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| Are you cynical? |
| Very much |
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48% |
[ 18 ] |
| Somewhat |
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37% |
[ 14 ] |
| Not much |
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8% |
[ 3 ] |
| Not at all |
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5% |
[ 2 ] |
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| Total Votes : 37 |
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twg
Joined: 02 Nov 2006
Location: Getting some fresh air...
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 Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2007 3:34 am Post subject: |
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| MANDRL wrote: |
| ou just gotta embrace whatever is thrown your way. |
What if it's battery acid? |
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Unposter
Joined: 04 Jun 2006
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| Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2007 4:49 am Post subject: |
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I'm pretty cynical myself.
I recently heard some comment by Jon Stewart on Youtube. He said something like: the Democrats are inconsequential (sp?). They get 49% of the vote and 9% of the power.
Are you ready for real cynicism: In many ways, it doesn't matter who is the President, the same people are still running the country.
And, here is a real eye opener: Would you really like a world where things were good and (near) perfect? It would be stickly sweet and sucky.
Anyway... |
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Cliffhanger
Joined: 07 Sep 2007
Location: Anyang
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| Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2007 5:08 am Post subject: |
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| tzechuk wrote: |
| I am not very cynical. I'd like to give things the benefit of the doubt first. |
I'm like this. I'm very trusting. Too much perhaps. Unfortunately, since I've come to Korea I've become more cynical than I'd like. |
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pastis
Joined: 20 Jun 2006
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| Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2007 8:35 am Post subject: |
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| IncognitoHFX wrote: |
I'm going to refrain and say that while I do have moments of sheer cynicism (now especially given what just happened), I'm generally a more optimistic than pessimistic person. I'm actually very optimistic about some things.
I don't think too much cynicism is healthy. People who are cynical all the time are boring, and downers (not that really optimistic people can't be annoying). For those who argue that it's more "realistic", I implore you to think what the world would be like if everyone was cynical and vice versa. Which is better?
Cynicism... whatever, people need to learn to be balanced. |
You can be cynical in your big picture (amoral) world view, yet at the same time open minded in your day to day life... I just think wishful thinking is childish and gets you nowhere. |
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IncognitoHFX
Joined: 06 May 2007
Location: Yeongtong, Suwon
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| Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2007 11:36 am Post subject: |
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| pastis wrote: |
| IncognitoHFX wrote: |
I'm going to refrain and say that while I do have moments of sheer cynicism (now especially given what just happened), I'm generally a more optimistic than pessimistic person. I'm actually very optimistic about some things.
I don't think too much cynicism is healthy. People who are cynical all the time are boring, and downers (not that really optimistic people can't be annoying). For those who argue that it's more "realistic", I implore you to think what the world would be like if everyone was cynical and vice versa. Which is better?
Cynicism... whatever, people need to learn to be balanced. |
You can be cynical in your big picture (amoral) world view, yet at the same time open minded in your day to day life... I just think wishful thinking is childish and gets you nowhere. |
Yes, but absolute cynicism is just silly. Being more identifiably cynical and amoral than moral and optimistic is also dangerous.
Most people have an aesthetic morality which is the kind of morality people such of yourself seem to have a problem with (I have a problem with it too). Say, they have didactic set of rules by which to live their lives, such as to say that the rules they follow are inflexable and morally childish. Thats a problem. Too many people say "X is always wrong in all contexts" rather than "X is wrong in X context, while not in X context" in such a way as to reflect life experience.
The main problem with living by a moral code is that people who follow one often find themselves in situations where there is no preconceived action as per their code and as a result their actions are immature and ill-conceived.
That being said, relativist thinking and cynicism itself is equally a major problem. Its a tempting thought but not a beneficial one. People as a whole and individually need to have moral constructs, and fluid ones rather than solid ones. Morals need to grow an adapt with you, through wisdom and maturity; such as by constantly learning life lessons and finding a way to work them into your moral perspective. Morals need to be educated and realistic, but not blind or non-existent. Saying complete cynicism is "realistic" is about the same as saying fundamentalism is "realistic". The more cynical you claim yourself to be the more you are claiming not to be human like the rest of us.
People who claim to be cynics and live without morals are just as/if not more dangerous than fundamentalists who live by a didactic set of axioms. There are generalities in the human condition and the more you experience the more this becomes apparent. Having a rigid moral aesthetic or an "ideal" is inhuman, and having an adaptive set of morals is what everyone should strive for. People compartmentalize knowledge, its part of the human condition, and there is nothing inherently wrong with that since it is specifically humans we are talking about.
Society, and mass/individual relationships need to be ordered in an ever changing, thoughtful way. Without principles, morals and goals we'd fall into the worst kind of anarchy. Humans are the only animals capable of abstract thought and as such, we are free to create our own morals; but create morals we must, and to not is to be nothing more than a parasite that feeds on the system supporting everyone else. It is your responsibility as an individual to have morals.
To be amoral is reject the idea of a moral perfection that preserves the species as a whole, and striving towards such a moral perfection is the foundation of every meaningful culture in the history of mankind.
The problem with post modern thinking, relativism and hard core cynicism is that it negates being human. |
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Lizoid
Joined: 04 Dec 2006
Location: South Korea
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| Posted: Sat Nov 03, 2007 2:56 am Post subject: |
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I definitely have my cynical moments but as I get older I think it's possible to embrace cynicism as a "path of least resistance". Cynicism is a form of passivity that is totally uncreative and kind of miserable.
I think most people fresh out of university go through a time when they are highly cynical. It's the "Reality Bites" effect. Sooner or later you will realise it's not feeding you. |
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