Is Cynicism increasing with time?

[luckyme]

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Isn't the answer obvious....

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The fact you think it's obvious should act as a warning bell for you, not a reason for confidence.

Taking any one negative situation from today and not factoring in either all the variables related to it and at the same time forgetting that it's a big-picture issue that counts so only big-picture views score.
Here's one of those one-shot scenario's .. women out alone at night. done much in 1830 big cities, heck, small cities? why not as common as now?

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pedophilia seems to be rampant

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'seems' is the key word. Since we have no way of knowing prior pedophilia rates and we do know about the horrible treatment of children in the past, it would take some major evidence to convince me that for some reason they were treated better in this one area. Evidence we don't have.

Our treatment of women, children, animals, other nations, minority cultures all seem much better than before. That's one reason religious problems stand out more now than in the past. People dying of aids in foreign countries 'matter' now. Religion inspired conflict/intolerance stands out now, against our general broader mindset.

That's why the OP assumption seems to be missing the mark. Things look bad because the baseline is so much better.

luckyme

[Splendour]

Here's a little tangent for you Sirio11...I had to start poking around about the ancient Greek Cynics once you mentioned them...I was curious if Socrates/Plato was related to the Cynics because I've always been intrigued by Socrates' wisdom in the Republic...I came across this article linking the ancient Cynics with the movement towards Christianity...He also throws in a comparison to Taoism...Guess this is where we get the blend of Greco-Roman-Judaic heritage of the West...

http://users.cyberone.com.au/myers/downing.html

[BPA234]

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BPA optimism has a lot of upside potential in your personal life as long as its not blind optimism...

I think the OP is asking if the worldview is becoming more cynical...If you don't want to ask individuals who have lived an extended enough time to compare societies and values across generations then look at some statistics today...Unwed mother stats seem to be on the rise, pedophilia seems to be rampant, violence in schools is on the rise...Then take a look at some of the problems that spin off from these events occurring ...The reason I say you can poll older folks is they actually can tell you how they acted 20, 40 or 60 years ago versus the actions they take today...For example, 40 years ago a lot of kids walked to school...now most ride...Of course traffic is a factor, but sometimes it isn't a factor...say your subdivision is 3 blocks from the school and it would be a nice little healthy walk for your kid...many parents will opt to drive their kids instead of letting them walk...why is that? Isn't the answer obvious...for safety reasons that never even occurred to people 40 years ago...When you are fearful all the time its bound to have an affect on the level of your cynicism....

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I agree about the risks of blind optimism. I don't think I suffer from that particular affliction.

My opinion, simply put, is if you take a global view and objectively analyze all the determining factors (quality of life, longevity, infant mortality, etc. etc.), I don't think you can come up with a legitimate validation for a cynical outlook.

[moorobot]

Most of the answers have not been using the definition of cynicism given:

"Currently, the word 'cynicism' generally describes the opinions of those who maintain that self-interest is the primary motive of human behaviour, and are disinclined to rely upon sincerity, human virtue, or altruism as motivations."

The question, therefore, should be whether or not there are more people WHO BELIEVE that humans are motivated by self-interest.

[moorobot]

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My opinion, simply put, is if you take a global view and objectively analyze all the determining factors (quality of life, longevity, infant mortality, etc. etc.), I don't think you can come up with a legitimate validation for a cynical outlook.

[/ QUOTE ] On the other hand, the two deadliest wars in human history occurred in the last .1% of human existensce, more humans every decade have the ability to completely wipe out the human race or at least a huge part of it with "the push of a button" thanks to the proliferation of WMDs, and we may very well have damaged our environment-that which we rely on to live- irreparably.

[xxThe_Lebowskixx]

"The question, therefore, should be whether or not there are more people WHO BELIEVE that humans are motivated by self-interest."

Is this still up for debate?

Also, just because I believe this to be true, does not make me a nihilist or an advocate of nihilism. I think this is where the idealists and religious people go astray: they don't understand evolution or science and are not very capable or willing to think rationally.