Invincible Ignorance
In Catholic theology, "invincible ignorance" means that you cannot be thought to have sinned if you are unaware of the precepts you are sinning against. Ignorance in this case is considered innocence, if not bliss. In our secular appropriation of the concept--we call it "II"-- we plead ignorance of the self-evident truth of the various orthodoxies that plague us. Thus we cannot be blamed for affronting them. We mean well. Instead of uniform, block thinking, we will try to follow the thread of truth through dissimilarity. We want, in other words, to have high conversational fun, and this will include ideas, argument, gossip (a form of social history) and the occasional settling of a score. Later, if our luck holds, we will have guests. In the meantime, we hope that II will offer a humanly warm, playful respite, both from the solemn, all-knowing cluelessness of AI, and the roiling gloom of our startling times.
David Rieff is the author of eleven books. His work has focused on migration, humanitarian aid, war, and the politics of memory. Since the full scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, he has divided his time between New York City and Kyiv.
Lee Siegel writes about politics and culture. He is a columnist for the New Statesman, the author of seven books, and a recipient of the National Magazine Award. In 2024 and 2025, he was an Open Society Foundations Ideas Workshop Fellow.
David Rieff is the author of eleven books. His work has focused on migration, humanitarian aid, war, and the politics of memory. Since the full scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, he has divided his time between New York City and Kyiv.
Lee Siegel writes about politics and culture. He is a columnist for the New Statesman, the author of seven books, and a recipient of the National Magazine Award. In 2024 and 2025, he was an Open Society Foundations Ideas Workshop Fellow.