the flowers every spring. It is like re-reading a book that one has almost forgotten. Montaigne tells us that he had so bad a memory that he could always read an old book as though he had never read it before. I have myself a capricious and leaking memory. I can read Hamlet itself and The Pickwick Papers as though they were the work of new authors and had come wet from the press, so much of them fades between one reading and another. There are occasions on which a memory of this kind is an affliction, especially if one has a passion for accuracy. But this is only when life has an object beyond entertainment. In respect of mere luxury, it may be doubted whether there is not as much to be said for a bad memory as for a good one. With a bad memory one can go on reading Plutarch and The Arabian Nights all one's life. Little shreds and tags, it is probable, will stick even in the worst memory, just as a succession of sheep cannot leap through a gap in a hedge without leaving a few wisps of wool on the thorns. But the sheep themselves escape, and the great authors leap in the same way out of an idle memory and leave little enough behind.

​The Pleasure Of Asking Questions

• And, if we can forget books, it is as easy to forget the months and what they showed us, when once they are gone. Just for the moment I tell myself that I know May like the multiplication table and could pass an examination on its flowers, their appearance and their order. Today I can affirm confidently that the buttercup has five petals. (Or is it six? I knew for certain last week.) But next year I shall probably have forgotten my arithmetic, and may have to learn once more not to confuse the buttercup with the celandine. Once more I shall see the world as a garden through the eyes of a stranger, my breath taken away with surprise by the painted fields. I shall find myself wondering whether it is science or ignorance which affirms that the swift (that black exaggeration of the swallow and yet a kinsman of the humming-bird) never settles even on a nest, but disappears at night into the heights of the air. I shall learn with fresh astonishment that it is the male, and not the female, cuckoo that sings. I may have to learn again not to call the campion a wild geranium, and to rediscover whether the ash comes early or late in the etiquette of the trees. A contemporary English novelist was once asked by a foreigner what was the most important crop in England. He answered without a moment's hesitation: " Rye ." Ignorance so complete as this seems to me to be touched with magnificence; but the ignorance even of illiterate persons is enormous. The average man who uses a telephone could not explain how a telephone works. He takes for granted the telephone , the railway train , the linotype, the aeroplane, as our grandfathers took for granted the miracles of the gospels. He neither questions nor understands them. It is as though each of us investigated and made his own only a tiny circle of facts. Knowledge outside the day's work is regarded by most men as a gewgaw. Still we are constantly in reaction against our ignorance. We rouse ourselves at intervals and speculate. We revel in speculations about anything at all—about life after death or about such questions as that which is said to have puzzled Aristotle , "why sneezing from noon to midnight was good, but from night to noon unlucky." One of the greatest joys known to man is to take such a flight into ignorance in search of knowledge. The great pleasure of ignorance is, after all, the pleasure of asking questions. The man who has lost this pleasure or exchanged it for the pleasure of dogma, which is the pleasure of answering, is already beginning to stiffen. One envies so inquisitive a man as [Benjamin] Jowett, who sat down to the study of physiology in his sixties. Most of us have lost the sense of our ignorance long before that age. We even become vain of our squirrel's hoard of knowledge and regard increasing age itself as a school of omniscience. We forget that Socrates was famed for wisdom not because he was omniscient but because he realised at the age of seventy that he still knew nothing.

* Originally appearing in  The New Statesman , "The Pleasures of Ignorance" by Robert Lynd served as the lead essay in his collection  The Pleasures of Ignorance  (Riverside Press and Charles Scribner's Sons, 1921)

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How to Avoid the Appeal to Ignorance Fallacy in Academic Writing

4-minute read

• 2nd December 2020

You should always try to avoid fallacies – i.e. bad arguments – in your academic writing . But what is the appeal to ignorance fallacy? And why is it a problem? In this post, we explain what this this fallacy involves and how to avoid it in your work.

What Is the Appeal to Ignorance Fallacy?

The appeal to ignorance fallacy – also known as an argument from ignorance or argumentum ad ignorantiam – involves claiming that something is true or false based on a lack of evidence. This can take positive and negative forms:

Positive: X is true because it hasn’t been proven false.

Negative: X is false because it hasn’t been proven true.

To see how this works, let’s look at some examples involving aliens.

Examples of Arguing from Ignorance

One classic argument from ignorance focuses on alien construction projects:

We don’t know how ancient humans built major monuments like the Egyptian pyramids or Stonehenge without modern technology. As such, they must have received help from alien visitors to achieve what they did.

There is an element of truth here. We only have limited evidence of how the ancient world’s greatest feats of engineering were performed. And this lack of evidence has left enough doubt for some to suggest that maybe aliens did it instead.

This does not explain, however, why our ignorance of ancient engineering should lead to a theory based on aliens. And this logical leap – from a lack of evidence for one thing to the truth of another – makes an appeal to ignorance fallacious.

We can turn this around as well, though. For example:

There are no proven UFO sightings, so we can conclude that aliens do not exist.

This might seem reasonable. A lack of UFO sightings may be a reason to withhold belief in alien life, for instance. But the claim here is stronger: i.e. that a lack of evidence justifies the belief that alien life does not exist anywhere in the universe.

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Here, again, we see a lack of evidence for one thing (i.e. verifiable UFO sightings) being used to justify another claim (i.e. that there is no life in the universe beyond our own planet). And this is still a fallacy, even if it seems more reasonable.

Is Appealing to a Lack of Evidence Always Wrong?

There are occasions when a lack of evidence may be relevant to an argument. The lack of proof of alien life, for instance, means we should be sceptical about claims of UFO sightings. And if we have two theories – one with a lot of supporting evidence and one with none – a lack of evidence for one will usually count against it.

Likewise, there are some situations where the burden of proof means an appeal to ignorance is valid. For instance, the legal principle that someone is innocent until proven guilty can be set out in the form of an appeal to ignorance:

The suspect is innocent because they have not been proven guilty.

In this case, a lack of evidence of guilt does not technically prove the accused person is innocent (they could just be good at covering their tracks). But it is taken as proof of innocence. This is so we do not wrongly convict people unless the evidence proves them guilty beyond reasonable doubt .

However, in academic work, you need your arguments to be as strong as possible. As such, it is rare that a lack of evidence will be enough to support any claim.

How to Avoid the Appeal to Ignorance Fallacy

As a rule, the best way to avoid appealing to ignorance in your writing is to focus on the available evidence rather than what a lack of evidence might imply.

For instance, rather than turning to aliens to explain the pyramids, rigorous historians build theories based on the evidence available . And they change their theories when new evidence emerges (e.g. from an archaeological dig).

The evidence for any given theory or argument may never be complete, so there may always be some doubt. But an argument based on evidence will always be stronger than one based on a lack of evidence!

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PLATO ON THE POWER OF IGNORANCE

• Published: August 2012
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In Book V of Plato’s Republic , Plato has Socrates distinguish between three distinct cognitive powers ( dunameis ): knowledge ( epistēmē ), opinion ( doxa ), and ignorance ( agnosia ). Powers, Socrates goes on to explain, are distinguished in virtue of what they are related to and what they accomplish ( eph hōi te esti kai hō apergazetai --477d1). In this section of the dialogue, the second of these two differentiae is not invoked again; instead, all of the distinctions Socrates makes here are made in terms of the different objects to which the powers are related. Knowledge, we are told, is related to what is (to on); ignorance is related to what is not (to mē on); opinion is related to what both is and is not.Scholars have attended almost entirely to the distinction between knowledge and opinion, and for good reason: It is clear that this distinction is the primary one that Plato wishes to explicate here, as it is in terms of this distinction that the important difference between the philosopher rulers and ordinary rulers will be drawn. The distinctions between knowledge and ignorance and opinion and ignorance are only very briefly mentioned, and ignorance itself remains almost wholly unexplained. This chapter discusses the role of ignorance in Plato’s epistemology. This chapter's analysis is novel in four ways: First, other scholars have attended almost exclusively to the roles assigned to knowledge and opinion in this passage, and have neglected to explain whether — and if so, how — their analyses could explicate what Plato has Socrates say about ignorance. Secondly, the chapter argues that we should not understand the ‘related to’ part of Plato’s analysis as an intensional one: cognitive powers are not ‘of’ or ‘about’ the objects to which they are related, as scholars have generally supposed. The relationship of the powers to objects, rather, is a nomological one. Thirdly, I argue that what is produced by the cognitive powers are what we would call conceptualizations (or conceptions) of the entities to which they are said to be related ( epi ). Finally, the chapter argues that the case of ignorance makes clear that the ‘is’ in Plato’s analysis of the relata of each cognitive power must be understood neither veridically (where ‘is’ means ‘is true’), nor existentially (where ‘is’ means ‘exists’), but predicatively (where ‘is’ means ‘is F,’ where F is the name of a Platonic Form).

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Explaining Appeal to Ignorance Fallacy with Demonstrative Examples

Have you ever come across the term argumentum ad ignorantiam? If you have, then you probably know that the English counterpart is an ignorance argument. But what does this academic phrase refer to, and how can college students use it in their papers?

In short, if you want to give a logical argument, you must also provide at least one reliable source to support your claim. However, this is not always the case. Some people give irrelevant reasons to support their argument, whereas others benefit from the lack of evidence in the field.

This article will explain the essence of a logical fallacy and how you can use it in your essay in rhetoric . It will also elaborate on inadequate but appealing reasons that aim to manipulate common perceptions and refute obvious events.

Appeal to ignorance fallacy refers to a logical claim that argues for or against an idea for which there is no contradicting proof. More precisely, logical fallacies root in the assumption that the absence of evidence proves the contrary standpoint.

Human beings are far from knowing everything. But Edusson authors are well-versed in framing an appeal to ignorance fallacy. Regardless of how far science goes, they can provide enough evidence for every idea and phenomenon. In a way, these writing experts take advantage of the human’s inability to be a know-it-all.

Since the list of things impossible to get proven in present times is lengthy, flawed reasoning is very common. To prove a point wrong, one must underline that science is ignorant of the fact to claim that the opposite is true.

Similarly, the appeal to pity fallacy tends to provoke guilt or pity in the audience. Other emotional fallacies include appeals to flattery, hate, authority, and wishful thinking. Moreover, there are informal fallacies like the bandwagon one that supports a fact only due to its popularity. We will also mention the sunk cost fallacy, which makes a person continue believing or doing something because they invested a lot of resources. Finally, the slippery slope fallacy is an argument claiming that the existence of an initial event will trigger other events that will lead to an undesirable or extreme scenario.

Affirmative Form

A logical fallacy can be both affirmative and negative, depending on how you frame the statement. To illustrate, here are a few examples of how to appeal to ignorance in an affirmative form.

• Your daughter didn’t call you, so everything must be in order.
• I don’t follow the rules, and I have never been fined. So, it’s fine not to obey the rules.
• Nobody knows how he survived the crash. So, definitely, God exists.

Negative Form

The main difference here is that the appeal to ignorance is negative, and therefore, the concluding remark is also negative.

• There is no proof that ghosts exist, so the statement is false.
• The ability to walk on water cannot get proven true, so there is no such thing.
• Nobody can prove there is intelligent life in space. Hence, aliens don’t exist.

How Is the Appeal to Ignorance Fallacy Used?

People use ignorance fallacies in various types of speech and writing. Such arguments are present in formal and informal conversations, articles, blog posts, and online forums and discussions. Typically, you’d find such assumptions in works of a philosophy essay writer . But, even prominent officials and politicians can say an informal fallacy when there is no compelling evidence. 

So, how can you use fallacious reasoning, and what’s its purpose? In many cases, people would pick a fallacy argument to defend their standpoint or action. Their objective isn’t to support a claim but emphasize the absence of credible facts and sources. 

