Ignorance

The want or absence of knowledge. Ignorance of laze is want of knowledge or acquaintance With the laws of the land in so far as they apply to the act, relation, duty, or facts constituting or relating to the subjectmatter in hand. Ignorance is not a state of the mind in the sense in which sanity and insanity are. When the mind is ignorant of a fact, its condition still remains sound; the power of thinking, of judging, of willing, is justas complete before communication of the fact as after; the essence or texture, so to speak, of the mind, is not, as in the case of insanity, affected or impaired. Ignorance of a particular fact consists in this: that the mind,.although sound and capable of healthy action, has never acted upon the fact in question, because the subject has never been brought to the notice of the perceptive faculties. 28 N. J. Law, 274. “Tgnorance” and “error” are not converte ible terms. The former is a lack of information or absence of knowledge; the latter, a misapprehension or confusion of information, ora mistaken supposition of the possession of knowledge. Error as to a fact may imply ignorance of the truth; but ignorance does not necessarily imply error. Essential ignorance is ignorance in relation to some essential circumstance so intimately connected with the matter in question, and which so influences the parties, that it induces them to act in the business, Poth. Vente, nn. 8, 4; 2 Kent, Comm, 367, Non-essential or accidental ignorance is that which has not of itself any necessary counection with the business in question, and which is not the true consideration for entering into the contract. involuntary ignorance is that which does not proceed from choice, and which cannot be over come by the use of any means of knowledge known to a person and within his power; as the ignorance of alaw which has not yet been promulgated, Voluntary ignorance exists when a party might, by taking reasonable pains, have acquired the necessary knowledge. For example, every man might acquire a knowledge of the laws which have been promulgated.

Doct. & Stud. 1, 46; Plowd. 343.