Cynicism
- cynicism - Dictionary Definition : Vocabulary.com
- "distrusting or disparaging the motives of others; like or characteristic of a cynic.2.showing contempt for accepted standards of honesty or morality by one's actions, especially by actions that exploit the scruples of others.3.bitterly or sneeringly distrustful, contemptuous, or pessimistic." - Dictionary
- Cynicism is an attitude or state of mind characterized by a general distrust of others' motives.[1] 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. A common misapplication of this attitude involves its attribution to individuals who emote well-thought-out expressions of skepticism. Such miscategorization may occur as the result of either inexperience and/or a belief system in which the innate goodness of man is considered an important tenet or even an irrefutable fact. Thus, contemporary usage incorporates both a form of jaded prudence and (when misapplied) 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." - Wikipedia
- Is Cynicism Ruining Your Life? by Lisa Firestone Ph.D. @Psychology Today - "When we get cynical, we are often indulging in self-righteous attitudes and forming expectations that people should behave a certain way. For example, my friend had thoughts like, "I never would have made him wait; he is so inconsiderate," or " I guess he really doesn't care if we get pictures of us with his family. I care more than he does about us all being together." Through this shadowy perspective, we start to seek out and focus on the worst in people. "
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the devil's dictionary
- Devil’s Dictionary (dot) com
- @Wikipedia - “it features Bierce's witty and often ironic spin on many common English words. “
- @Amazon - “These caustic aphorisms, collected in The Devil's Dictionary, helped earn Ambrose Bierce the epithets Bitter Bierce, the Devil's Lexicographer, and the Wickedest Man in San Francisco. First published as The Cynic's Word Book (1906) and later reissued under its preferred name in 1911, Bierce's notorious collection of barbed definitions forcibly contradicts Samuel Johnson's earlier definition of a lexicographer as a harmless drudge”
- The Devil's Dictionary, by Ambrose Bierce @ Gutenburg (dot) org - Read online
- The Devil's Dictionary Text by Ambrose Bierce, 1911; copyright expired. Etext version by Aloysius West, 1993 Apr 15. - Read online The Devil's Dictionary | work by Bierce @ Britannica.com - “Employing a terse, aphoristic style, and the full range of his self-education, Bierce lampooned social, professional, and religious convention, as in his definitions for bore—“A person who talks when you wish him to listen”; architect—“One who drafts a plan of your house, and plans a draft of your money”; and saint—’A dead sinner revised and edited.’”
- The Devil's Dictionary @ StoppingPoints.com - Read the definitions
- The Devil’s Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce - Read online
- Life Redefined: "The Devil's Dictionary" Turns 100 @ Big Think - “A century after its publication as The Devil’s Dictionary, Ambrose Bierce’s comic lexicon remains a beautifully nasty piece of work. Though it’s a work of satire first and foremost, its mock definitions incorporate whimsy, existential pessimism, cheap puns, sex jokes, and just about every other trick in the comedian’s book.” Provides some definitions.
- To the Devil @ The Smart Set - “It was to Bierce’s annoyance that he found himself persistently and flagrantly plagiarized by all those lesser writers out there trying to make their livings as cynics. No doubt, Bierce’s writings were smarter and funnier than the stupid, distinctively silly cynic books of his time. He was a satirist of the first order. “
- If there is any consistent position the book takes, it's that people are terrible, duplicitous, and most of all selfish creatures. Take the definition of "happiness," for instance:
- @ Rational Wiki - “”An agreeable sensation arising from contemplating the misery of another.”
- @Time - “Bierce, an exceptionally versatile writer who authored the classic short story “An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge,” used his lexicon to take the starch out of the thinking and habits he found objectionable during America’s Gilded Age. Zweig uses a similarly cynical, sardonic and informed brush to paint the behavioral foolishness and intellectual frauds of today’s investment ecosystem.”
- @ LibriVox
- The Devil's Dictionary: 24 Funniest Definitions @ Humoropedia
- The Devil’s Dictionary X™ - Updated with newer definitions.
- The New Devil’s Dictionary @ The Verge - “A famed journalist and essayist of the late 19th century, Bierce was also one of America’s sharpest cynics. His legacy was entombed in The Devil’s Dictionary: a satirical lexicon originally published in 1906.” Some definitions
- Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce @ Fun With Words
- The Devil’s Dictionary (2.0)
Subtypes
Pyotry's subtype
- Fanatics = devotedness to fixed ideas (there are lots of fanatics among the leaders of destructive religious cults).shallow-mindedness.strong-willedness, will of adamant.purposefulness, consistency of aim.manipulative behavior.-----DSM = Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder with some paranoid features.-----Milton = Puritanical obsessive-compulsive personality." - Wikipedia
- Cluster of antisocial psychopaths = strongly pronounced moral defects.emotional bluntness.indifference to praise and criticism.deceitfulness combined with listlessness.a penchant for oblectation of the senses and torment.-----DSM = Antisocial personality disorder combined with some paranoid and sadistic features. Sometimes schizoid features can also be present.-----Milton = Malevolent antisocial personality
- Paranoiacs = preoccupation with fixed ideas.shallow-mindedness.egotism, egocentrism, self-absorption, and self-complacence.one-way affectivity.high suspiciousness, stubbornness, paltriness, and rancor.-----DSM = Paranoid personality disorder. Can be combined with some compulsive, narcissistic, negativistic, and sadistic features.-----Milton = Obdurate, fanatic, querulous or malignant paranoid personality.
- Millon Theory - Suspicious / Paranoid Personality
- Obdurate (including compulsive features)
- "Self-assertive, unyielding, stubborn, steely, implacable, unrelenting, dyspeptic, peevish, and cranky stance; legalistic and self-righteous; discharges previously restrained hostility; renounces self-other conflict." - Wikipedia
- Fanatic (including narcissistic features)
- "Grandiose delusions are irrational and flimsy; pretentious, expensive supercilious contempt and arrogance toward others; lost pride reestablished with extravagant claims and fantasies." - Wikipedia
- Querulous (including negativistic features)
- "Contentious, caviling, fractious, argumentative, faultfinding, unaccommodating, resentful, choleric, jealous, peevish, sullen, endless wrangles, whiny, waspish, snappish." - Wikipedia
- Insular (including avoidant features)
- "Reclusive, self-sequestered, hermitical; self-protectively secluded from omnipresent threats and destructive forces; hypervigilant and defensive against imagined dangers."- Wikipedia
- Malignant (including sadistic features)
- "Belligerent, cantankerous, intimidating, vengeful, callous, and tyrannical; hostility vented primarily in fantasy; projects own venomous outlook onto others; persecutory delusions."- Wikipedia