However, you don’t have to rely on the appeal to ignorance fallacy to support claims in bad faith. Experienced scientists and orators use it to encourage raising doubts about vital concepts and ideas. As a result, the reader or listener will consider the rhetoric until proven false. It is also useful when you need a counterargument in an essay to prove your point right.

Conversely, there have been many ignorance fallacy examples used in courtrooms. More specifically, we refer to the burden of proof. According to this notion, no person can be considered guilty of a crime until proven otherwise. This widely used concept in legal surroundings rests upon the same notion as the appeal to ignorance argument. So, unless proven false, we must accept that the contradicting belief can be true.

Since the human understanding of the world is limited, we must understand how to apply logical forms of fallacies in good faith. We must also learn how to defend our viewpoints and provide appealing evidence. Therefore, many college and university professors assign research papers that put the burden of proof on the student.

The predominant examples of the appeal to ignorance fallacy reasoning are in religious, legal, and space contexts. This is because we cannot prove that an argument is false. In this case, people can argue either side of the notion to justify their claim. For instance: 

Alone in the Universe?

• We cannot prove that aliens visited Earth, so they don’t exist.
• Nobody has proven that aliens haven’t been on Earth. Therefore, UFOs exist.

God is Everywhere 

Here is another appeal to ignorance fallacy but in a religious framework.

• Humans can’t prove that God exists, so he doesn’t.
• God exists because we haven’t proven that deities are non-existent.

Worlds Below the Sea Surface

The next two examples intertwine the natural world and history.

• Nobody has found the lost city of Atlantis, so it’s just a legend.
• We haven’t explored all of our oceans. Therefore, Atlantis might still be lying somewhere on the seabed.

No Racism, No Sexism?

Most widely known misconceptions derive from notions and personal beliefs like:

• I have never been offended on the basis of my black skin, so there is no such thing as racism.
• Women in our company are paid and respected the same as men. Hence, sexism and gender inequality at the job post are made up.

Is Silence Approval?

The last examples show scenarios we encounter on a daily basis. Bue can not saying anything mean agreeing or disagreeing?

• She didn’t say anything about the bike, so I assumed it’s fine to borrow it.
• Ben didn’t ask for a ride. Therefore, I just left him standing on the sidewalk.

Examine an Appeal to Ignorance with Critical Thinking

Scientific and moral advancement is inherent to human development. Hence, it shouldn’t come as a surprise when an appeal to ignorance fallacy becomes obsolete with newly found evidence. One such example was the notion that tuberculosis is incurable until a vaccine was found to support the opposing claim.

Yet, there are still many arguments we can’t prove. In this case, a person should rely on their common sense and keep an open mind. Unless robust evidence assertion comes to light to refute the fallacy, we must resort to critical thinking essay writing .

When examining an appeal to ignorance, you would ideally start from scratch. In short, use your logic to rationalize claims. Think of Nikola Tesla and his inventions that changed the world entirely. Nobody believed it was possible to create electricity until he proved otherwise. Before Tesla’s time, people lived in the dark and could not imagine the conveniences we have today. If you have problems with the development of your ideas, consider a custom argumentative essay writing service to give you a head start.

However, altering long-held beliefs can’t happen overnight. Changing perceptions takes time, evidence, and rhetoric. Finally, we have to accept that some things are beyond our understanding. For now, it is impossible to claim with certainty that there is life in the universe or that ghosts exist. The absence of evidence leaves vast room for speculation.

Whether you call it argumentum ad ignorantiam or appeal to ignorance fallacy, the ability to convince someone is a powerful tool. You can offer an example or a definition that leaves no room for discussion. Credible evidence plays a pivotal role in our lives.

But problems arise with ignorance. People have no evidence to offer but only a fallacious appeal. By saying an informal fallacy, they turn the situation to their advantage. Critical thinking is the best way to combat misconceptions and get the burden of proof off your chest.

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• Essay - An Essay on Ignorance

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On Ignorance

  Primarily, we need to discuss a paradox on ignorance faced in modern lifestyle. For centuries, people did not refrain from creating a place for themselves in their relevant knowledge scale of their period and referring others as ignorant either from the past or from their own period. However, a significant semantic shift and paradox to notice in defining ignorance is that: " Ignorant  is not the one who does not anything, but the one who knows everything for sure. "

  Undoubtedly, our times suit the paradox of ignorance defined above with vast fields of application in daily life. Modern times have become times when information is in the most lucid form both in terms of belief management and in scientific-philosophical sense, when people almost achieve in making themselves ignorant persistently. A poison, called knowledge, hidden behind large walls of castles for hundreds of years, now mingles freely with the crowd leaking into street even with online handheld devices. On the other hand, this poison had adverse effects on managers of ignorance-people I call everythingists . For the last few centuries, religions, scientific approaches, philosophies and lifestyles have been obliged to almost completely evolve to cope up with this change in knowledge and information.

"In the age of information, ignorance is a choice." Donny Miller  Very well said by Mr. Miller on the subject, in this century, ignorance is sure a choice. Ignorance is merely a choice independent of any knowledge, information or belief, since they can be all interrelated. In human history, which is still in darkness-by calling some one thousand-year-old past dark ages, nothing has changed-, it would always be wrong to try to rule the universe through accumulation of knowledge by us in such a short notice, namely for a few centuries. The only common ground between our so-called dark times and modern(for who?) times is that human mind in general is in love with darkness due to its lazy structure. Still and relentlessly...

  There is no point in using similar cliches to kill ignorant ones. Humans can be deceived thoroughly by either science or religion with regard to which one is dominant in any times during recent centuries. It is of great importance to accept that there is one way to resolve this issue. The only thing what will take us to ideal world order (not a new lie) and what will eliminate such ignorance we have all along may include establishment of a pool of knowledge and belief like a common universal unconscious and trying to extend such structure. Regardless of any nations praised to the skies, if modern society keep on rising through science but rusting in humanity, rising with science-faith but tyrannizing humanity will only do more harm than good for the world just. There is no difference between a society selling religion as faith tourism with greed and another one transforming its knowledge into a nuclear bomb without faith but with faithless power.

  Therefore, it is crucial not to remain ignorant. If you ask how it would be possible to achieve such objective among information-belief systems trying to become power elites and to exploit, let me state my opinion on that: societies in which everything is free but more is forbidden will persevere! Although this may seem as dilemmatic approach, referring to those expect for all believers and scientists, infinite freedom is the most embittered form of human nature. As extremes score points from ignorance, freedom is aggressive and void. Unless we, humans, come together and cast aside all our borders, clashes of religion and our global economic concerns on behalf of science, bloodshed will not crease, exploitation will not stop, and value of all human values will never be appreciated. The sight of where we lead by crushing others since you and I know something, by despising nonbelievers since you and I believe something has eventually demonstrates the current human hell, called Earth. We need some light to transform this into heaven, to get beyond some limits, to be more insightful, to be a bit normative. While we are free in the name of good, we need to be in a mediating restrictiveness in name of evil, we must be sure that all new generations will be educated to a capacity in which they can learn from their mistakes rather than our persistent mistakes!

The same humans, we are, who campaigned for religious crusades and beheaded people while suggesting no force in religion; the same humans, we are, who destroyed cities with atomic bombs while suggesting that science is for humanity! The same ignorance, the same ignorant, the same order.. -Meo

   Since beginning of our recorded history, our preference is simple and easy: conditional ignorance. And the reason for this is also simple, laziness. Our intellectual laziness easily creates a lazy ignorance to cover our failure in fulfilling our global ego, then we sell this quasi-system to ourselves and our beloved ones. We promote both our beliefs and our scientific attitude in a cheaap way, then we educate new generations each of which is more ineffective then its predecessor. And this outcome is achieved in our-superior-era of technology. What a pity. Ways to overcome ignorance include realizing how important we're as individuals in this simple path, called life, learning many thing to make sure that we are not as ignorant as we were the day before, perceiving what we learn not as realities but as information, and realizing that knowledge and belief are not form of governing but forms of sharing..

  To keep it short, I finish this essay by attaching a few of my aphorisms written on this subject. Please do not hesitate to leave your comments below. Support us by sharing this article on your social media accounts. Best regards and with respect, Meo (a.k.a Mehmet Şentürk).

Self-confidence is the most powerful source of knowledged ignorance. 'Meo

In the world where ignorance is a prerequisite, knowing to learn is the last choice. 'Meo

Existing belief exploitation systems are the floods of clouds that are wise enough to question wisdom. The teeth of ignorance are sharp enough to smooth the humanity, the only thing it doesn't count is that humanity can shine as as it is smoothed. 'Meo

The only God that exists on Earth actively is the knowledge, the only evil is ignorance. 'Meo

®LiteraryBlog.net - 2018 LiteraryBlog.net - Meo's Essays Blog -written by 'Mehmet Şentürk

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• Speech Writing /

Speech on Ignorance is Bliss in English

• Updated on  
• Jan 12, 2024

Speech on Ignorance is Bliss: How does the saying “What you don’t know cannot hurt you” resonate with you? Generally speaking, it implies that the person who knows nothing is happier than the person who knows everything and must face difficulties afterward.

Thomas Grey, a poet, explores his perspective on ignorance in his work Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College. He believes that ignorance is either knowledge or wisdom that ends with death.

Also Read: Speech On Fake News For Students In English

2 Minute Speech on Ignorance is Bliss 

Greetings to all the fellow learners here. Today´s topic is centered around ¨Speech on Ignorance Bliss.¨ Do you all think that one can find joy in the absence of knowledge? 

It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand anything or are ignorant of some realities or truths, as the saying goes, “Ignorance is bliss.” Why? Since a lack of anything stimulates interest and presents obstacles that aid in further exploration and discovery. If you knew everything beforehand, would you still be interested in learning??

Let me give you an example of ignorance in a workplace see what we do in such a situation.

You need to learn how to operate and change the battery on your laptop, but because you have pending projects in hand, you will attempt every solution and search Google for anything related to battery replacement. 

Being ignorant facilitates self-awareness and self-discovery. We can observe historical instances where genuine discoveries and awareness are made due to ignorance and associated curiosity. 

Bliss is unaffected by the benefits and disadvantages of anything. For those with the ability to study and apply themselves, ignorance is bliss, yet ignorance itself stems from a lack of understanding or information. 

It is important to balance between not knowing and comprehending. Ignorance provides temporary comfort but one cannot deny that ignorance creates a hindrance to personal growth and societal progress. 

Ignorance also keeps us from appreciating the depth and breadth of the existence of people. One loses out on the knowledge that arises from battling complexity when one chooses ignorance.

In conclusion, the proverb ignorance is bliss challenges us to reflect on happiness and satisfaction. While bliss can be found simply in not knowing, we must also be cautious about the consequences of ignorant behavior. 

Also Read: Ignorance is Bliss Meaning, Definition, Example, Synonyms

10 Lines on Ignorance is Bliss

Let us understand the topic ¨Ignorance is Bliss¨ in simple lines:

• The phrase knowledge is bliss encourages a sense of happiness.
• If you know everything, then the chances of learning something out of curiosity are less.
• Not knowing the answer should not make you depressed or underconfident.
• Staying unaware helps in learning as well as in growing.
• One should know better how to create a balance between not knowing and becoming aware of it.
• Ignorance is a temporary comfort, whereas knowledge helps in growing permanently.
• Not knowing can make you feel comfortable at first, but in the long run, it might lead to problems.
• Ignorance avoids experiencing the richness of happiness and satisfaction.
• Unawareness is the best way to discover oneself.
• Ignorance is a boon, but our practice should not be to make it a bane by keeping the spirit of learning what we don´t know.

