Introduction -- The eyes of Oedipus : on evasion -- Veils : on taboo -- The hollow men : on emptiness -- Lambs : on innocence -- The once and the now : on nostalgia -- Envoi -- Notes -- Acknowledgments

"A survey of humanity's lingering desire for innocence and ignorance, as captured in art and literature"--

"In Ignorance and Bliss, the acclaimed essayist and historian of ideas Mark Lilla offers an absorbing psychological diagnosis of the human will not to know. With erudition and brio, Lilla ranges from the Book of Genesis and Plato's dialogues to Sufi parables and Sigmund Freud, revealing the paradoxes of hiding truth from ourselves. He also exposes the fantasies this impulse lead us to entertain - the illusion that the ecstasies of prophets, mystics, and holy fools offer access to esoteric truths; the illusion of children's lamb-like innocence; and the nostalgic illusion of recapturing the glories of vanished and allegedly purer civilizations. The result is a highly original meditation that invites readers to consider their own deep-seated impulses and taboos." --