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Is it misanthropy to be dissapointed in people? (self.misanthrope)
submitted 1 week ago by SorryforSmelling to c/misanthrope
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I saw a comment of someone saying 'What if you don’t hate people, you’re just disappointed in people?'

And i think this is an interesting point! I would argue that beeing dissapointed absolutly fits the misanthropist philosophy. Heres why:

First of all i think it depends on what you predict will happen. someone who predicts humanity will do good, and then gets dissapointed, has little to do with misanthropy. But if someone got dissapointed so often and frequently, that they predict a disspointing event takeing place (yet still be dissapointed when it happends) fits the definition way better. Because expecting dissapointment from humans is a form of disliking humans. its a negative approach.

Yet i do see the contrary, for example in many writings by nitzsche, who certainly displayed great dissapointement in humanity, yet many say he wasn't a misanthrope. (and they argue it very well)

I would dissagree tough, and state that someone thinking like Nitzsche, who is dissapointed in humans, yet willing to help them and even sometimes is hopeful that individuals or groups can achieve greatness, can still in heart not be a fan of humans.

A simple comparison is, that i see the company apple do many great things. they contribute to open source projects, they (at least somewhat) fight the datacollection of google and microsoft. yet i dislike apple, for the inherant capitalistic company they are.

What do you think? Can beeing dissapointed in people be a reason to call oneself a misanthroist?

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[-] Semi_Hemi_Demigod@lemmy.world 4 points 1 week ago

I think misanthropy is expecting to be disappointed in people. If you expect them to do well and are then disappointed you’ve still got some hope for the species.

[-] SorryforSmelling 1 points 1 week ago

yeah i completly agree. perhabs i phrased it weirdly ^^

this post was submitted on 11 Nov 2024
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Misanthrope

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Hi, i am a Misanthrope and i feel often misunderstood in that philosophy. So I created this community for the constructive discourse about misanthropic feelings, understanding the misanthropic mindset, and spreading awareness that this isn't an excuse to hate.

I want this community to be a save place for people, who are curious about Misanthrope to learn and understand what it is, and hopefully spread some awareness against stereotypes. As I expect deconstructive comments sooner or later (beeing the misanthrope i am lol) i wanna put some stricter rules here:

RULES:

  1. Be respectful! Even if you dont understand someones perspective, even if you disagree heavily. There are no reasons to insult or be disrespectful. We are all humans behind these accounts (hopefuly) with feelings.

  2. No Bigotry! Here it is allowed to dislike humanity in general. But we wont tolerate targeted hate towards minorities.

  3. No trolling! I know it can be hard to tell sometimes, but in volatile cases I will make a decision based on my best judgement. I want this to be a constructive community.

  4. Memes are welcome! I felt like i should state this, since that can be a serious topic. But sometimes silliness is the easiest way to deal with emotions.

Wikipedia defines Misanthrope as follows: "Misanthropy is the general hatred, dislike, or distrust of the human species, human behavior, or human nature. [...] Misanthropy involves a negative evaluative attitude toward humanity that is based on humankind's flaws. Misanthropes hold that these flaws characterize all or at least the greater majority of human beings."

I think this is a fair but easy to misunderstand definition. So i want to add:

  1. Misanthropy can also be a disappointment with humanity.
  2. While some Misanthropes choose solitude, others can and do enjoy the presence of some people and even enjoy engage in social events
  3. Misanthrope is a philosophical stance, and could be better understood as a criticism of society, rather than just irrational hate

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