Ans: The meaning of bliss in the speech conveys a meaning that one should never get from what they don´t know.

Ans: Ignorance is not bliss because it prevents you from learning the unknown and leaves you lacking in knowledge.

Ans: Following the spiritual teachers without making an effort to know about the truth is a real-life example of ignorance as bliss.

Ans: Ignorance is bliss until you stop getting curious about the things that you don´t know. It is more powerful than knowledge because the spirit of learning is greater than what you already know.

Ans: The competing line of ignorance is bliss: “Where ignorance is bliss, ‘Tis Folly to be Wise.” It is from the poem Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College, and the poet is Thomas Grey.

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Deepika Joshi

Deepika Joshi is an experienced content writer with expertise in creating educational and informative content. She has a year of experience writing content for speeches, essays, NCERT, study abroad and EdTech SaaS. Her strengths lie in conducting thorough research and ananlysis to provide accurate and up-to-date information to readers. She enjoys staying updated on new skills and knowledge, particulary in education domain. In her free time, she loves to read articles, and blogs with related to her field to further expand her expertise. In personal life, she loves creative writing and aspire to connect with innovative people who have fresh ideas to offer.

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What Is Ignorance?

Updated 03 November 2022

Subject Experience

Downloads 31

Category Life

Topic Ignorance

Ignorance: A Dangerous State

Ignorance is a lack of knowledge or information. Often referred to as cognitive dissonance, "ignorance" is a state in which individuals are oblivious to important information. Ignorance is a dangerous state. Let's explore why it's dangerous, and why it's important not to be ignorant. We'll begin by examining some definitions of ignorance.

Meaning of the word Ignorance

Ignorance is a state of not knowing or not understanding something. It may be general, but can also be restricted to a specific subject. For example, someone who is ignorant of the laws of nature might think the Earth is flat. They may also believe that the Earth is on three whales or a turtle. In some cases, ignorance can be intentional. Philosophers have also used the word ignorance to describe philosophical confusion.

In addition to the definition of ignorance as a state of not knowing, ignorance can also be used to describe a person's lack of education, knowledge, and awareness. In some instances, the word ignorance can refer to a person who is illiterate or unlettered, which both describe a person's lack of knowledge.

Why is Ignorance Dangerous

The term "ignorance" has many meanings. It can be an empowering or crippling condition. It can lead to extreme self-deception or arrogance. Some of us think that ignorance is bliss, but this is not necessarily the case. It can be extremely dangerous. In this article, I will explore some of the pitfalls of ignorance.

First, ignorance is dangerous because it makes us easy prey for evil schemes. The Bible warns us about the dangers of ignorance. You can find a list of wicked schemes in Proverbs 7:6-7. We need to be very careful not to fall for such schemes. If we want to be wise, we need to seek the counsel of the Lord.

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How to Write an Essay

Last Updated: April 2, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Christopher Taylor, PhD and by wikiHow staff writer, Megaera Lorenz, PhD . Christopher Taylor is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of English at Austin Community College in Texas. He received his PhD in English Literature and Medieval Studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 2014. There are 18 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 7,936,324 times.

An essay is a common type of academic writing that you'll likely be asked to do in multiple classes. Before you start writing your essay, make sure you understand the details of the assignment so that you know how to approach the essay and what your focus should be. Once you've chosen a topic, do some research and narrow down the main argument(s) you'd like to make. From there, you'll need to write an outline and flesh out your essay, which should consist of an introduction, body, and conclusion. After your essay is drafted, spend some time revising it to ensure your writing is as strong as possible.

Understanding Your Assignment

• The compare/contrast essay , which focuses on analyzing the similarities and differences between 2 things, such as ideas, people, events, places, or works of art.
• The narrative essay , which tells a story.
• The argumentative essay , in which the writer uses evidence and examples to convince the reader of their point of view.
• The critical or analytical essay, which examines something (such as a text or work of art) in detail. This type of essay may attempt to answer specific questions about the subject or focus more generally on its meaning.
• The informative essay , that educates the reader about a topic.

• How long your essay should be
• Which citation style to use
• Formatting requirements, such as margin size , line spacing, and font size and type

Christopher Taylor, PhD

Christopher Taylor, Professor of English, tells us: "Most essays will contain an introduction, a body or discussion portion, and a conclusion. When assigned a college essay, make sure to check the specific structural conventions related to your essay genre , your field of study, and your professor's expectations."

• If you're doing a research-based essay , you might find some inspiration from reading through some of the major sources on the subject.
• For a critical essay, you might choose to focus on a particular theme in the work you're discussing, or analyze the meaning of a specific passage.

• If you're having trouble narrowing down your topic, your instructor might be able to provide guidance or inspiration.

Planning and Organizing Your Essay

• Academic books and journals tend to be good sources of information. In addition to print sources, you may be able to find reliable information in scholarly databases such as JSTOR and Google Scholar.
• You can also look for primary source documents, such as letters, eyewitness accounts, and photographs.
• Always evaluate your sources critically. Even research papers by reputable academics can contain hidden biases, outdated information, and simple errors or faulty logic.

Tip: In general, Wikipedia articles are not considered appropriate sources for academic writing. However, you may be able to find useful sources in the “References” section at the end of the article.

• You might find it helpful to write your notes down on individual note cards or enter them into a text document on your computer so you can easily copy, paste , and rearrange them however you like.
• Try organizing your notes into different categories so you can identify specific ideas you'd like to focus on. For example, if you're analyzing a short story , you might put all your notes on a particular theme or character together.

• For example, if your essay is about the factors that led to the end of the Bronze Age in the ancient Middle East, you might focus on the question, “What role did natural disasters play in the collapse of Late Bronze Age society?”

• One easy way to come up with a thesis statement is to briefly answer the main question you would like to address.
• For example, if the question is “What role did natural disasters play in the collapse of Late Bronze Age society?” then your thesis might be, “Natural disasters during the Late Bronze Age destabilized local economies across the region. This set in motion a series of mass migrations of different peoples, creating widespread conflict that contributed to the collapse of several major Bronze Age political centers.”

• When you write the outline, think about how you would like to organize your essay. For example, you might start with your strongest arguments and then move to the weakest ones. Or, you could begin with a general overview of the source you're analyzing and then move on to addressing the major themes, tone, and style of the work.
• Introduction
• Point 1, with supporting examples
• Point 2, with supporting examples
• Point 3, with supporting examples
• Major counter-argument(s) to your thesis
• Your rebuttals to the counter-argument(s)

Drafting the Essay

• For example, if you're writing a critical essay about a work of art, your introduction might start with some basic information about the work, such as who created it, when and where it was created, and a brief description of the work itself. From there, introduce the question(s) about the work you'd like to address and present your thesis.
• A strong introduction should also contain a brief transitional sentence that creates a link to the first point or argument you would like to make. For example, if you're discussing the use of color in a work of art, lead-in by saying you'd like to start with an overview of symbolic color use in contemporary works by other artists.

Tip: Some writers find it helpful to write the introduction after they've written the rest of the essay. Once you've written out your main points, it's easier to summarize the gist of your essay in a few introductory sentences.

• For example, your topic sentence might be something like, “Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories are among the many literary influences apparent in P. G. Wodehouse's Jeeves novels.” You could then back this up by quoting a passage that contains a reference to Sherlock Holmes.
• Try to show how the arguments in each paragraph link back to the main thesis of your essay.

• When creating transitions, transitional phrases can be helpful. For example, use words and phrases such as “In addition,” “Therefore,” “Similarly,” “Subsequently,” or “As a result.”
• For example, if you've just discussed the use of color to create contrast in a work of art, you might start the next paragraph with, “In addition to color, the artist also uses different line weights to distinguish between the more static and dynamic figures in the scene.”

• For example, if you're arguing that a particular kind of shrimp decorates its shell with red algae to attract a mate, you'll need to address the counterargument that the shell decoration is a warning to predators. You might do this by presenting evidence that the red shrimp are, in fact, more likely to get eaten than shrimp with undecorated shells.

• The way you cite your sources will vary depending on the citation style you're using. Typically, you'll need to include the name of the author, the title and publication date of the source, and location information such as the page number on which the information appears.
• In general, you don't need to cite common knowledge. For example, if you say, “A zebra is a type of mammal,” you probably won't need to cite a source.
• If you've cited any sources in the essay, you'll need to include a list of works cited (or a bibliography ) at the end.

• Keep your conclusion brief. While the appropriate length will vary based on the length of the essay, it should typically be no longer than 1-2 paragraphs.
• For example, if you're writing a 1,000-word essay, your conclusion should be about 4-5 sentences long. [16] X Research source

Revising the Essay

• If you don't have time to spend a couple of days away from your essay, at least take a few hours to relax or work on something else.

• Excessive wordiness
• Points that aren't explained enough
• Tangents or unnecessary information
• Unclear transitions or illogical organization
• Spelling , grammar , style, and formatting problems
• Inappropriate language or tone (e.g., slang or informal language in an academic essay)

• You might have to cut material from your essay in some places and add new material to others.
• You might also end up reordering some of the content of the essay if you think that helps it flow better.

• Read over each line slowly and carefully. It may be helpful to read each sentence out loud to yourself.

Tip: If possible, have someone else check your work. When you've been looking at your writing for too long, your brain begins to fill in what it expects to see rather than what's there, making it harder for you to spot mistakes.

Expert Q&A

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://www.yourdictionary.com/articles/essay-types
• ↑ https://students.unimelb.edu.au/academic-skills/resources/essay-writing/six-top-tips-for-writing-a-great-essay
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/common_writing_assignments/research_papers/choosing_a_topic.html
• ↑ https://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/tips-reading-assignment-prompt
• ↑ https://library.unr.edu/help/quick-how-tos/writing/integrating-sources-into-your-paper
• ↑ https://advice.writing.utoronto.ca/researching/notes-from-research/
• ↑ https://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/developing-thesis
• ↑ https://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/outlining
• ↑ https://lsa.umich.edu/sweetland/undergraduates/writing-guides/how-do-i-write-an-intro--conclusion----body-paragraph.html
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/academic_writing/essay_writing/argumentative_essays.html
• ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/transitions/
• ↑ https://lsa.umich.edu/sweetland/undergraduates/writing-guides/how-do-i-incorporate-a-counter-argument.html
• ↑ https://www.plagiarism.org/article/how-do-i-cite-sources
• ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/conclusions/
• ↑ https://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/twc/sites/utsc.utoronto.ca.twc/files/resource-files/Intros-Conclusions.pdf
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/the_writing_process/proofreading/steps_for_revising.html
• ↑ https://open.lib.umn.edu/writingforsuccess/chapter/8-4-revising-and-editing/
• ↑ https://writing.ku.edu/writing-process

About This Article

If you need to write an essay, start by gathering information from reputable sources, like books from the library or scholarly journals online. Take detailed notes and keep track of which facts come from which sources. As you're taking notes, look for a central theme that you're interested in writing about to create your thesis statement. Then, organize your notes into an outline that supports and explains your thesis statement. Working from your outline, write an introduction and subsequent paragraphs to address each major point. Start every paragraph with a topic sentence that briefly explains the main point of that paragraph. Finally, finish your paper with a strong conclusion that sums up the most important points. For tips from our English Professor co-author on helpful revision techniques, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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How Scrooge Changes

