Cynicism can be associated with sarcasm, hypocrisy and impudence.
The concept of cynicism comes from the Latin cynismus although it has Greek origin. The term refers to impudence , blatant obscenity and lack of shame when lying or defending actions that are condemnable. For example: “The president's cynicism is disgusting: he says he fights for the poor and allows 100,000 layoffs to take place,” “The minister is famous for his cynicism: before a hidden camera that showed him accepting a bribe, he assured that he did so.” for the good of the country."
Starting from this meaning we have to emphasize that on many occasions the term cynicism is used as a synonym for hypocrisy . Hence, almost every day we find politicians who use it to refer to the attitude of their rivals towards any specific situation that is current at that moment.
Cynicism a doctrine
The notion of cynicism was also used to name the doctrine of the Cynic school , formed by disciples of Socrates in the middle of the 4th century BC . The name arose as a derogatory label for their way of life, since cynics despised wealth and material goods.
Antisthenes y Diogenes of Sinope fueron algunos de los principales filósofos de esta escuela que consideraba que la civilización era un mal para el man, quien debería vivir de manera amistosa con la naturaleza.
However, they are not the only men of the cynical school who have gone down in history as representatives of it. Among them we should also highlight Diogenes Laertius . This was a Greek philosopher who stands out for his extensive bibliography in which, as could not be otherwise, the works he carried out on the aforementioned current stand out.
In that case, he developed the work titled “Cynical School” . In it he reviews the figures of those who, for him, are the greatest representatives of it. Hence, this book collects the biographies, anecdotes or part of the works of thinkers of the stature of Metrocles, Menippus, Crates or Hipparchy, as well as the other two philosophers mentioned in the previous lines.
Diogenes of Sinope is one of the greatest exponents of the Cynic school, whose doctrine is cynicism.
Concept mutation
Cynicism pointed out that wisdom and freedom of the spirit are the paths to happiness, while material things are despicable. Cynics even avoided pleasure so as not to become its slaves. Dogs were a model for cynics as they admired their simplicity.
Over time, the concept of cynicism mutated and today it is associated with the tendency to not believe in the goodness and sincerity of human beings. The cynical attitude is linked to sarcasm , irony and mockery .
Enlightened Cynicism
In addition to all this, we cannot ignore the fact that on the Internet there is a web page titled Illustrated Cynicism .
A great following throughout the world has that in which Internet users have the possibility of enjoying a series of illustrations that analyze various situations worldwide. The artist Eduardo Salles is responsible for the works.