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MBA

I just wanted to make a few quick comments:
1. Even the term and philosophy of "Cynicism" should be questioned... I'm sure the people before Antisthenes and Socrates were cynical and had their own cynicism, even if it was never recorded or referred to as "cynicism".
2. I was laughing while reading this entire post.... it's an interesting blog.
3. Is cynicism something humans created, or is it our natural way of being and other ways of thinking are in reaction to our natural cynicism? Reflecting on the evolution of humans has made me wonder about this... (the questioning and curiosity that got us to where we are today probably came from cynicism. Or else if we thought everything was fine the way it was, we would not feel the need to invent anything or use tools and I would not be able to type this on a computer while using the internet so that you could read this... for example fire... if we thought the temperature and food was so great back then, would we try to find alternatives or see the need for fire? )

Mario

Hi Ya

Eating bean sprouts and dying young anyway (At least they will be the healthiest ones in the Cemetery.)

How's that for being Cynical? Did I make the grade? LOLOL

Antony from Melbourne

To MBA regarding your point 3: i guess it was the leaders who first recognised the flaws in human nature and sought to profit from this knowledge - of which the rest of us were not conscious. as the the some of the rest caught up the scope for cynicism has become continuously broader.

s

I would be interested in how you (or any other cynic) would classify the work of Wittgenstein and David Foster Wallace. Would you consider Wallace to be an anti-cynic (since he is vehemently opposed to irony)?

I might suggest that you make a new group: Reflexive Cynics. The group would include those who use logic to attack logic, or cynicism to attack cynicism. Wittgenstein, David Foster Wallace, and Kurt Godel would all fit into this category

Daniel Cesar

As I got older I became more cynical and not trusting which is not so bad.

Erich Snider

I wish animals ran the World and humans were just food.

Aru Hito

Just discovered this great site! Wondering how you could have forgotten to mention two of our greatest cynics: George Orwell (Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-four) and Aldous Huxley (Brave New World).

Rick

Ah, you're the second person this week to notice Orwell's absence. What happened was this: I couldn't decide whether to put him in the main Hall of Fame or the Honorable Mention page (after all, he was part idealist and part cynic, though he grew more cynical later in life). So when it came time to launch the site, I had forgotten that Orwell was missing. I'll definitely give him a spot ASAP. As for Huxley, he made the Honorable Mention page, and he has plenty of good company.

Bob

I respect and value realist views, the raw brutal truth can be a very valuable insight unabated by any emotional bias, but so many self professed "cynics" use this as an excuse to pander to their victim mentality and abuse others to make themselves feel better. My cynicism on cynics.

Daniel

I am cynical about relationships.I mean to me it is like being put in chains.You are stuck with one person.Myself I like to be able to flirt with other women.you can not do that if you are in a relationship.

Daniel

Iam cyncial about Social contract. I did not sign up for this crap.

Anonymous.

A cynic is a man who likes driving in reverse along a one way street; the only problem is that he sees everything through the rear-view mirror.

Carolyn

This website is a JOY. I nearly cried with laughter. The new 'cynic' definition is hilarious!!! Love it 👍 x

Happy Joe, Jnr.

Yes, once I had an original woodcut of that scream picture by Munch... If I had kept it I'd probably have been a millionaire by now...

Nadia Toplosky

Hello Richard,

Is it possible that the last comment was in February 2016?
With the election results, I would think there was a lot (or nothing--thank you Socrates)to say.
I am looking for the fellowship(pack)of dogs, please howl if you're still out there!

Nadia (who may not have read every book on the reading list, but taught "Candide" to IB students for more than a decade)

Rick

Nadia: As you can see, this site has seen more active days. It hasn't been the same since everyone migrated to Facebook. Still, I look in now and then, and I intend to keep the site active (maybe MORE active) in the future. Thanks for your comments; the pack is still alive.

Damian

I have finally found my home after years of wandering the internet wilderness.

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Cynic:

  • (n.) An idealist whose rose-colored glasses have been removed, snapped in two and stomped into the ground, immediately improving his vision. -- Rick Bayan, author of The Cynic's Dictionary (and host of this site)

E-MAIL THE CYNIC

  • rickbayan at verizon dot net

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