How is scrooge presented as being selfish, the point behind the paragraph ao1 - big picture (plot) ao2 - zooming in (language) ao3 - context, during the opening of the novel, scrooge is presented as a selfish, closed character who only thinks of himself. the first section of the novel takes the form of a long piece of description where dickens highlights just how selfish scrooge is. he’s described as being “squeezing,” “wrenching,” and “grasping.” all these active verbs suggest different ways that he takes things. squeezing suggests that he holds things close to himself and won’t let them go. “wrenching” means to take things; to snatch them. this might refer to how he runs his business, snatching back what’s his own, as though he’s a selfish spoilt child who won’t share. “grasping” means to reach desperately for something, which isn’t something we’d associate with someone as wealthy as scrooge. equally, he’s described as being “solitary as an oyster.” this wonderful simile perfectly illustrates just how closed off scrooge is: he has a hard shell to keep himself away from the rest of the world. throughout the rest of stave 1 we see more examples of his selfishness: he refuses to go to fred’s house, arguing that christmas is a “humbug;” he refuses to give to the portly gentleman’s charity, saying that the poor should go to workhouses, prisons or simply die if they can’t afford to live and he resents giving bob cratchit the day off for christmas, thinking himself “ill-used.” scrooge clearly thinks only of himself. he doesn’t “make merry” at christmas, and he “can’t afford” to make anyone else merry either. here, dickens uses scrooge to shine a light on the selfishness of the victorian upper classes, who would happily sit by their firesides eating rich food while their poorer brothers froze in the dirt outside. it is also worth remembering, however, that the issue of poverty is not one that is consigned to victorian england; it’s very much alive today, and we would all do well to look outside of our bubbles to see those who suffer in the world around us ., the text above would represent one paragraph from an essay about scrooge being presented as selfish. the second paragraph would look at how scrooge learnt to be less selfish, while the last would focus on how scrooge was presented by the end. each paragraph would have a point, some language analysis (ao2), some key moments of plot (ao1) and a reference to context (ao3)., the extract, during the opening of the novel, and in the extract, scrooge is presented as a “tight-fisted hand at the grindstone.” this is to say that he doesn’t like sharing – he is tight fisted – while the “grindstone” image represents him at work. this image suggests that he drives people hard at work but doesn’t pay them much for it. and this is certainly true of scrooge. dickens also uses a string of verbs to describe his miserly hero: “squeezing, wrenching, grasping, clutching;” all of them imply that he is taking things and holding on to them. he’s described as “hard and sharp as flint” – which implies that he is difficult and even dangerous – “from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire” which implies that one thing flint does well is something scrooge is incapable of, because fire is warm and looks after others. most interestingly, however, scrooge is described as “edging his way along the crowded paths of life, warning all human sympathy to keep its distance.” this is an interesting image as it implies a certain strange compassion from scrooge. in fact, he isn’t just rude or obnoxious, it’s as though he recognised that he is socially and emotionally dysfunctional and now “warns” other humans to keep away., by the end of the book, however, he has changed and he does this by realising a few very important things., firstly, he understands that people and emotions are more important than money. at the beginning of the book scrooge things money equates to happiness – he says that “i can’t afford to make idle people merry,” suggesting that happiness can only be provided through financial means. during his visits with the ghost of christmas past, however, he sees his old manager fezziwig throwing a party and comments that “the happiness he gives is quite as great as if it had cost a fortune.” here, he shows the beginnings of an understanding that happiness isn’t just financial. throughout stave 3, also, scrooge sees people enjoying christmas without any money. he is taken across the country from the poor tin-mines in cornwall to the most distant lighthouses and even across the sea to where he sees people singing and laughing and making merry despite being on meagre means. he also sees the cratchitts enjoying christmas with next to nothing – with their chipped glasses and broken custard cups holding the drinks as well as “golden goblets.” dickens repeatedly uses references to gold in the book, and at one point bob mentions that tiny tim is “as good as gold and better.” here, bob is clearly celebrating the key theme of the book: that people and human relationships are more important than money. by the end of the book, with the third spirit, scrooge seems changed. he says “lead on, time is precious to me.” here he recognises that time – which is irreplaceable – is actually the most valuable commodity on earth and he seems changed., also, scrooge is changed by the compassion he sees other’s treating him with. when belle speaks to him, she does so with “tenderness” – suggesting that even at this moment of deepest sadness, she feels sorry for him, and not resentful. also, bob toasts him over their dinner, raising a glass to celebrate him. through this scrooge is forced to reflect on the fact that he is supported and loved despite his behaviour. his nephew, fred, also insists on defending him – albeit that he playfully teases him in the group’s game – when he says that he insists inviting scrooge to dinner every year – “for i pity him.” again, the compassion and sympathy felt by others would have affected scrooge and softened him, melting his cold and bitter heart, rather than making him angry and isolated. finally, scrooge allows himself to become absorbed in society when he becomes tiny tim’s “second father.” this final statement shows clearly that scrooge is now a fully-fledged member of society, and even though he had no relationship with his own family, he has an adopted, extended family that he can be a part of., it’s also worth noting, that the first person scrooge feels compassion for is himself. in the school room, when he “wept” to see his “poor forgotten self” scrooge shows sympathy for his own plight. it could well be that his father – the father that fanny didn’t have to feel “afraid” of anymore – was the source of scrooge’s anger and resentment. in this respect, you could easily argue that scrooge was deserted by those who were closest to him and, in turn, deserted those around him; however, by the end, an extended family of society have proven that they care for scrooge and can forgive him, and in this way he learns to feel compassion again., a christmas carol and death, a churchyard. here, then; the wretched man whose name he had now to learn, lay underneath the ground. it was a worthy place. walled in by houses; overrun by grass and weeds, the growth of vegetation’s death, not life; choked up with too much burying; fat with repleted appetite. a worthy place, the spirit stood among the graves, and pointed down to one. he advanced towards it trembling. the phantom was exactly as it had been, but he dreaded that he saw new meaning in its solemn shape., “before i draw nearer to that stone to which you point,” said scrooge, “answer me one question. are these the shadows of the things that will be, or are they shadows of things that may be, only”, still the ghost pointed downward to the grave by which it stood., “men’s courses will foreshadow certain ends, to which, if persevered in, they must lead,” said scrooge. “but if the courses be departed from, the ends will change. say it is thus with what you show me”, the spirit was immovable as ever., scrooge crept towards it, trembling as he went; and following the finger, read upon the stone of the neglected grave his own name, ebenezer scrooge., the extract is from the end of stave 4 and explores scrooge’s final realisation of his fate as the ghost of christmas yet to come points to his grave. overall, death is a prevalent theme in the novella, one which haunts scrooge at every turn, enough to finally transform him for the better., at the beginning of the novel, scrooge’s encounter with the terrifying spectre of death, his old business partner jacob marley sows the early seeds of receptiveness to a new way of life. at first, scrooge refuses to believe that anything dead could return, joking ‘there’s more gravy than the grave about you’ however, the chilling horror of marley’s appearance ‘i wear the chains i forged in life’ –which are constructed of financial elements: purses, and sales ledgers, suggest an unhealthy obsession with money and the way one’s profession will manifest itself and weigh you down after death. also, the clear warning to scrooge ‘mankind was my business’ and the image he shows outside scrooge’s window of dead people desperately trying in vain to change their ways and reconcile themselves with their families, is a message that once one is dead, there is no opportunity for redemption and change. in this section, dickens draws on his knowledge of the gothic genre –churches, door knockers that turn into the face of marley, and marley’s stories from beyond the grave that to chill the victorian reader to the core. of course, they would also be only too aware of the potential of hell, something that dickens was sceptical of, but a huge proportion of his readership would have believed in., another aspect of death that strikes a chord with scrooge early in the novella is when the ghost of xmas past reveals the scene when his sister, fan came to take him home from the boarding school for christmas. this is clearly a treasured memory for scrooge and the reader learns of what a strong bond the two had. ‘fan, fan, dear fan’ and she reminds him ‘father has changed’. the ghost reminds scrooge of the fact she has died and has only one surviving relative, her son, fred. scrooge instantly feels guilty about how he treated fred at the beginning when he received his usual invite to xmas dinner. dickens conveys here how a memory of a death has a significant impact on scrooge’s gradual transformation into a more caring person., in the extract, the reader is presented with the final scene from the ghost of xmas future and scrooge’s terror reaches a dramatic peak. the setting is described as ‘a worthy place’ with this adjective from dickens’ narrator serving to identify the bleak spot as one which scrooge heartily deserves. pathetic fallacy is used to convey the place with lines like ‘overrun by grass and weeds –the growth of vegetation’s death’ indicating how the unwanted weeds, a clear metaphor for death, have destroyed any flowers, and made the location one that resembles the fate that potentially awaited scrooge: one where no-one would tend his grave. it is even ‘walled in by houses’ and at the start the reader learns ‘the furniture was not the same’ in his office. this suggests that in death, everything continues on as normal –someone will take scrooge’s place as a loan shark, and no-one will notice or visit his grave as it is hidden from view., the mood of this piece builds in dramatic tension as scrooge desperately implores the ghost to speak and to reassure him that ‘if the courses be departed from, the ends will change. say it is thus’ but the short sentence ‘the spirit was as immovable as ever’ conveys how dickens allies death with silence and that perhaps it is not god or anyone else who will change our life’s path, only by reaching within one’s self that a genuine transformation can occur., further evidence of scrooge’s doom laden panic as he faces up to the reality of his own death is found in the verb ‘trembling’ as he approaches his own grave, the question ‘am i the man who lay upon the bed’ and the repeated exclamations ‘no, spirit oh, no’ overall, it is an extract that encapsulates the horror of facing up to one’s death, and the added fear for scrooge that no-one will remember him. it is the final catalyst in making him change his ways., the cratchits, cratchits extract, intro / “happy, grateful pleased” vs scrooge at school “not afraid” // “shut out the darkness” vs fred welcoming scrooge // “in a glow” vs belle’s family // grave / as good as gold, charles dickens wrote a christmas carol during the victorian times, when the gap between rich and poor was very big. in the novel dickens shows that money is not as important as family when it comes to happiness. he was inspired partly because his father had been taken into debtors’ prison when he was younger, something that would have left dickens understanding just how much more important family was than money., the first paragraph of this extract deals with the cratchits, who are not wealthy – as shown by their “scanty” clothes – but are happy. dickens uses four key adjectives to describe them: “happy, grateful, pleased” and “contented.” these adjectives show that despite the fact that they didn’t have any of the things that victorian society would have valued, they are still capable of being happy in a range of different ways. this contrasts directly with scrooge’s younger years, where he was “forgotten” by his family and left in school. scrooge is rescued by his younger sister, fanny, who comes to tell him that he is welcomed back because their father doesn’t make her feel “afraid” anymore. this adjective gives us a suggestion that their father may have been abusive to them, and would go some way towards understanding why scrooge rejects family so firmly later in his life., despite fanny’s death – another desertion that would have affected scrooge – her spirit lives on through her son, scrooge’s nephew fred, who repeatedly invites scrooge to his house for christmas dinner. scrooge repeatedly refuses with his famous “bah humbug” line, but fred insists that he will keep inviting him for “i pity” him. the fact that fred pities scrooge for being rude, shows just how far family will go to remain loyal to each other. this idea is also shown in the extract, where the families prepare to close their curtains so they can “shut out the darkness.” in many ways, these curtains could be seen as metaphoric blinds that help keep families together; they keep out the outside and sometimes even blind each other to our failings in order that the family unit is kept happy., the second paragraph also describes some “handsome girls, all hooded and fur-booted” who enter a house “in a glow.” here, dickens makes the point that family is not just for poor people, but is something that unites us all (like the “trip to the grave” that fred mentions in a speech earlier in the book.) the fact that they are “in a glow” suggests that they aren’t just happy, but are actually glowing – a symbol of light that is used repeatedly through christmas carol. also, the preposition “in” suggests that they are within this glow, protected by it, in the same way that families protect us all. in one of the most heart-breaking scenes in the book, scrooge is taken to see his former girlfriend with her new family, a family that could have been his own, had scrooge not chosen worship his “golden idol” above her., in the end though, it is the lack of respect given to his death that really changes scrooge for the better. once he’s seen his own “neglected” grave, he understands the true cost of being alone and understands the reasons why tiny tim’s father calls him, proudly, “as good as gold – and better”.

