ot ignorance, but ignorance of ignorance is the death of knowledge.”
– Alfred North Whitehead

In the previous essay we explored the factors contributing to the growth of ignorance in Pakistan and examined how this shapes our perspectives. We focused particularly on the role of social media to highlight that a tongue, or a keyboard, devoid of knowledge only serves to darken the mind.

We illuminate the darkness within by pushing the existing boundaries of knowledge, not by regurgitating what has already been digested. This expansion of understanding enables us to grasp the emerging realities and changes sweeping across our world. But such comprehension is impossible if we insist on applying preconceived notions to unfamiliar or evolving contexts.

In Pakistan’s current social mind-set and cultural milieu, the material world continues to shift, while the mind remains trapped in inherited frameworks. This disconnect, between a fixed mind-set and an ever-changing world, affects individuals across ideological lines, whether atheist, religious, Marxist or liberal. Consequently, many remain unaware of the ongoing paradigm shifts in the sociology of knowledge, its production and its dissemination.

Traditionally, scholars dedicated time and energy to the long, often painstaking pursuit of knowledge. Only after exploring the many dimensions of a subject would they share their insights. In other words, knowledge came first, and communication followed.

Today, however, the very structure of social media has upended this epistemic order. In a world dominated by virtual platforms, we tend to communicate first and rarely bother to acquire true knowledge. This is why someone armed with little more than the gift of the gab and a few Wikipedia entries can confidently challenge a scholar in their own field.

Content has now become subservient to the medium; the signifier has overtaken the signified. This is why we are witnessing the rise of populists, celebrities, speakers and influencers in Pakistan who often perpetuate the illusion of knowledge. The result is a spreading darkness of ignorance and a corresponding dimming of the light of knowledge.

This darkness envelops even those who appear ideologically opposed. The enlightenment, once the torchbearer of modernity, now seems to have entered its own twilight. Against this backdrop, this essay aims to examine the particular frame of thinking that contributes to the growth of ignorance among Pakistani atheists.

On the surface, a new generation of atheists in Pakistan appears just as prone to logical fallacies as their religious counterparts. A popular atheistic axiom claims that a religious mind-set is incapable of producing knowledge, as it is clouded by dogma. If we follow the logic of populist Pakistani atheists, that religious individuals are inherently incapable of intellectual contribution, then anything written by a believer would be dismissed as pseudo-knowledge.

Such a reductionist view not only impoverishes the mind but also narrows the sources from which knowledge may emerge. There is no infallible theory or ideology that can produce indisputable knowledge about humans and society. Since the dawn of civilisation, the pursuit of knowledge has been enriched by thinkers of all persuasions: atheists, believers, agnostics, pagans, nationalists, mystics and revolutionaries alike. Modern history offers ample evidence to support this truth.

For instance, one of the most path-breaking educational thinkers of the second half of the Twentieth Century was Ivan Illich, a Catholic priest, theologian and philosopher. He authored seminal works such as Deschooling Society and Tools for Conviviality. Illich viewed the modern education system as a kind of industrial funnel, an educational package that produces children much like cars on an assembly line. In doing so, it stifles curiosity, suppresses individuality and contributes to the dehumanisation of society.

Content has now become subservient to the medium, the signifier has overtaken the signified.

Illich has offered valuable insights into the modern education system and its shortcomings. Should we reject his ideas simply because he was a priest? To do so would be to deepen our ignorance, not enhance our understanding of contemporary debates in the philosophy of education. Clearly, neither the religious nor the atheist has a monopoly on knowledge. Indeed, knowledge is the lost inheritance of the curious mind. It should be sought by all lovers of wisdom, wherever it may be found.

Similarly, when the ancient Greek myths were re-examined through the analytical lens of Sigmund Freud, they were given a new lease of life and relevance in the modern age. Today, these myths form part of the essential vocabulary of psychology, helping us articulate the existential dilemmas of the post-modern world.

