The Idea
This claim argues that ignorance does not arise only from a lack of knowledge; it can also be produced by institutions of education and history when they present closed and predetermined narratives. National or factional history textbooks do not merely select; they train the mind to see the world in a limited way. In this sense, ignorance here becomes official and codified, not merely an individual lack of awareness.
Concise Formulation
National, factional, and closed educational curricula produce official ignorance
Its Place in the Book’s Argument
This claim occupies an important place in the book’s argument because it links knowledge to institutional power. The book does not attack ignorance as a personal condition; rather, it shows how school, the textbook, and the curriculum can produce it when they close off questions instead of opening them. The claim therefore fits with the book’s defense of critiquing the sources of indoctrination before blaming the recipient alone.
Why It Matters
The importance of this claim is that it changes how we understand the problem of education: the issue is not only a lack of information, but the kind of information that is presented and the way it is presented. This helps us understand Arkoun as a critic of the manufacture of collective consciousness, not merely as a commentator on tradition. It also shows that reforming knowledge begins with examining the institutions that produce it.
Brief Evidence
This claim argues that ignorance does not arise only from a lack of knowledge; it can also be produced by institutions of education and history when they present closed and predetermined narratives. National or factional history textbooks do not merely select; they train the mind to see the world in a limited way. In this sense, ignorance here becomes official and codified, not merely an individual lack of awareness.
Reading Questions
- How does official ignorance differ from ordinary ignorance in this context?
- What is the relationship between writing history and shaping public consciousness, as the book understands it?
Degree of Documentation
High: the claim appears in a clear location within the book’s material.