In this extract, we see how the Cratchit family are happy despite their poverty. The novella was published in 1893 which was in the middle of the Industrial Revolution, so many people were moving into cities, leading them to become overcrowded and therefore poverty-stricken. This poverty is evident here in the quote ‘ the family display of glass’ which we then learn consists of ‘two tumblers’ and a ‘custard cup without a handle’. The word ‘display’ shows just how little they own, as they seem proud to showcase these small dilapidated objects off, as this is all they have. However, they seem content as such trivial matters don’t change how they feel towards each other. Dickens compares the cups to ‘golden goblets’ which to me suggests that the Cratchits feel enriched simply by each other’s company, which is worth more to them than anything materialistic.

Earlier in the same scene, we learn first how vibrant the scene is among this family when Dickens personifies even the potatoes, saying they were ‘knocking’ to get out of their pan, as if the joyous atmosphere was so desirable to be amongst that even inanimate objects wanted to be part of the festivities. In the extract, we are told that the chestnuts cracked ‘noisily’ which conveys the same ideas, building a feeling of community despite the poverty in the scene.

The Ghost of Christmas present first takes Scrooge to see the Cratchits Chirstmas, which makes him realise the importance of family at this time, then continues this theme of company by showing him other scenes brought to life by Christmas spirit. For example, when the ghost takes him to a lighthouse, the poor workers there are described as having ‘horny hands’. This suggests that they have struggled through great hardships and have suffered more in their life than Scrooge ever would, and yet their show of unison when they all sing together at Christmas let them disregard their struggles for a time. By comparing the Cratchits and these workers, Dickens shows how the poor could overcome their lack of materialistic value and settle for things of emotional value.

One member of the Cratchit family who strongly highlights the struggles of the poor is Tiny Tim. In this extract his hand is described as a ‘withered little hand’ suggesting it has prematurely withered like a flower with no light. As the word ‘withered’ has connotations of a flower, to me, this could perhaps be seen as a metaphor for how something beautiful has been hindered and killed by the tight fistedness of the rich in society which is something that Dickens was strongly trying to convey in this novella. Light is often a symbol of hope so this flower could be shrivelled due to a lack of light, which is the lack of generosity from the upper classes. Dickens may have untended ‘withered little’ as a juxtaposition, as we would normally associate ‘withered’ with age and ‘little’ with childhood. This contrast highlights how wrong it is that an innocent child should be so shunned by society due to his wealth and status, and this demonstrates Dickens’ frustration over the inequality.

Dickens uses a similar adjective to describe the hands of the children Ignorance and Want. The word ‘shrivelled’ is used here, which compares these children, who are also victims of the struggles of poverty [sic] to Tiny Tim. It creates a similar image of premature decay to highlight the neglect of lower classes in society. The boy in this scene represents Ignorance and the ghost of Christmas Present tells Scrooge to ‘most of all beware the boy’. This strongly conveys Dickens’ message about poverty and the poor, as he is trying to tell society that ignoring the struggles and problems of the poor will be their downfall .

This is demonstrated in Stave 4 when Tiny Tim dies, and the Cratchits say that when Bob had Tiny Tim on his shoulders he walked ‘very fast indeed’. When we have a weight on our shoulders, the phrases normally implies a burden and a worry. However here I think that Tiny Tim represents the burden that the rich think the poor put upon society. Here, Dickens could be saying that if we only realised the potential of the poor they may actually prove helpful and contribute to society, however they are seen only dead weight on the shoulders of society due to the ignorance of the rich.

A Christmas Carol and Family

Question: How does Dickens present family as important to society in A Christmas Carol?

Dicken’s presents family as incredibly important in his allegorical novella ‘A Christmas Carol’ as Dicken’s own father was put in prison when he was young, having a profound effect on him. Scrooge juxtaposes other characters as he rejects the possibility of his own family, we see joy in the Cratchitt’s (despite their poverty) and finally Fred’s kindness is also shown towards his family.

In Stave 2 Scrooge rejects his fiancée by not protesting that he will love her and care for her. Belle uses the metaphor “a golden idol has replaced me” when she “releases” Scrooge from his engagement to her. This suggests that money and wealth are infinitely more important to him than his own family. The Ghost of the Past is instrumental in showing Scrooge what could have been when Belle is described as a “comely Matro” by the omniscient narrator to suggest that she has aged well, is happy and content due to her family. Furthermore, she is “surrounded by children” which shows her large family and how this could have been Scrooge’s fate if he had not loved wealth as much. Family was comforting in the Victorian society as the Welfare State was not in existence meaning families has to look after their elderly relations or they would end up in workhouses (which was the worst fate for the poor). In Stave one Fred is also introduced to us as Scrooge’s nephew and also rejected by him with the repetition of “Good Afternoon” showing how dismissive Scrooge can be when there is no financial gain. Fred shows kindness and caring towards him, but he rejects his offer of “Christmas Dinner” and to “dine with us” suggesting Scrooge likes his isolation and lonely, money-filled life.

Throughout the extract the family is seen as paramount to the happiness of the Cratchitt family. Bob is crushed with disappointment when he thinks Martha is not coming for Christmas dinner suggesting love, tenderness and a family bond towards his child. The adjective in “sudden declension in his high spirits” shows how disappointed he is. Tiny Trim and his siblings are extremely caring towards each other when the younger one “spirit him off” so he can “hear the pudding sing” which seems a simple pleasure, but shows that the little things in life matter and that siblings kindness is important, especially as Tiny Tim is the “cripple” and represents Christian goodwill and charity. Perhaps, Dickens was showing the effects of poverty through the presentation of the symbolic Tiny Tim who encourages the people in church to see him as Christmas is about Jesus and he “made beggars walk and blind men see” showing that although Tiny Tim is crippled he is the heart of the family and represents the way people should be towards each other. Christianity is a recurring theme in the novella and Dicken’s may have been highlighting the juxtaposition in the teachings of the bible and the actions of the wealthy in Victorian London and how Christian values were often bent to suit the opinions and thoughts of the wealthy. Dicken’s appears to be criticising through the charitable and kind and loving Cratchitt’ s the way family is rejected by Scrooge, due to his avarice, while those with the least are celebrated and celebrating Christianity and Christian values. It is ironic that Scrooge covets money and wealth more than he covets family and humanity. Further focus on the love and happiness reflected in the Cratchitt household is the way they all join together and share in the chores “in high procession” is used by Dickens to reflect the joyful atmosphere that is created in the small household when the “goose” is brought in for carving. The enthusiasm with which the goose is met is contagious and all the Cratchitt household join in the celebration of the goose “one murmur of delight” describes vividly the whole family gasping in joy at the sight of the food they have for Christmas dinner, despite the clear evidence of poverty that abounds in the household. Mrs Cratchitt is “brave in ribbons” which metaphorically describes the way she has made do and mended her dress to make it appear more festive as a piece of ribbon would have been a relatively cheap way of dressing up, while a new dress would have been an unquestionable expense and out of reach for the family. Although, poor she shows pride in her appearance and wants to look her best for the festivities and not disappoint Bob, her loving husband. Family here is shown as important as they all collectively share in the hardship and even though they are poor they don’t complain or grumble, they just focus on making the best of their situation. Symbolically, the Cratchitt family are the antithesis of Scrooge and his cruel hearted rejection of his own family.

Earlier in the novella, when the Ghost of the Past took him to the boarding school, we see a glimpse of humanity and caring towards family when “Little Fan” arrives to “take him home”. He exclaims that she is “quite a woman” showing his admiration, love and affection for her and his sadness at the reminder that she “died a young woman” which implies that perhaps, like many women at the time, childbirth was too much for her and she died. Dickens doesn’t explicitly state that childbirth was the cause of her death but there is the implication that Fred, Scrooge’s nephew, is a painful reminder of his loving sister to Scrooge and this could be why Scrooge continues to harden his heart against Fred. Alternatively, his hardened nature and his inability to love could be a mechanism that he has used over the years as he became more and more isolated and less interested in sharing experiences with other people. Scrooge’s behaviour, therefore could indicate fear and an unwillingness to open himself up to loss again, as in Stave 2 it is incredibly evident that Scrooge does have a heart and is capable of love and Fan, his sister, has experienced this love and attention from Scrooge. Scrooge’s nephew Fred is also an excellent example of how family should stick together through all the pain and heartache life can throw at people. Fred arrives at the “counting-house” on a bleak, dark and foggy Christmas Eve in stave one with the pathetic fallacy reflecting the inner sadness and miserly nature of Scrooge. Fred is cheerful and welcoming towards his grumpy uncle, who rejects the offer of Christmas dinner and in Stave 3 we see Scrooge become the butt of the joke during a game of “Guess Who”. Scrooge watches amused and seems to ironically miss the fact that he is being compared to an animal of some sort “Uncle Sccccrooooogggeee” is used in the game, too much hilarity as an example that no-one can guess initially. Scrooge watches on with the Ghost of the Present wistfully and plays along with the games, even though he can’t be seen or heard by Fred and the other guests. Although, they are being slightly unkind and poking fun at Scrooge there is some clear evidence of affection for him, due to the fact that he is family. In this scene family is again seen to be normal, caring and loving and everyone is together, looking out for each other and enjoying each other’s company. Dickens presents Fred’s Christmas as a larger and more opulent affair than the Cratchitt’ s but the day seems to represent a wider sort of family gathering with friends and nieces invited to the festivities as well, suggesting that we are all part of the same human race and that there are more similarities between us than differences.

Towards the end of the novella Dickens introduces us to the idea that Scrooge has changed and has reflected on how family is important and why he should join in and become a part of the family, both the Cratchitt family and his own nephew Scrooge. At the end of the novella Tiny Tim utters the phrase that is synonymous with his good nature “God bless us everyone!” which summarises the change that overcame Scrooge. Tim lived because Scrooge changed and became a better man. Scrooge vowed after seeing the Ghost of the Future, the death of Tiny Tim and the death of himself that he would “live in the past, the present and the future” showing that he understood the importance of being a better person. His first act of kindness after this proclamation is to send a “Turkey to the Cratchitt family” which was a huge gesture and showed that he valued their family and really did not want to see Tiny Tim die, he asks the Ghost of the Future “Will Tiny Tim live?” and this rhetorical question reveals that he already knows the answer to this. Without Scrooge’s epiphany and change Tim will die, so Scrooge shows that he recognises how pivotal to happiness Tiny Tim is by sending the food to them. Due to the way family is presented throughout the novella it is obvious that Scrooge begins to understand that family keeps people together and makes them more humane. In the end Scrooge goes to Fred’s house and is invited in. He also becomes “like a second father” to Tiny Tim and shows that he understands the importance of being a better person and the role that having a family plays in this.

Evidently, Dickens felt that family was centrally important to the novella as he places the Cratchitt family in the heart of it. They are show to us in Stave 3 during the Ghost of the Present’s revelations to Scrooge and arguably the scene with the Cratchitt family helps to change Scrooge from being a unkind, miserly and covetous man to a more charitable, kind and loving man. The presentation of family was extremely important in showing Scrooge that he could be a much better man.

