Cynicism is an attitude or state of mind characterized by a general distrust of others' motives believing
that humans are selfish by nature, ruled by emotion, and heavily influenced by the same
primitive, barbaric instincts that helped humans survive in the wild before agriculture
and civilization became established. A cynic may have a general lack of faith or hope in
the human species or people motivated by ambition, desire, greed, gratification, materialism,
goals, and opinions that a cynic perceives as vain, unobtainable, or ultimately meaningless
and therefore deserving of ridicule or admonishment. It is a form of jaded prudence, and other
times, realistic criticism or skepticism. The term originally derives from the ancient
Greek philosophers, the Cynics, who rejected all conventions, whether of religion, manners,
housing, dress, or decency, instead advocating the pursuit of virtue in accordance with a
simple and idealistic way of life. By the 19th century, emphasis on the ascetic
ideals and the critique of current civilization based on how it might fall short of an ideal
civilization or negativistic aspects of Cynic philosophy led the modern understanding of
cynicism to mean a disposition of disbelief in the sincerity or goodness of human motives
and actions. Modern cynicism is a distrust toward professed ethical and social values,
especially when there are high expectations concerning society, institutions, and authorities
that are unfulfilled. It can manifest itself as a result of frustration, disillusionment,
and distrust perceived as owing to organizations, authorities, and other aspects of society.
Overview Modern cynicism has been defined as an attitude
of distrust toward claimed ethical and social values and a rejection of the need to be socially
involved. It is pessimistic in regards to the capacity of human beings to make correct
ethical choices, and one antonym is naiveté. Modern cynicism is sometimes regarded as a
product of mass society, especially in those circumstances where the individual believes
there is a conflict between society's stated motives and goals and actual motives and goals.
In politics Political cynicism has reached new highs,
and "healthy skepticism may have given way to corrosive cynicism." Cynicism regarding
government or politics can logically lead to political withdrawal and effective political
helplessness. In 2013 conservative politician and political theorist William J. Bennett
warned that America could "crumble from within; that we would become cynical and withdraw."
In 2003 Hillary Clinton stated: "The worst thing that can happen in a democracy—as
well as in an individual's life—is to become cynical about the future and lose hope. That
is the end. And we cannot let that happen." Possible effects
In 1969 British historian and aesthetician Sir Kenneth Clark wrote: "It is lack of confidence,
more than anything else, that kills a civilisation. We can destroy ourselves by cynicism and disillusion,
just as effectively as by bombs." A 2004 experiment and paper called The Effects
of Strategic News on Political Cynicism, Issue Evaluations, and Policy Support: A Two-Wave
Experiment found that the way the news media presents the news can cause political cynicism.
The experiment also demonstrated; "a negative relation between efficacy and cynicism suggesting
that efficacious citizens were less likely to be cynical about politics." It was found
that straight dry, "issues-based" news did not cause political cynicism, but that "Strategic
News" and "game news" did. The latter two types of news presentation emphasize:
Social cynicism Social cynicism results from excessively high
expectations concerning society, institutions and authorities: unfulfilled expectations
leads to disillusionment, which releases feelings of disappointment and betrayal.
In organizations, cynicism manifests itself as a general or specific attitude, characterized
by frustration, hopelessness, disillusionment and distrust in regard to economic or governmental
organizations, managers and/or other aspects of work.
Critical evaluation As distinct from depression, cynicism can
appear more active; in his bestselling Critique of Cynical Reason, Peter Sloterdijk defined
modern cynics as "borderline melancholics, who can keep their symptoms of depression
under control and yet retain the ability to work, whatever might happen ... indeed, this
is the essential point in modern cynicism: the ability of its bearers to work—in spite
of anything that might happen." One active aspect of cynicism involves the
desire to expose hypocrisy and to point out the gulf between society's ideals and its
practices. George Bernard Shaw allegedly expressed this succinctly: "The power of accurate observation
is commonly called cynicism by those who don't have it".
Health effects A study published in Neurology journal in
2014 found link between "cynical distrust" and dementia. The survey included 622 people
who were tested for dementia for a period of 8 years. In that period, 46 people were
diagnosed with dementia. "Once researchers adjusted for other factors that could affect
dementia risk, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and smoking, people with
high levels of cynical distrust were three times more likely to develop dementia than
people with low levels of cynicism. Of the 164 people with high levels of cynicism, 14
people developed dementia, compared to nine of the 212 people with low levels of cynicism."
See also
References
Further reading Mazella, David,, The Making of Modern Cynicism,
University of Virginia Press. ISBN 0-8139-2615-7 Sloterdijk, Peter,, Critique of Cynical Reason,
University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 0-8166-1586-1 Žižek, Slavoj. "Cynicism as a Form of Ideology".
The Sublime Object of Ideology. Verso Books. pp. 28–30.
Izawa, E.. "In Defense of Cynicism". Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved 14 July
2014. External links
The Cynic's Sanctuary The Cynical Web Site
Cynicism / Conspiracism from Project Worldview "Is it worse to be cynical or jaded?" Retrieved
2008-05-30