Cynicism is “beliefs that people are generally selfish and dishonest.” A person who has cynical beliefs, or beliefs that people generally do things for selfish reasons, is called a “cynic”.
Skepticism is “an attitude of doubting the truth of something (such as a claim or statement).” Someone with this attitude is called a “skeptic” or is said to be “skeptical.”
How are they different?
Cynicism is an outlook and has nothing to do with evidence and cynics are more interested in rejecting things and opinions while skeptics like to contemplate things based on evidence. They doubt things they haven't experienced but aren't negative about it.
A Cynic will say,"This option is never going to work. We will fail."
A Skeptic will say, "Let's see if we can come up with more options. Maybe other option will work better."
A cynic will follow his generalized beliefs and would directly take a negative outlook on things he personally disagrees with while a skeptic is a believer of evidence and won't decide anything unless he has contemplated all options.
A cynic says "I am sure this is a bad option"
A skeptic says "I am not sure this is a good option"
This clearly shows that cynicism is a negative and close minded concept and skepticism is a positive and open-minded concept. Cynicism works on preconceived notions and general beliefs that are cultivated by the person while skepticism works on doubt and evidence.
I can be skeptical about government schemes, but I cannot be cynical about it because I don't have any proof for concluding my opinion. But I can be cynical about political leaders who, I think, do things with ulterior motives.
It's good to be a little bit skeptical about things in life because trust is a funny thing, but being cynical is not at all a good thing. It will make you more negative and make you distant from the right thing/person. Even in corporate life, being cynical won't get you anywhere but being skeptical will bring you near being right, if not right.
Skepticism is “an attitude of doubting the truth of something (such as a claim or statement).” Someone with this attitude is called a “skeptic” or is said to be “skeptical.”
How are they different?
Cynicism is an outlook and has nothing to do with evidence and cynics are more interested in rejecting things and opinions while skeptics like to contemplate things based on evidence. They doubt things they haven't experienced but aren't negative about it.
A Cynic will say,"This option is never going to work. We will fail."
A Skeptic will say, "Let's see if we can come up with more options. Maybe other option will work better."
A cynic will follow his generalized beliefs and would directly take a negative outlook on things he personally disagrees with while a skeptic is a believer of evidence and won't decide anything unless he has contemplated all options.
A cynic says "I am sure this is a bad option"
A skeptic says "I am not sure this is a good option"
This clearly shows that cynicism is a negative and close minded concept and skepticism is a positive and open-minded concept. Cynicism works on preconceived notions and general beliefs that are cultivated by the person while skepticism works on doubt and evidence.
I can be skeptical about government schemes, but I cannot be cynical about it because I don't have any proof for concluding my opinion. But I can be cynical about political leaders who, I think, do things with ulterior motives.
It's good to be a little bit skeptical about things in life because trust is a funny thing, but being cynical is not at all a good thing. It will make you more negative and make you distant from the right thing/person. Even in corporate life, being cynical won't get you anywhere but being skeptical will bring you near being right, if not right.
No comments:
Post a Comment