Cynicism

This article is mainly about the current understanding of the word cynicism. For information about the ancient Greek school of philosophy, see Cynic. For information about the band, see Cynic (band).

Cynicism (Greek????????) was originally the philosophyof a group of ancient Greekscalled the Cynics, founded by Antisthenes.

Presently the word generally describes, somewhat pejoratively, the opinions of those inclined to disbelieve in human sincerity, in virtue, or in altruism: individuals who maintain that only self-interest motivates human behavior. A modern cynic typically has a highly contemptuous attitude towards social norms, especially those which serve more of a ritualisticpurpose than a practical one, and will tend to dismiss a substantial proportion of popularbeliefs, conventional moralityand accepted wisdomas irrelevant or obsolete nonsense. Many cynics don't like the way the world really is, however, and wish it could be changed. They want to see the world for how it is (or how they perceive it to really be) rather than delude themselves.

In informal use, derived from the meanings described hereabove, cynicism may refer to heartless calculating behavior or thinking. Someone who has no faithin the goodness of other human beings may have less restraints to behave in a calculating way without compassionbut this doesn't have to be the case. These multiples meanings can lead to the ironicsituation of a voter accusing a politician of being cynical because they are alleged to be heartless, even though this means the voter is also cynical because he/she doesn't trust the politician.

Despite the negative portrayal of cynics, some would argue that such people simply "refuse to look through rosy-tinted spectacles" and do not fear to demolish popular beliefs no matter how sacredsocietyconsiders such alleged misconceptions. Cynics themselves tend to take this view, regarding themselves as enlightenedfree thinkers, and their criticsas deluded social pretenders who "bury their heads in the sand". However, an excess of cynicism in an individual can cause social or psychological difficulties when cynics see themselves as depersonalised and self-serving inhabitants of a meaningless, fictitious, and shallowworld. It can be argued that an excess of cynicism actually leads to a disassociation from reality, because it leads to easy rejection of hard answers.

See also

• Machiavellianism
• Philosophical skepticism
• Stoicism
• Skepticism

External link

• Dictionary of the History of Ideas:Cynicism

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It uses material from the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynicism Wikipedia article Cynicism.