What is the word for a love of ignorance, or a distaste of knowledge?

Question

I'm looking for a word or short phrase that encapsulates the desire to eschew new knowledge, whether it be due to a fear of change or possibly a fear of science or research as a whole.

An example might be a group of people looking to have their congressional representative allocate money elsewhere as opposed to scientific endeavors. They may claim that the "elsewhere" is of a higher priority or for the greater good, but they may really be acting out of ________ or because the group is a group of _________(s).

This example is not all-inclusive.

edit: There's a word or phrase I'm trying to think of that almost implies a sort of smugness.. A "my ignorance is better than your knowledge" kind of attitude.

Answer 1

Anti-intellectualism is a handy (and self-explanatory) term, particularly in American politics today. It has great currency in the news media of late, largely with regard to situations such as the one described in your example.

Answer 2

There is a rare word misosophy defined as the hatred of wisdom or knowledge.

An example from OED:

Much of modern philosophy is in fact not at all a ‘love of wisdom’ but a hatred of it so that it should appropriately be called ‘misosophy’.

_{S. H. Nasr, Ideals & Realities of Islam, 1966}

It is from the ancient Greek μισόσοϕος hating wisdom ( < μισο- miso- comb. form + -σοϕος , combining form of σοϕός wise) + -y suffix. ^[OED]

Additionally, you can call the person a misosophist.

Another similar rare word is misogrammatist, a person who hates letters or learning. [miso- comb. form + ancient Greek γράμματα ‘letters’, plural of γράμμα letter + -ist suffix].^[OED]

Answer 3

Not precisely opposed to knowledge or intellectualism, but a close relative nonetheless is philistinism.

A philistine is one who is hostile or indifferent to culture and the arts. Adjective is philistine as in a philistine government.

This sense of philistine (no capital letter) arose as a result of a confrontation between town and gown in Jena (now in Germany), in the late 17th century; a sermon on the conflict quoted: 'the Philistines are upon you' (Judges 16). which led to an association between the townspeople and those hostile to culture. (Oxford Dictionary Online)

Answer 4

This one just applies to your second blank: "... or because the group is a group of lowbrows."

Noun 1. lowbrow - a person who is uninterested in intellectual pursuits

Most of the “lowbrows” that I’m unfortunately related to are quite smug and happy with their close-minded condition.
(I’d officially suggest ”pretentious lowbrow,” but mine take it as a complement.)

Answer 5

You could coin a new word from the Greek roots: gnosiphobia. Failing that, you have the already known "obscurantist".

Answer 6

If you're open to expressions, people in given situation might say

ignorance is bliss (dictionary.com)

Not knowing something is often more comfortable than knowing it.

Note : This proverb resembles “What you don't know cannot hurt you.” It figures in a passage from “On a Distant Prospect of Eton College,” by the eighteenth-century English poet Thomas Gray: “Where ignorance is bliss, / ‘Tis folly to be wise.’”

As in:

"I don't wanna know where the money came from. Like they say, ignorance is bliss."

Answer 7

"Misosophy" is just the word I need for a story I'm writing! I really like the "gnosiphobia" suggestion. Another word one might invent is ""philamathis", Greek for the love of ignorance. A group of such people might be "philamathics"? You could cover all possibilities with "philamathignosiphobia" or "gnosiphobiaphilamathis"...Or, my personal favorite, a word I invented to describe certain people: "phalocephalic" ("phallus" + "caphaly").A group would be "phalocephalists", suffering from phalocephalitis, perhaps, since this sort of thinking/behavior tends to be contagious. I can call someone a phalocephalic in the most polite or uptight company, and never be accused of using "dirty words"....

Answer 8

In trying to justify "philamathics", I came across "agnatology" which sounds like your subject area. That led me to "negationism" but that feels more like official disinformation, not the smugness implied in your need.

More searching led me to "misology", the hatred of reason, argument, or enlightenment.

Answer 9

It has been touched upon and gotten near the mark, I'm pretty sure the common term (or at least the one I hear all the time) is blissful ignorance.

Blissful Ignorance - unawareness or inexperience of something unpleasant

Collins Dictionary

Answer 10

This feels a bit like a shotgun approach, but:

• conservatives (in the literal sense) would oppose because the new might not keep all the benefits of the old,
• traditionalists would oppose because we've never done it that way (there's a slight undercurrent of smugness here, but also a slightly negative connotation)
• neophobes are simply afraid of the new, no smugness here, (and frankly, is that even a proper word?),
• myopic, blinkered or short-sighted people would oppose because they do not value a benefit that is long-term or in other fields,
• luddites in particular oppose industrialization and technology.

(I have a sense that petit bourgeois could go in here, but that's probably a false friend with Kleinbürgertum, Spießertum and Biedermeier, which have a stronger socio-political connotation in German than their counterparts)