One of the hallmarks of a perspicacious mind is its ability to breathe new meaning into old words, symbols and metaphors. This happens by opening doors to new ways of seeing and interpreting. An open mind is the key to unlocking new vistas in intellectual inquiry. By contrast, a closed mind stifles exploration and drains meaning, even from the richest of texts, acts, events or ideas.

The disappearance of meaning leads a society towards nihilism. Throughout human history, different religious traditions and philosophical schools of thought have emerged to protect us from the dangers of a closed mind and the nihilism it produces.

In Islam, the concept of ignorance is encapsulated in the term jahiliyyah. This does not imply that the people of pre-Islamic Arabia were illiterate; on the contrary, it was a time when some of the finest Arabic poetry was composed. Rather, jahiliyyah refers to a closed, tribal mind-set that prevailed across the Arabian Peninsula. To attain spiritual enlightenment and a true understanding of the world, it was essential to break free from this mental confinement.

Knowledge, then, becomes the key to freedom, casting light into the darkness of ignorance. This is why Islam urges both believers and non-believers to seek out the keys to enter the D r al- Ilm, the house of knowledge. The Arabic word for key, mift , denotes an instrument used to unlock something: a door, a window or a mind. Hence, terms like Mift al-Qur n, the key to the Qur n, are common. The root word fata a means “to open, grant, reveal, explain, disclose or make victorious”. Victory, therefore, is not merely the physical conquest of others, but the inward triumph over ignorance.

The opening of the mind allows us to explore new intellectual frontiers and articulate new ideas and techniques across the epistemes of modern disciplines. One notable example from Pakistan’s intellectual history illustrates how the reinterpretation of religious tradition can inform contemporary theory, in this case, psychology.

The only psychologist from Pakistan to have made a recognised international contribution to psychological theory is Akhter Ahsen. A scholar of global stature, Ahsen introduced the concept of eidetic image psychology. His depth of thought and command over the complexities of psychological debate were evident in his ability to draw meaning from religious and mythological figures. In Illumination in the Path of Solomon and Ganesh: The Broken & the Misshapen, Ahsen explored the symbolic dimensions of the Prophet Solomon and the Hindu deity Ganesh. These works are exemplary in showing how the meanings of such figures can transcend their original contexts, expanding knowledge beyond dogmatic boundaries enforced by religious orthodoxy.

In stark contrast to Ahsen’s path-finding contributions, we now see psychologists who prioritise ideological posturing over genuine engagement with contemporary debates and the advancement of psychological knowledge.

In contrast to the open mind, the closed mind shuts the doors of perception and possibility, stifling intellectual potential. This is why, in societies like ours, there are more thought police stationed at the thresholds of knowledge than there are minds equipped with keys to unlock the riches and enigmas of the objective and subjective worlds.

In a closed society, those guarding the door suspect every outsider. As a result, they prefer to keep the door hermetically sealed, indefinitely. These self-appointed guardians create a perpetual state of ignorance. The act of sealing ourselves within our own mental cocoons stems from deep-rooted fears and insecurities. When we fear alternative perspectives and new ideas, we close the windows of listening, seeing and understanding. This leads to a narrowing of our intellectual horizons.

Ultimately, we forsake the summit, the highest point from which to view the full panorama, and instead settle into our enclosures, peering out at the world through a peephole. In a similar vein, the door of ijtihad (independent reasoning) in Islam has long been closed, the result of a pathological fear of new interpretations and changing circumstances. As a result, we have become blind to the realities outside, now viewing the world through the narrow peepholes of theology.

But this expulsion of new ideas and the deliberate erasure of certain forms of knowledge is not confined to religion. It also infects atheists, liberals, nationalists and socialists. It is fair to say that no single creed, ideology or school of thought holds a monopoly on ignorance. It is a shared condition in Pakistan.

In the next article, we will explore the sources of ignorance among Pakistani socialists.

The writer is interested in the history of ideas. He has authored the book Nomadic Meditations: Wandering in the History of Ideas. He may be reached at azizalidad@gmail.com