Ignorance Quote by Auguste de Villiers de L'Isle-Adam
““Consider this: when you stand at the entry to a steel factory, you can make out through the smoke some men, some metal, the fires. The furnaces roar, the hammers crash; and the metalworkers who forge ingots, weapons, tools, and so on are completely ignorant of the real uses to which their products will be put. The workers can only refer to their products by conventional names. Well, that's where we all stand, all of us! Nobody can see the real character of what he creates because every knife blade may become a dagger, and the use to which an object is put changes both its name and its nature. Only our ignorance shields us from terrible responsibilities.””
About This Quote
Source Essay: “The Human Comedy” by Auguste de Villiers de L'Isle-Adam, 1886
We are often unaware of how our creations will be used, and this ignorance can mask moral responsibility.
In simple terms: Creators often don’t know the impact of their work.
Key Takeaway
Recognize potential consequences of your work.
Themes
responsibility
ignorance
creation
ethics
consequences
Mood
thoughtful
serious
reflective
Type
ethical
philosophical
cautionary
When to use this quote
- manufacturing
- software development
- policy making
- artistic production
- scientific research
Key Concepts
moral philosophy
industrialization
unintended use
Questions to Reflect On
- How might your work affect others in ways you cannot foresee?
- Can ignorance be justified in complex systems?
A Different Perspective
Ignorance may be willful or unavoidable, not always a shield.
![“It was the last generation of writers [ the Cheers] that had grown up reading books instead of watching TV. So you weren't getting anything that was derivative of I Love Lucy or Happy Days. You were getting real characters [like those] they read in P.G. Wodehouse or Dickens or somewhere along the…” quote by John Ratzenberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/f18/john-ratzenberger-11869_book_it-was-the-last-generation-of-writers-th_219130.jpg)