ANOTHER ONE

They were a boy and a girl. Yellow, meagre, ragged, scowling, wolfish; but prostrate, too, in their humility. Where graceful youth should have filled their features out, and touched them with its freshest tints, a stale and shrivelled hand, like that of age, had pinched, and twisted them, and pulled them into shreds. Where angels might have sat enthroned, devils lurked, and glared out menacing. No change, no degradation, no perversion of humanity, in any grade, through all the mysteries of wonderful creation, has monsters half so horrible and dread.

Scrooge started back, appalled. Having them shown to him in this way, he tried to say they were fine children, but the words choked themselves, rather than be parties to a lie of such enormous magnitude. "Spirit, are they yours?" Scrooge could say no more.

"They are Man's," said the Spirit, looking down upon them. "And they cling to me, appealing from their fathers. This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased. Deny it!" cried the Spirit, stretching out its hand towards the city. "Slander those who tell it ye. Admit it for your factious purposes, and make it worse. And abide the end." "Have they no refuge or resource?" cried Scrooge. "Are there no prisons?" said the Spirit, turning on him for the last time with his own words. "Are there no workhouses?"

In A Christmas Carol, Dickens continually returns the readers’ focus on the children in Victorian society. The recurring character and the famous child in the novella is “Tiny” Tim Cratchit who becomes a metonym for thousands of faceless proletariat children neglected by a ruthless self-serving capitalist society. However, the shocking introduction of the minor characters of Ignorance and Want allows Dickens to create a political diatribe against the greed, selfishness and neglect of working-class children. These children contrasted against the earlier childhood version of Scrooge, serve to expose the dichotomy between the poor and rich in a deeply unequal and uneven society.

In this passage, Ignorance and Want become a metaphorical paradigm of society’s abandonment of the poor and the consequence of their inability to take social responsibility for poverty. The children have a primarily allegorical purpose evidenced in the focus of their physical features. The boy and girl are old before their time as Dickens says their faces are absent of “graceful youth” and the neglect of their physical, emotional and mental wellbeing is emphasised in the image of their “pinched” and “twisted” features. These adjectives heighten the idea of their youth being robbed and their childhood destroyed by physical hardships particularly given “twisted” is synonymous with something that is misshapen and grotesque. Their faces are described as being the antithesis of childhood innocence as Dickens uses hyperbolic language and describes how “devils lurked” in their faces and “glared out menacingly”. The use of hellish imagery accentuates the impression that their existence has been made unbearable by poverty and in turn has tainted and corrupted their view of the world as well as wrecked their own goodness and innocence. The children’s hostility, distrust and hatred of the Christian society meant to protect them is manifested in the verb “glared”, which is emblematic of their disillusionment and discontent. Dickens uses animal imagery to describe the children as “wolfish” which bolsters the impression of working-class children’s metamorphosis from innocent creatures to starving and exploited children hardened by their suffering. The colour “yellow” is symptomatic of sickness and ill health and furthers the idea of their physical and mental decay within a laissez faire society (where no welfare state or support to lift working class children out of absolute poverty exists). The philosopher John Locke theorised man is born a blank slate and our nature is changed by nurture; this idea is evidenced in the way in which societal neglect changes the nature of the children. It is clear that Dickens subverts the image of childhood innocence and sharply juxtaposes Ignorance and Want’s damaged childhood to the wealthy Scrooge’s happier memories of his powerful education (in which his imagination came alive by his schooling), in order to create pathos for working class children and force his contemporary Victorian readers to examine their conscience, particularly their lack of support for the “ragged” poor and homeless children in society.

Dickens believed how a society treated its children, revealed their social mores. He makes it evident that society is to blame for the suffering and dehumanisation of working-class children especially as the spirits uses the short declarative “They are man’s” to indicate societal responsibility and its moral failing. The hypocrisy of a Christian society is exemplified in the way in which the ghost mocks Scrooge and repeats his infamous questions back to him: “Are there no prisons?” and “Are there no workhouses?” The callousness of society and its evasion of social responsibility to take care of the most vulnerable is emphasised in the repetition of the nouns “prison” and “workhouses” which reminds contemporary readers that they marginalised and disenfranchisedinnocent working-class children by socially excluding them and denying them a good quality of life.

Dickens more importantly uses the recurring character construct of Tiny Tim to dispel the damaging societal stereotype that the working class are deserving of their poverty. In Stave 3, Tiny Tim is romanticised by Dickens to symbolise the beauty and goodness of working-class children who deserve society’s love and charity. He is poor but shows immense courage and huge generosity of spirit. When Tiny Tim uses the biblical story of how Jesus helped the blind and poor, and hopes the bourgeoise remember the poor during Christmas, he becomes a symbol of Jesus and once again exposes the hypocrisy of a Christian society that claims to help the poor but instead neglects them. Though Tiny Tim is dying, he shows courage and endless love and devotion to his family, best demonstrated when he says “God bless us everyone” as he sits next to his dad. Tiny Tim does not ask for anything for himself, but he is the antithesis to Scrooge because he is altruistic and puts others before him. In an increasingly amoral Victorian society, Tiny Tim provides comforting moral guidance on how to live a good life. However, Tiny Tim becomes a symbol of the abandonment of working-class children as he is powerless to improve his situation and is shown to die, leaving his family “still” and destroyed by their grief. His death symbolises how the bourgeoise have the power to change his fate and that of thousands of other vulnerable children but fail to do so, leaving innocent families broken by the death of their babies. The focus on the grief of the family after Tiny Tim dies creates intense pathos and is deliberate as Dickens reminds his readers of their shocking contextual reality - that one in five children in Victorian society did not live to see their fifth birthday.

The fairy-tale reversal in Tiny Tim’s death in Stave 5 is a piercing reminder that a progressive and utopic society is possible, but only if the bourgeoisie (represented by Scrooge) learn to love its children and take social responsibility by improving their poverty-stricken situations and therefore preventing their needless deaths. In this stave, Scrooge becomes a “second father” to Tiny Tim. This lexical phrase is highly symbolic because while it literally shows Scrooge has become more responsible and compassionate, it is an important metaphorical reminder that working-class parents desperately need the support of society to help raise their children and provide a good quality of life for them. The lexical choice “Second” is synonymous here with something that is additional and surplus and so consequently is a strong reminder of the importance of a more responsible and engaged society that is not ignorant or myopic of working-class suffering and exploitation. To reinforce this idea, In Stave 3, Dickens briefly uses the childhood character of Martha Cratchit to remind his readers of the exploitation and premature growing up of Victorian children. In this stave the children are working in the kitchen and Martha arrives home late as she has been working. She is responsible for bringing the goose. She is embraced by her mother. The image of Mrs Cratchit embracing her working child reminds readers how adult breadwinners simply could not support their family and relied upon them sacrificing their childhood. There is no doubt that these moments have great verisimilitude for modern readers, particularly given how two thirds of children living in poverty in the UK have working parents, painfully reminding new readers how the exploitation of the poor is as real as ever.

Finally, the gaiety of Fred's family dinner, contrasted against the hardship of the merry but compromised Cratchit family, is a strong reminder of the terrible and tragic disparity between the lives of the working class and wealthy in society, a context greatly affecting the Cratchit children. To conclude Dickens uses the recurring characters of children to explore society’s lack of responsibility towards its children but also its power to change the fate of these children simply by showing greater compassion and ensuring social justice happens.

https://money.com/ebenezer-scrooge-defense-charles-dickens-christmas-carol/

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Essay The Pleasures of Ignorance by Robert Lynd, Critical Appreciation

Introduction: .

The essay entitled The Pleasures of Ignorance is an extract from the same title. The essayist describes the ignorance of many people living in this world. Sometimes it is surprising that the people are completely ignorant about different phenomenon of nature. The essayist is of the view that this type of ignorance is not always bad. The essayist also observes that a great proportion of the world population remains ignorant of many things. The people are born in this world but do not grow in their knowledge and die with a little knowledge. In the present essay he also compares between the man of city and man of village. The man of city passes a modern life in the city, but he also does not have knowledge of petty things and his surroundings. It is very pitiable to see that the people are ignorant even of their natural environment. They do not have knowledge about the birds, trees, fruits, flowers and seasons. According to the essayist, due to being ignorant of many things, we get a sort of pleasure while discovering.

Thought - content: 

The essay begins with the surprise of the essayist when he finds someone ignorant in such a vast continent. He (the essayist) accepts ignorance a common thing. In his opinion many men and women live in this world and die with a little knowledge. They cannot make a difference between two trees and the songs of two birds . The modern man is an exception of it. This ignorance is due to not observing the things and their activities carefully. However this ignorance is not pitiable. Due to this, man gets the pleasure of discovery. The essayist says that if half of life of a man has passed without seeing a cuckoo, he feels happy to see it flying from one wood to another wood and from one tree to another tree. The happiness of the naturalist also depends on the lack of his knowledge and because of being ignorant he discovers new things. Assuredly the men of science have no reason as yet to weep over their lost ignorant.

The essayist also shows his own ignorance when he says that he knows a little about African cuckoo, He observes that man cannot get knowledge in every sphere. Further the essayist talks about memory. There are many occasions when bad memory gives us a great trouble. For instance, if someone has a strong desire to know the reality and he is very far from any kind of entertainment, this kind of trouble comes into existence. He says that there is no more to say about bad memory than the good memory. Next the essayist tells about the ignorance of an uneducated man. An ordinary man does not know how a telephone works. He accepts everything the miracles of religious preachings of great saints. Some people, without knowing the reality of anything, follow the mythological examples such as it is imagined life after death. Some people live under this impression that as they grow, they know everything through their maturity and experience. There is no bottom of the well of knowledge. It is everlasting. Finally the essayist gives an example of great philosopher Socrates. He, in the age of seventy, felt that he was still ignorant. 

Ignorance, a Sort of Pleasure: 

The essayist observes that sometimes ignorant provides immense pleasure. Due to this, we get the pleasure of discovery. If we are sufficiently ignorant, every fact of nature comes to us each spring. If our half of life has passed without seeing a cuckoo and we think its voice as wanderer's voice, we feel happy to see it flying from one wood to another wood and from one tree to another tree. We also feel happy to see when it flutters its tail. 

Serious Pleasure and Happiness of the Naturalist: 

It would be wrong to say that the naturalist does not get pleasure at the sight of birds’ life, but he constantly feels this pleasure. His joy is serious and he gets it from his hard work. Despite of his intense knowledge, he considers himself ignorant until he observes everything with his own eyes. He wishes to see unique sight of the female cuckoo. He is extremely eager to know whether the female cuckoo lays her egg on the ground or takes it in her bill to the nest in which it is destined to breed infanticide. He wears a special kind of glasses and changes his glasses only to know the right place of the female cuckoo's laying eggs.

Scientific Attitude of Observing: 

The practical behaviour of the men of science is entirely different. They want to discover anything through the right directions and sources. They look for the solidity of everything. They want to establish their facts on the base of reality. They do not run after imaginative things. They do not believe anything until they see it with their own eyes. Hence, they can never discover and know that the fairy who dwelt in the mountains, sang a song for Ulysses and which song she sang Dreams, imaginative things and omens are nothing for them as miracles. 

Limitless of Knowledge and Sudden Appearance, a Surprising Thing: 

Man’s knowledge is limited. Especially man is related to his own sphere. Our knowledge about all subjects whether it is related to the sun or the moon or the name of the flowers, is immature. Even one may be ignorant of the appearance of the routine things. The things of their particular routine can never change their place and time. Sometimes these routine things become the things of surprising. For instance the essayist thinks that the new moon is also a thing of wonder for those who are well introduced or familiar with its routine or time table. Like this the spring and blossoming the flowers is also a thing of wonder for everyone.

