Against Cynicism

Modern cynicism can be defined as something like, “the resigned certainty that, at bottom, people and life ultimately suck.” Kierkegaard described it well: “There is a shrewdness which, almost with pride, presumes to have special elemental knowledge of the shabby side of existence, that everything finally ends in wretchedness.” Cynicism is a knowledge claim. It claims to know everything ahead of time. But it is also a process: an attempt to continually unmask facades, to reveal the dark truth underneath. Cynicism is attractive because it is partially true. There is a lot of pain and suffering, caused by selfishness and malevolence, and people frequently cover it up. There are reasons to be cynical.