ABSTRACT
In science, the search for knowledge is often considered an unlimited good or even a “moral calling”. However, the idea that some knowledge is dangerous and ought to be forbidden is deeply entrenched in Western culture. Scholars of the epistemology of ignorance have not yet agreed about how to categorize forbidden knowledge within the broader phenomena of ignorance. The extant literature typically categorizes forbidden knowledge into one of two types. The first type is methodological: any knowledge, no matter how important, which is obtainable only through unacceptable means is forbidden. The second category, forbidden knowledge in its classical sense, is consequentialist. This is knowledge considered dangerous because it violates some sacred natural order or because of its potential to undermine the social order. Formal social regulations designed to curtail dangerous studies are the most visible way that forbidden knowledge is produced.
