logo
episode-header-image
Feb 2025
34m 15s

Is ignorance truly bliss?

Vox
About this episode
Are you ever happier not knowing something? As Aristotle famously claimed, “All human beings want to know.” But denial and avoidance are also human impulses. Sometimes they’re even more powerful than our curiosity. In this episode Sean speaks with professor Mark Lilla about when we’re better off searching for knowledge and when we’re better off living in t ... Show More
Up next
Yesterday
The problem with gamifying life
Games are fun. Aren’t they? When we play games — board games, video games, any kind of game — something magical happens. Games allow us to explore, to create little worlds where we can be different versions of ourselves. But when we turn life into a game — where we have to get th ... Show More
49m 22s
Jan 26
America is football
Why do we love football so much? Why does this sport dominate American culture in a way nothing else can? Why does it feel essential even to people who barely like sports? And what does it say about us that we keep watching, even as the risks and contradictions become harder to i ... Show More
50m 43s
Jan 12
How we built a government that can’t build anything
Why is it so hard for America to build things? Bridges take years to construct. Housing costs are soaring. Transit systems are crumbling. And we’re struggling to update our infrastructure to prepare for the climate crisis. Even when there’s broad agreement that something needs to ... Show More
45m 46s
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2023
Hale Dwoskin – What If This Is Bliss
Bliss can be described as a feeling of well-being, contentment, and boundlessness, or uncaused healthy happiness. These words do not do it justice. In fact, words cannot describe this delight that is beyond understanding. Explore bliss together with Hale Dwoskin in this episode o ... Show More
16m 21s
Nov 2024
How can we live without regrets?
Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, in his work The Joyful Wisdom, explored this through a thought experiment he called the "eternal return." He asked us to imagine: What if you had to live this very life, exactly as it is—every joy, every sorrow, every thought—over and over, for et ... Show More
4m 6s
Feb 2025
Why Thinking Is Not All In Your Head & Secrets From the Longest Study of Happiness - SYSK Choice
We humans love novelty. We seek it out. While that can be good, it can also get us in trouble. This episode begins by exploring why we seek out new things, places and experiences and what happens after we do. Source: Winifred Gallagher author of the book New (https://amzn.to/3Xs ... Show More
48m 59s
Apr 2025
#933 - Brad Wilcox - Why Are Liberal Women Becoming Unhappy?
Brad Wilcox is a Professor of Sociology at the University of Virginia and Director of the National Marriage Project. Why are some people naturally happier than others? Whether it's genetics, upbringing, or life circumstances, how can you finally rediscover joy and feel like your ... Show More
1h 14m
May 2025
#1332 - Is Ignorance Bliss
A questioner asks if there is truth in the slogan 'Ignorance is Bliss'. "You must live out of your awareness and intelligence, not by slogans", says Sadhguru. He then goes on to explain that if you remain ignorant about life and try and do things, life will get you. Set the conte ... Show More
5m 42s
Aug 2020
E45: Pleasure | Consciousness Anywhere Podcast: Shannon O'Hara & Dr Dain Heer
Why is pleasure so taboo? Society has this weird idea that pleasure is something that is induced by something else inside of us that we only have in rare moments, rather than a space of being from which we live our lives. Shannon O’Hara and guest, Dr. Dain Heer, discuss accepting ... Show More
47m 59s
Apr 2025
#927 - Annaka Harris - Unpacking The Mystery Of Consciousness
Annaka Harris is an author, editor, and speaker focused on neuroscience and consciousness. What does it mean to be conscious? What is consciousness? These questions have puzzled humanity for millennia. Despite our greatest scientific breakthroughs and philosophical efforts, are w ... Show More
1h 7m
Sep 2021
Deirdre Hade - The Silent Watcher: The Knower of the Knowing
Discover how affectionate observation of our lives helps us to see through artificial filters and how to unravel thoughts to experience the pure presence of absolute peace. Hale Dwoskin is joined by Deirdre Hade in this episode of "Letting Go & The Greatest Secret." Deirdre is a ... Show More
44m 34s