Posted by Amanda on January 03, 1997 at 21:45:27:
In Reply to: skepticism and cynicism posted by Ann Friedrich on January 03, 1997 at 16:12:00:
: I've been reading through several of the lively debates elsewhere on the board, and I was wondering:
: At what point does skepticism become cynicism?
This is my opinion but I don't necessarily think skepticism does develop on into cynicism if one sticks to reason. Cynics appear to me as grumpy pessimistic people seeing nothing good in the world that wasn't put there for a selfish reason or an alteriro motive then what it looks like. There most definately is a lot of that in the world and a cynic has most likely seen a lot of it - maybe found the "american dream" (or any other nation) to be not what it's cracked up to be. I think we can be cynical in several areas - for me I suppose politics would be one such area. When I was young my dad and his pals belonged to an intimate group called "the cynic's corner" - I thought hey, I wanna be a cynic too! Then I saw what it was really all about - just a bunch of whining men pissed off that the 'systems' of the world are the way they are. In their case - they are all professors and are pissed about the university's administration system - I can't blame them either. More than likely though, a cynic isn't as cynical as he thinks he is and is still able to laugh and enjoy life like all of us. Skepticism I don't think really comes into the picture as a factor but probably most cynics are skeptics as well. Like all terms they've both been used and abused over the course of their lives and there are several definitions for either. I like the magazine 'skeptics' idea that skepticism is more of a tool than a position. As a skeptic - I'm quite willing to believe in something if there's adequate evidence to back it up. In this case cynicism and skepticism don't really have much in common - or at least I can't see where cynicism might apply. I could be hallucinating though.