Richard11 comments on Cynical About Cynicism - Less Wrong

22 Post author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 17 February 2009 12:49AM

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Comment author: Richard11 17 February 2009 10:27:40AM 3 points [-]

Good call! Scepticism is often conflated with cynicism but there's a crucial difference. Cynics tend always to assume the worst - of people and things - while sceptics try to make as few assumptions as possible. To the extent that the cynic will, all other things being equal, choose to believe the most negative possible interpretation, cynicism is arguably a particular form of bias.