INTRODUCTION
Cynicism as Civic Distemper and Democratic Sensibility
This dissertation is inspired by my sense that the familiar characterizations of and
complaints against cynicism as our modern malaise are incomplete. By disdaining that
which we pejoratively label cynicism, I fear that we obscure the potential contribution
such disengaged, suspicious and irreverent citizens may make to the defense of freedom
in democracy. By giving emphasis to cynicism’s negative elements and corrosive
presence, we risk proving the cynic’s stance correct rather than redressing its problematic
presence.
Modern cynicism, to be sure, presents a pressing problem, and we are right to feel
the urgency of responding to it. It declares the bankruptcy of meaningful human
existence.
1
It observes the trifles for which we labor and the insignificance and triviality
of our daily routines, and thereby deduces that a gross egoism rules our lives. It unmasks
the hypocrisy of the practices conducted in the name of ideals and principles, and thereby
becomes disillusioned with all ethical and social values. Distrusting all ideals and
suspecting all lofty aspirations as mere pretense or self-deception, the cynic exercises
contempt for any authority or higher standard other than himself. Convinced that
unbounded egoism and gross materialism are the essence of all human behavior, he
justifies his living by those same creeds.
2
1
Navia, Classical Cynicism, 2.
2
Sloterdijk. Critique of Cynical Reason.
Convention