Trouble due to Bad Memory: 

Sometimes bad memory becomes a great trouble when one is expected to narrate true and real thing. If someone has a strong desire to know the reality and he does not like mentioning something in twisted manner nor does he need any kind of entertainment, this kind of trouble comes into existence. A man of bad memory can repeat one thing throughout his lie. Even the man of the worst memory can preserve some matter in his mind like that sheep which leaps through the bush and leaves a few wisps of wool on the thorn. 

Language and Style: 

In this essay there is great clarity and lucidity of language. His great fondness of epigrammatic sentence is also found here . He has maintained the balance of his sense. His style in this essay is truly personal which keeps his identify and individuality intact and preserved. He has also given some references related to eminent authors and philosophers such as Montaigne, Jowett, Aristotle and Socrates. He has made a great use of conditional and complex sentences. Some sentences are long, but they do not create any difficulty for an average reader. 

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Walter W. Skeat and the Oxford English Dictionary

Origin Uncertain: Unraveling the Mysteries of Etymology 

Anatoly Liberman's column on word origins,  The Oxford Etymologist , appears on the OUPblog each Wednesday. Subscribe to Anatoly Liberman’s weekly etymology articles via  email  or  RSS .

• By Anatoly Liberman
• April 17 th 2024

For many years, I have been trying to talk an old friend of mine into writing a popular book on Skeat. A book about such a colorful individual, I kept repeating, would sell like hotcakes. But he never wrote it. Neither will I (much to my regret), but there is no reason why I should not devote another short essay to Skeat. In 2016, Oxford University Press published Peter Gilliver’s book The Making of the Oxford English Dictionary , a work of incredible erudition. Skeat is mentioned in it many times, and I decided to glean those mentions, to highlight Skeat’s role in the production of the epoch-making work.

Twenty-six years separated the day on which the idea of the dictionary was made public and the appearance of the first fascicle. Countless people contributed to the production of the OED , but the public, if it knows anything about the history of this project, has heard only the name of James A. H. Murray , its first and greatest editor. This is perhaps as it should be, but in the wings we find quite a few actors waiting for broader recognition. One of them is Walter W. Skeat , a man of incredible erudition and inexhaustible energy. I have lauded him more than once (see, for example, the post for November 17, 2010 , reprinted in my book Origin Uncertain … .). However, today I’ll use only the material mentioned in or suggested by Peter Gilliver.

Skeat was not only the greatest English etymologist of his time (in a way, I think, of all times, despite the progress made by this branch of linguistics since 1912, the year he died). In 1873, he also founded the English Dialect Society and remained active in it as secretary and later director until 1896 (in 1897, after fulfilling its function, the society was dissolved). He edited the numerous book-length glossaries published by the society; attended its meetings wherever they were held, and without him Joseph Wright ’s work The English Dialect Dictionary (1898-1905), still a source of inspiration to students of English, would probably not have been completed.

Among very many other things (!), he was a founding member of The Early English Text Society , and in 1865, he became a member of its committee. Neither post was “ceremonial,” for it presupposed a lot of work. Last but not least, Skeat was a generous man, a rare quality in scholars. For instance, he contributed a large sum of money to the Dialect Society at its inception, and much earlier, in 1885, he loaned Murray £1,660 for the purchase of a house in Oxford, the location of the future famous Scriptorium . Curiously, to this day, it is often the philanthropists who subsidize historical linguistics.

In the early eighteen-seventies, some influential people suggested that Skeat should become the main figure in the production of what became the OED . Fortunately, he concentrated on editing medieval texts and writing his etymological dictionary. He would not have become a second Murray, but by way of compensation, no one else would have done so much for the study of word origins and early English literature. Amazingly, Murray, a wonder of erudition, had little formal education and no university degree, while the Reverend Skeat’s background was in the classics. As individuals, Skeat and Murray represented different psychological types. Skeat was impatient and ready to bring out a book, not yet quite perfect, in the hope of a revised version. He would have been satisfied with a much smaller OED , while Murray made no concessions to haste (his invariable goal was absolute perfection, a wagon hitched to a star) and advised Skeat to wait for the completion of the OED before publishing his etymological dictionary. Fortunately, his suggestion fell on deaf ears, but Skeat’s readiness to agree that the text of the OED might be shortened infuriated Murray. (The episode was the result of a misunderstanding, and Skeat apologized.)

At that time, all thick dictionaries appeared in fascicles, which presupposed a good deal of competition among the lexicographers, the more so as a relatively small circle of publishers was involved. The people whom we know only from the names on the covers of their works were often not only colleagues and even friends but also rivals. At a certain moment, Skeat concluded that the Clarendon Press had declined to take on the OED and turned to the Press with an offer of his own etymological dictionary. As it happened, the two projects ran concurrently and did not get into each other’s way. Skeat’s work appeared in 1882, two years before the first fascicle of the OED came out. Murray once commented on Skeat’s dependence on the research at the OED , but Skeat responded rather testily that the OED had also had access to his findings. Yet Skeat remained Murray’s trusted friend and often maneuvered among various projects, to prevent other publishers from interfering with the OED . Though also hot-tempered, he was more diplomatic than Murray, and the relations between the two men remained friendly and even warm for years. To James Murray, Skeat’s death in 1912 was a heavy blow. He survived Skeat by three years. (Skeat: 1835-1912, Murray: 1837-1915.)

Throughout his life, Skeat supported the OED by his reviews (today it seems incredible that once not everybody praised Murray’s work) and kept chastising his countrymen for their ignorance and stupidity when it came to philology. He never stopped complaining that people used to offer silly hypotheses of word origins, instead of consulting the greatest authority there was. He also tried to encourage Murray, who often felt exhausted and dispirited. This is the letter he wrote to Murray, when he was working on cu -words: “I could find enough talk to cumber you. You could come by a curvilinear railway. Bring a cudgel to walk with. We will give you culinary dishes. Your holiday will culminate in sufficient rest; we can cultivate new ideas, & cull new flowers of speech. We have cutlets in the cupboards , & currants , & curry , & custards , & (naturally) cups . […] Write & say you’ll CUM!” Nor did Skeat stay away from the least interesting part of the work connected with the OED and often read the proofs of the pages before they went into print.

Gilliver states that Skeat’s support for the Dictionary and its editors in so many ways places him alongside Furnivall and Henry Hucks Gibbs. Gibbs was “a wealthy merchant banker (and director of the bank of England) who would go on to become one of the Dictionary’s greatest supporters… He had been reading for the Dictionary at least since July 1860.” And the somewhat erratic Frederick James Furnivall (1825-1910) earned fame as a central figure in the philology of his day, even though today only specialists remember him.

A picture of Furnivall can be seen on p. 12. Gibbs appears sitting in a comfortable armchair on p. 43, and on p. 67, an entry for rebeck “a rude kind of fiddle” (among other senses), subedited by Skeat, is photographed. Quite a few more bagatelles of this type can be produced by an attentive reader of Peter Gilliver’s monumental book, but for the moment, I’ll stay with Skeat.

Header: James Murray photographed in the Scriptorium on 10 July 1915 with his assistants: (back row) Arthur Maling, Frederick Sweatman, F. A. Yockney, (seated) Elsie Murray, Rosfrith Murray. Reproduced by permission of the Secretary to the Delegates of Oxford University Press.

Anatoly Liberman  is the author of  Word Origins And How We Know Them ,   An Analytic Dictionary of English Etymology: An Introduction , and  Take My Word For It: A Dictionary of English Idioms .

Anatoly's latest book,  Origin Uncertain: Unraveling the Mysteries of Etymology  (OUP, 2024), is available to pre-order. 

His column on word origins,  The Oxford Etymologist , appears on the OUPblog each Wednesday. Send your etymology question to him care of  [email protected] ; he’ll do his best to avoid responding with “origin unknown.”

Subscribe to Anatoly Liberman’s weekly etymology articles via  email  or  RSS .

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Gig workers are writing essays for AI to learn from

• Companies are hiring highly educated gig workers to write training content for AI models .
• The shift toward more sophisticated trainers comes as tech giants scramble for new data sources.
• AI could run out of data to learn from by 2026, one research institute has warned. 

As artificial intelligence models run out of data to train themselves on, AI companies are increasingly turning to actual humans to write training content.

For years, companies have used gig workers to help train AI models on simple tasks like photo identification , data annotation, and labelling. But the rapidly advancing technology now requires more advanced people to train it.

Companies such as Scale AI and Surge AI are hiring part-timers with graduate degrees to write essays and creative prompts for the bots to gobble up, The New York Times reported . Scale AI, for example, posted a job last year looking for people with Master's degrees or PhDs, who are fluent in either English, Hindi, or Japanese and have professional writing experience in fields like poetry, journalism, and publishing.

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Their mission? To help AI bots "become better writers," Scale AI wrote in the posting.

And an army of workers are needed to do this kind of work. Scale AI has as many as tens of thousands of contractors working on its platform at a time, per the Times.

"What really makes the A.I. useful to its users is the human layer of data, and that really needs to be done by smart humans and skilled humans and humans with a particular degree of expertise and a creative bent," Willow Primack, the vice president of data operations at Scale AI, told the New York Times. "We have been focusing on contractors, particularly within North America, as a result."

The shift toward more sophisticated gig trainers comes as tech giants scramble to find new data to train their technology on. That's because the programs learn so incredibly fast that they're already running out of available resources to learn from. The vast trove of online information — everything from scientific papers to news articles to Wikipedia pages — is drying up.

Epoch, an AI research institute, has warned that AI could run out of data by 2026.

So, companies are finding more and more creative ways to make sure their systems never stop learning. Google has considered accessing its customers' data in Google Docs , Sheets, and Slides while Meta even thought about buying publishing house Simon & Schuster to harvest its book collection, Business Insider previously reported.

Watch: Nearly 50,000 tech workers have been laid off — but there's a hack to avoid layoffs

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Amanda Hoover

Students Are Likely Writing Millions of Papers With AI

Students have submitted more than 22 million papers that may have used generative AI in the past year, new data released by plagiarism detection company Turnitin shows.

A year ago, Turnitin rolled out an AI writing detection tool that was trained on its trove of papers written by students as well as other AI-generated texts. Since then, more than 200 million papers have been reviewed by the detector, predominantly written by high school and college students. Turnitin found that 11 percent may contain AI-written language in 20 percent of its content, with 3 percent of the total papers reviewed getting flagged for having 80 percent or more AI writing. (Turnitin is owned by Advance, which also owns Condé Nast, publisher of WIRED.) Turnitin says its detector has a false positive rate of less than 1 percent when analyzing full documents.

ChatGPT’s launch was met with knee-jerk fears that the English class essay would die . The chatbot can synthesize information and distill it near-instantly—but that doesn’t mean it always gets it right. Generative AI has been known to hallucinate , creating its own facts and citing academic references that don’t actually exist. Generative AI chatbots have also been caught spitting out biased text on gender and race . Despite those flaws, students have used chatbots for research, organizing ideas, and as a ghostwriter . Traces of chatbots have even been found in peer-reviewed, published academic writing .

Teachers understandably want to hold students accountable for using generative AI without permission or disclosure. But that requires a reliable way to prove AI was used in a given assignment. Instructors have tried at times to find their own solutions to detecting AI in writing, using messy, untested methods to enforce rules , and distressing students. Further complicating the issue, some teachers are even using generative AI in their grading processes.

Detecting the use of gen AI is tricky. It’s not as easy as flagging plagiarism, because generated text is still original text. Plus, there’s nuance to how students use gen AI; some may ask chatbots to write their papers for them in large chunks or in full, while others may use the tools as an aid or a brainstorm partner.

