The British Institute for Ignorance Studies (BIIS) is a research institute founded on the principle of freedom of expression. It is dedicated to studying ignorance as an active concept and a fundamental structure.
We believe that despite centuries of philosophical reflection, scientific inquiry, and literary exploration, ignorance remains one of the most profoundly misunderstood aspects of human experience.
In the twenty-first century, as humanity grapples with challenges posed by digital technologies, research into ignorance has become essential to our survival. We must reconsider this phenomenon to examine and revisit its unexplored dimensions.
At BIIS, our aim is not merely to philosophise, make proclamations, or offer moral advice, nor do we seek ignorance in the most distant and abstract horizons of human knowledge. Rather, we aim to locate ignorance here and now, in our own thinking and behaviour, and in the ways we interact with the world and reality.
We understand that the phenomenon of ignorance is both objective and pervasive, rooted in our minds and thought patterns. Our goal is to examine how these patterns form, develop, and actively guide our perception of the world, as well as our individual and collective actions.
Our Understanding of Ignorance
From our perspective, ignorance is neither merely a lack of knowledge nor simply not knowing.
Rather, it is an active cognitive and behavioural phenomenon that directly shapes how we perceive, feel, think, and ultimately behave.
In this view, ignorance is a fundamental phenomenon that lies within us and reveals itself when we systematically neglect the tools available for understanding the world.
This indifference and negligence gradually evolve into a pattern that shapes our way of thinking, behaving, and acting.
Ignorance can be defined as:
Any cognitive or behavioural pattern that, due to disconnection, disregard, or systematic neglect of one or more legitimate sources of knowledge, causes distortion in perception, judgement, feeling, or action.
These sources include:
Objective Reality: what we gain from human interaction with observable facts, direct sensory experience, and lived experience, accessible without mediation.
Science: systematic and verifiable knowledge obtained through empirical methods, repeatable data, and scientific consensus.
Reason: whether common sense or logical reflection, derived through reasoning, collective wisdom, and critical thinking, including the ability to recognise contradictions and reach shared conclusions.
Human Ethics: principles derived from fundamental human values such as justice, non-maleficence, and respect for human dignity, recognised across diverse ethical traditions.
We believe that any disconnection from one or more of these four sources of knowledge constitutes a form of ignorance. In this sense:
Disregard for reality leads to illusion.
Disregard for science leads to superstition and pseudoscience.
Disregard for reason traps us in pseudo-knowledge and misleads our thinking.
Disregard for ethics and justice results in the erosion of human qualities and the weakening of collective dignity.
From this perspective, ignorance is not merely the absence of knowing.
Even an excess of knowledge or education can produce signs of ignorance in our thoughts and behaviour when it blinds us to one of the sources of understanding, or distorts our reasoning through bias.
Ignorance today is less about the lack of access to information and more about excessive access: the noise saturation of digital environments, where our ability to distinguish reliable from unreliable sources is increasingly compromised.
Ignorance is not a passive deficiency but an operational pattern that can reorganise our perceptions, feelings, and behaviours without our awareness.
This reorganisation may occur through mechanisms such as cognitive biases, motivated reasoning, or selective inattention.
Metaphorically speaking, ignorance is like a piece of malicious software embedded in the hardware and memory of our cognitive system, quietly redirecting our thoughts and actions.
Why This Inquiry Matters
In today’s world, with the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence, personalised algorithms, and social media networks, ignorance has acquired a new urgency.
These technologies not only provide us with information but also make it increasingly difficult to discern the real value of that information.
In this context, ignorance is no longer a personal shortcoming; it can be systematically reinforced and normalised.
Political polarisation, echo chambers, and algorithmic curation create environments where ignorance becomes collectively organised and amplified.
Studying ignorance requires us to recognise that while systemic factors shape it, both individual and institutional agency remain essential in addressing our disconnection from sources of knowledge.
At BIIS, we believe that cultivating active awareness, cognitive self-understanding, and a willingness to correct our patterns of ignorance are key practical steps toward transcending it.
Ultimately, ignorance is the price we pay when we trade comfort for intellectual rigour.
Understanding these dynamics is the very reason this institute was established.
Our Research Areas
Our research examines ignorance as an active cognitive-behavioural phenomenon.
We study how gaps in knowledge affect perception, decision-making, and social dynamics. Key areas include:
The psychological and neurological mechanisms behind cognitive errors and biases.
The social and historical factors that shape collective ignorance.
The philosophical roots and ethical implications of ignorance.
The patterns of dissemination and misunderstanding in the digital age.
All research at the institute encompasses these four domains and their interrelations, drawing on psychology, philosophy, sociology, history, and neuroscience.
How We Work
Our approach at BIIS is guided by the principles of absolute intellectual independence, ethical reasoning, and uncompromising methodological rigour.
Our operational framework emphasises:
Freedom of Inquiry: we explore any question without ideological, commercial, or external constraint. We do not accept directives or funding that compromise our objectivity.
Critical Dialogue: we engage in respectful, evidence-based discussions across disciplines and welcome thoughtful challenges to our conclusions.
Who We Invite
BIIS brings together independent researchers committed to examining the nature of ignorance, drawing on traditions of critical thinking and epistemology.
We are a community of thinkers from diverse disciplines, united by curiosity and intellectual rigour.
We value open discourse, critical reflection, and creative approaches to understanding how humans act on the basis of both knowledge and uncertainty.
Our doors are open to a broad range of fields and perspectives, from psychologists and sociologists to neuroscientists, historians, moral philosophers, and creative practitioners.
Anyone interested in understanding how human thought, emotion, and behaviour are shaped by what we know and what we do not know is welcome here.
Our aim is to revisit psychological, historical, ethical, and philosophical debates about ignorance while seeking contemporary insights.
We place particular emphasis on neuroscience, examining how the human brain succumbs to systematic cognitive errors.
Understanding these mechanisms is key to developing strategies for critical thinking and public awareness.
Our Vision
The British Institute for Ignorance Studies believes that to move towards more constructive dialogue, more informed decision-making, and a less polarised society, we must recognise ignorance not as a moral failing but as an active and investigable phenomenon.
We seek to understand how ignorance forms, spreads, and, crucially, how it can be overcome in the digital age.
BIIS is a space for exploration, challenge, and the expansion of understanding: a place to learn how humans can respond to ignorance with thought, creativity, and responsibility.
We invite you to join us in exploring a deeper understanding of human ignorance.
Together, let us see ignorance not as a stigma, but as an opportunity for deeper insight into what it means to be human.
The Founder
Ramin Saadat, born in 1966 in Iran, studied Plant Pathology at the University of Tehran before settling in the United Kingdom. He has spent the past two decades researching and writing on the subject of ignorance, and is the author of more than forty articles and seven books on the subject. He founded the British Institute for Ignorance Studies as the institutional expression of that lifelong inquiry.
Official Standing
BIIS RESEARCH LIMITED has been officially incorporated as a private research company limited by guarantee in England and Wales since 30 April 2026. This legal status ensures our absolute operational independence and provides a formal framework for collaborating with international research councils, academic institutions, and independent scholars.
Legal & Corporate Information
Company Name: BIIS RESEARCH LIMITED
Company Number: 17191316
Registered in: England and Wales
Registered Office Address: 48 Ladeler Grove, Birmingham, B33 0HW, United Kingdom