Misanthropy
- For the Molière comedy see Le Misanthrope.
Misanthropy is a hatred or distrust of the human race; or, a disposition to dislike and mistrust other people. It is derived from Greek, a combination of the prefix 'mis-' (meaning "bad, wrong,") and anthropos (meaning "man, human being"), thus referencing defective mankind. A misanthrope is a person who who hates or distrusts mankind.
It should be noted that misanthropy does not necessarily imply an inhumane, antisocial, or sociopathic attitude towards humanity.
Forms of misanthropy
While misanthropes express a general dislike for humanity as a single entity, they generally have normal relationships with specific individuals. Misanthropy may be motivated by feelings of isolation or alienation. Misanthropy may also resemble intellectual arrogance, where a person dislikes humanity because of a sense of mental superiority over humans.
Overt expressions of misanthropy are common in satire and comedy, although intense misanthropy is generally rare. Subtler expressions are far more common, especially for those pointing out the shortcomings of humanity. In extreme cases, misanthropes may remove themselves from society, becoming hermits or shut-ins.
Misanthropy in literature
Misanthropy has been ascribed to a number of writers of satire, such as William S. Gilbert ("I hate my fellow-man"), but such identifications must be closely scrutinized because a critical or darkly humorous outlook toward humankind may be mistaken for genuine misanthropy.
Jonathan Swift is widely accused of misanthropy (see A Tale of a Tub and, most especially, Book IV of Gulliver's Travels). But Swift was also involved with many charitable organizations in Dublin, including a hospital for the care of the mentally ill.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous hero Sherlock Holmes is also often called a misanthrope, although critical studies of the character also reveal a streak of humanism.
In 1992, Southern American essayist Florence King, a self-described misanthrope, wrote a humourous book on the history of misanthropy called With Charity Toward None: A Fond Look at Misanthropy.
The famous author Hunter S. Thompson was considered by many members of his family and close friends to harbour a misanthropic worldview. This is quite evident in a lot of his writing; many close to him have speculated that these feelings were brought on by a very tough childhood that saw his father die quite young and his mother fall into alcoholism.
The Canadian essayist Kevin Draper also exhibits a profound dislike of humanity in a lot of his writing, however he has told many close friends that he considers himself to be an empathetic humanist.
The novel "A Confederacy of Dunces" is considered by many to be a classic example of misanthropy.
Misanthropy in philosophy
In Plato's Phaedo, Socrates states that "Misology and misanthropy arise from similar causes"1. He equates misanthropy with misology, hatred of speech, drawing an important distinction between philosophical pessimism and misanthropy. Immanuel Kant said that "Of the crooked timber of humanity, no straight thing can ever be made," and yet this was not an expression of the uselessness of humanity itself. Similarly, Samuel Beckett once remarked that "Hell must be like... reminiscing about the good old days when we wished we were dead." — a statement that may, perhaps, be seen as rather bleak and hopeless, but not as anti-human or expressive of any hatred of humankind.
The German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, on the other hand, was almost certainly as famously misanthropic as his reputation. He wrote that "human existence must be a kind of error." It should be added, however, that misanthropy does not necessarily equate with an inhumane attitude towards humanity. Schopenhauer concluded, in fact, that ethical treatment of others was the best attitude, for we are all fellow sufferers and all part of the same will-to-live; he also discussed suicide with a sympathetic understanding which was rare in his own time, when it was largely a taboo subject.
Martin Heidegger also showed misanthropy in his concern of the "they"; the tendency of people to conform to one view, which no-one has really thought through, but is just followed because, " 'they’ say so". Unlike Schopenhauer, Heidegger was opposed to any ethics or reason to treat others with respect. In recent times, Anton LaVey and his brand of Satanism have voiced militant misanthropy; going so far as to advocate sterilisation of parts of the population and ghettoising "lower forms of human life".[citation needed]
The American Satirical author Kurt Vonnegut. often used Misanthropist views in his books. Most likely because he witnessed the tragic consequences of the Dresden Air Raid of WW2. In one of his most famous works, "Slaughterhouse Five" the protagonist Billy Pilgrim comes loose from time. He is taken hostage by the Tralfamadorians, a race who see in "4d", they can travel through time becoming unstuck and experience all the events in their lives, not necessarily in chronological order. They teach him a "so it goes" kind of philosophy. Events happen and there's nothing you can do about it except watch it unfold. Billy then begins to see the pointlessness of life. In another book (Breakfast Of Champions) Kilgore Trout a fictional science fiction writer writes many books about man destroying the world and the pointlessness of our existence. The book has passages throughout showing the destruction of earth due to man and man's pointless existence. "This is a tale of a meeting of two lonesome, skinny, fairly old white men on a planet which was dying fast.". "Human beings will be happier - not when they cure cancer or get to Mars or eliminate racial prejudice or flush Lake Erie but when they find ways to inhabit primitive communities again. That's my utopia.". "I really wonder what gives us the right to wreck this poor planet of ours."
Misanthropy in popular culture
- The late comedian Bill Hicks during his darker moments displayed misanthropy. He once called the human race "a virus with fuckin' shoes" and often referred to himself as a "misanthropic humanist." See also the early work of British stand-up Jack Dee.
- The work of comedian George Carlin is often highly misanthropic.
- The novel Ishmael by David Quinn offers an insightful points which could turn anyone into a misanthrope.
- The metal band Death has written a song called Misanthrope, which is found on their album Symbolic.
- Dr. Gregory House, portrayed by Hugh Laurie on the television series House, is a misanthrope.
- Bernard Black of the sitcom Black Books would also be a good example.
- The popular video game Final Fantasy VI has a misanthropic antagonist, Kefka.
- The protagonist Johnny C., from the comic Johnny the Homicidal Maniac, exhibits strong misanthropy in word and deed. Another example would be Black Mage from the popular webcomic 8-bit Theater.
- Themes of misanthropy appeared on The Holy Bible, the third album by Welsh rock band Manic Street Preachers; it included lines such as "All I preach is extinction" and a speech sample of author J.G. Ballard expressing what appear to be deeply misanthropic sentiments. Songwriter Paul Westerberg refers to himself as a misanthrope in "What a Wonderful Lie," though the song is ultimately positive. On the album Symbolic. The sixth album from the Norweigian Black Metal band Dimmu Borgir is called Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia. Finally, a more pop music example might be Eddie Vedder's lyrics to Pearl Jam's 1998 single "Do the Evolution," inspired by Daniel Quinn's book "Ishmael."
- In Judge Dredd Megazine, one of the stories, The Simping Detective has a character called Miss Anne Thrope.
- The song Ænema by Tool expresses misanthropy.
- Chad Mulligan, the fictional sociologist in John Brunner's novel Stand on Zanzibar can be categorized as a quite profound misanthrope due to his views upon the human race and his isolation from society (he has been living as a hermit for several years). However, Mulligan exhibits the same kind of misanthropy as Arthur Schopenhauer (see above) - he shows distinctive humanistic tendencies and his agenda may be summarized as: Do unto others as they shall do unto you. It is most likely that he adopted a misanthropic ideology after having been confronted with severe problems of society while working as a sociologist - that also seems to be the cause for his heavy drinking, which rapidly turned into alcoholism.
- Jonathan Franzen's novel 'The Corrections' initially depicts all its characters' actions (whether others may interperet such actions in a more positive light) in a misanthropic tone. Furthermore, one of the novel's characters is himself misanthropic and frequently quotes misanthropic German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer to himself.
- The popular website The Best Page in the Universe by "Maddox" or George Ouzounian is notable for its misanthropic humor.