Students also aren't tempted by only ChatGPT and similar large language models. So-called word spinners are another type of AI software that rewrites text, and may make it less obvious to a teacher that work was plagiarized or generated by AI. Turnitin’s AI detector has also been updated to detect word spinners, says Annie Chechitelli, the company’s chief product officer. It can also flag work that was rewritten by services like spell checker Grammarly, which now has its own generative AI tool . As familiar software increasingly adds generative AI components, what students can and can’t use becomes more muddled.

Detection tools themselves have a risk of bias. English language learners may be more likely to set them off; a 2023 study found a 61.3 percent false positive rate when evaluating Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) exams with seven different AI detectors. The study did not examine Turnitin’s version. The company says it has trained its detector on writing from English language learners as well as native English speakers. A study published in October found that Turnitin was among the most accurate of 16 AI language detectors in a test that had the tool examine undergraduate papers and AI-generated papers.

Medea Giordano

Nena Farrell

Schools that use Turnitin had access to the AI detection software for a free pilot period, which ended at the start of this year. Chechitelli says a majority of the service’s clients have opted to purchase the AI detection. But the risks of false positives and bias against English learners have led some universities to ditch the tools for now. Montclair State University in New Jersey announced in November that it would pause use of Turnitin’s AI detector. Vanderbilt University and Northwestern University did the same last summer.

“This is hard. I understand why people want a tool,” says Emily Isaacs, executive director of the Office of Faculty Excellence at Montclair State. But Isaacs says the university is concerned about potentially biased results from AI detectors, as well as the fact that the tools can’t provide confirmation the way they can with plagiarism. Plus, Montclair State doesn’t want to put a blanket ban on AI, which will have some place in academia. With time and more trust in the tools, the policies could change. “It’s not a forever decision, it’s a now decision,” Isaacs says.

Chechitelli says the Turnitin tool shouldn’t be the only consideration in passing or failing a student. Instead, it’s a chance for teachers to start conversations with students that touch on all of the nuance in using generative AI. “People don’t really know where that line should be,” she says.

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Guest Essay

It’s Time to End the Quiet Cruelty of Property Taxes

By Andrew W. Kahrl

Dr. Kahrl is a professor of history and African American studies at the University of Virginia and the author of “The Black Tax: 150 Years of Theft, Exploitation, and Dispossession in America.”

Property taxes, the lifeblood of local governments and school districts, are among the most powerful and stealthy engines of racism and wealth inequality our nation has ever produced. And while the Biden administration has offered many solutions for making the tax code fairer, it has yet to effectively tackle a problem that has resulted not only in the extraordinary overtaxation of Black and Latino homeowners but also in the worsening of disparities between wealthy and poorer communities. Fixing these problems requires nothing short of a fundamental re-examination of how taxes are distributed.

In theory, the property tax would seem to be an eminently fair one: The higher the value of your property, the more you pay. The problem with this system is that the tax is administered by local officials who enjoy a remarkable degree of autonomy and that tax rates are typically based on the collective wealth of a given community. This results in wealthy communities enjoying lower effective tax rates while generating more tax revenues; at the same time, poorer ones are forced to tax property at higher effective rates while generating less in return. As such, property assessments have been manipulated throughout our nation’s history to ensure that valuable property is taxed the least relative to its worth and that the wealthiest places will always have more resources than poorer ones.

Black people have paid the heaviest cost. Since they began acquiring property after emancipation, African Americans have been overtaxed by local governments. By the early 1900s, an acre of Black-owned land was valued, for tax purposes, higher than an acre of white-owned land in most of Virginia’s counties, according to my calculations, despite being worth about half as much. And for all the taxes Black people paid, they got little to nothing in return. Where Black neighborhoods began, paved streets, sidewalks and water and sewer lines often ended. Black taxpayers helped to pay for the better-resourced schools white children attended. Even as white supremacists treated “colored” schools as another of the white man’s burdens, the truth was that throughout the Jim Crow era, Black taxpayers subsidized white education.

Freedom from these kleptocratic regimes drove millions of African Americans to move to Northern and Midwestern states in the Great Migration from 1915 to 1970, but they were unable to escape racist assessments, which encompassed both the undervaluation of their property for sales purposes and the overvaluation of their property for taxation purposes. During those years, the nation’s real estate industry made white-owned property in white neighborhoods worth more because it was white. Since local tax revenue was tied to local real estate markets, newly formed suburbs had a fiscal incentive to exclude Black people, and cities had even more reason to keep Black people confined to urban ghettos.

As the postwar metropolis became a patchwork of local governments, each with its own tax base, the fiscal rationale for segregation intensified. Cities were fiscally incentivized to cater to the interests of white homeowners and provide better services for white neighborhoods, especially as middle-class white people began streaming into the suburbs, taking their tax dollars with them.

One way to cater to wealthy and white homeowners’ interests is to intentionally conduct property assessments less often. The city of Boston did not conduct a citywide property reassessment between 1946 and 1977. Over that time, the values of properties in Black neighborhoods increased slowly when compared with the values in white neighborhoods or even fell, which led to property owners’ paying relatively more in taxes than their homes were worth. At the same time, owners of properties in white neighborhoods got an increasingly good tax deal as their neighborhoods increased in value.

As was the case in other American cities, Boston’s decision most likely derived from the fear that any updates would hasten the exodus of white homeowners and businesses to the suburbs. By the 1960s, assessments on residential properties in Boston’s poor neighborhoods were up to one and a half times as great as their actual values, while assessments in the city’s more affluent neighborhoods were, on average, 40 percent of market value.

Jersey City, N.J., did not conduct a citywide real estate reassessment between 1988 and 2018 as part of a larger strategy for promoting high-end real estate development. During that time, real estate prices along the city’s waterfront soared but their owners’ tax bills remained relatively steady. By 2015, a home in one of the city’s Black and Latino neighborhoods worth $175,000 received the same tax bill as a home in the city’s downtown worth $530,000.

These are hardly exceptions. Numerous studies conducted during those years found that assessments in predominantly Black neighborhoods of U.S. cities were grossly higher relative to value than those in white areas.

These problems persist. A recent report by the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy found that property assessments were regressive (meaning lower-valued properties were assessed higher relative to value than higher-valued ones) in 97.7 percent of U.S. counties. Black-owned homes and properties in Black neighborhoods continue to be devalued on the open market, making this regressive tax, in effect, a racist tax.

The overtaxation of Black homes and neighborhoods is also a symptom of a much larger problem in America’s federated fiscal structure. By design, this system produces winners and losers: localities with ample resources to provide the goods and services that we as a nation have entrusted to local governments and others that struggle to keep the lights on, the streets paved, the schools open and drinking water safe . Worse yet, it compels any fiscally disadvantaged locality seeking to improve its fortunes to do so by showering businesses and corporations with tax breaks and subsidies while cutting services and shifting tax burdens onto the poor and disadvantaged. A local tax on local real estate places Black people and cities with large Black populations at a permanent disadvantage. More than that, it gives middle-class white people strong incentives to preserve their relative advantages, fueling the zero-sum politics that keep Americans divided, accelerates the upward redistribution of wealth and impoverishes us all.

There are technical solutions. One, which requires local governments to adopt more accurate assessment models and regularly update assessment rolls, can help make property taxes fairer. But none of the proposed reforms being discussed can be applied nationally because local tax policies are the prerogative of the states and, often, local governments themselves. Given the variety and complexity of state and local property tax laws and procedures and how much local governments continue to rely on tax reductions and tax shifting to attract and retain certain people and businesses, we cannot expect them to fix these problems on their own.

The best way to make local property taxes fairer and more equitable is to make them less important. The federal government can do this by reinvesting in our cities, counties and school districts through a federal fiscal equity program, like those found in other advanced federated nations. Canada, Germany and Australia, among others, direct federal funds to lower units of government with lower capacities to raise revenue.

And what better way to pay for the program than to tap our wealthiest, who have benefited from our unjust taxation scheme for so long? President Biden is calling for a 25 percent tax on the incomes and annual increases in the values of the holdings of people claiming more than $100 million in assets, but we could accomplish far more by enacting a wealth tax on the 1 percent. Even a modest 4 percent wealth tax on people whose total assets exceed $50 million could generate upward of $400 billion in additional annual revenue, which should be more than enough to ensure that the needs of every city, county and public school system in America are met. By ensuring that localities have the resources they need, we can counteract the unequal outcomes and rank injustices that our current system generates.

Andrew W. Kahrl is a professor of history and African American studies at the University of Virginia and the author of “ The Black Tax : 150 Years of Theft, Exploitation, and Dispossession in America.”

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“Representing Ecocides in Settler Colonial Art and Literature”

Deadline to send an abstract and a mini-biography: June 1, 2024

Deadline to send the full article: July 20, 2024

            Textures (LCE Research Laboratory, Lumière Lyon 2 University) is preparing a special issue to examine literary and artistic representations of ecocides in settler colonies. Destabilizing the traditional settler colonial narrative, opposing white settlers to Indigenous peoples, articles will interrogate how the overexploitation of natural resources and the destruction of endogenous fauna and flora are perceived by the various communities who co-exist in settler colonies, whether they are Indigenous peoples, white settlers, non-white settlers, migrants, or political and environmental refugees. Too often, ecocides are framed in the ‘dying’ discourse settler colonialism itself constructs to justify inaction, exactions, and overexploitation of local natural and human resources. Sometimes, the national narrative denies them altogether, as in Aotearoa New Zealand which continues to herald its “100% Pure” myth despite the fragility of many endogenous species, massive agricultural production, and the growing number of endangered endemic plants.

Ecocides are ecological genocides whose narratives can be analysed from various standpoints, such as environmental humanities, trauma studies, disaster studies, postcolonial and decolonial studies, and Indigenous studies. Grace Dillon (Anishinaabe) refers to settler colonialism as a “Post-Native Apocalypse World”, a concept which is pertinent for this special issue as Indigenous epistemologies promoting a form of symbiosis between humans and the land have persisted over the years despite massive land confiscation, the loss of sovereignty, a long process of assimilation, and genocides. In this context, the roles women and girls from various communities have in settler colonies to preserve local fauna and flora can be analysed from ecofeminist and mana wāhine perspectives.  

            Articles dealing with the following topics are welcome (although other topics can be developed as well):

• Literary genres as modus operandi to address ecological traumas
• Mana wāhine and Indigenous responses to climate change
• Practical, communal, caring, and culturally sensitive projects preserving endogenous species and abiding by Indigenous sovereignty
• ‘Dying’ peoples, ‘dying’ languages, ‘dying’ fauna, ‘dying’ flora: putting an end to the colonial ‘dying’ discourse
• Narrating strategies to express the ecological crisis, especially its specific timeframe and urgency
• Settler colonial ignorance and the exploitation of Indigenous land
• Dialogues between various viewpoints, including too often marginalised voices (women, LGBTQIA+ people, Indigenous peoples, non-whites, migrants, refugees)
• Whitewashing and greenwashing readings of settler colonial history
• Indigenous stories of the Creation, survivance, and resistance
• Western science and technologies: eco-friendly solutions or neo-colonial tools?
• Dis-ease: te whare tapa whā, mahi a atua, and other holistic approaches to heal Indigenous intergenerational trauma

To participate, submit your 250-300 word abstract along with a mini-biography to Marine Berthiot ( [email protected] ) and Alvar De La Llosa ( [email protected] ) by June 1, 2024 . You will receive an email notification when your project is accepted by June 10, 2024. Your full article (30,000-40,000 characters, including spaces) will be due on July 20, 2024 .