The Truth About Misanthropy From a Misanthrope
According to the Merriam-webster dictionary: a misanthrope is a person who hates or distrusts humankind. This definition of the word misanthrope is rather narrow in its conclusion and fails to describe the complexity and diverse nature of these individuals whose beliefs fall in line with this critical analysis of humanity. This article aims to give a clearer and deeper understanding of those who identify as misanthropes by examining some of the potential reasons for adopting a misanthropic outlook, the four main categories of misanthropes, who misanthropes truly are as people, my personal grounds for misanthropy, and the wisdom that can be found in this alternative philosophy and way of life.
Ever since the Homo Sapien first came to rise as a species on planet earth 200,000 years ago, they have brought with them many wonderful gifts to this world including intelligence and the ability to reason. However, their unredeemable fault as a species is that they have used their gifts to cause unimaginable horror and suffering during their reign. Misanthropy is both a philosophy and viewpoint that attracts people from all walks of life both young and old man and woman one race or another with equally diverse reasons for giving up on humans. According to (Philosophy Now), “Human existence is saturated with failings and vices, including arrogance, cold-heartedness, dogmatism, greed, hypocrisy, insensitivity to beauty, myopia, moral laziness, selfishness, shoulder-shrugging indifference to the suffering of others, violence, wastefulness, and doubtless many others for which we don’t have names.” With These few reasons amongst countless others being overly abundant to tip the scales against humanity, it is certainly not difficult to see how one could conclude that humankind is deeply enough entrenched in failings and vices, that misanthropy would be both a valid and logical response.
Being so diverse in its origins, misanthropy is also a diverse view in the ways in which it manifests and the implications it has for both the individual misanthrope and humanity as a whole. Since the inherent nature of the misanthropic outlook is so unpopular, while reading or hearing the definition of the word misanthrope one may picture a hermit living a monastic life well away from the troubles of humanity, or even a raging anarchist tearing down the corrupt institutions of society, but often, both of these assumptions among others are quite far from the truth. Contrary to popular belief, hatred of humanity doesn’t always equate to violence. Assistant professor at the Department of Philosophy at the University of Nottingham Ian James Kidd has classified misanthropes into four main categories, only one of which is prone to violence. The four variations of this philosophy include the enemy misanthrope, the fugitive misanthrope, the activist misanthrope, and the quietist misanthrope. These four categories of misanthropists offer some unique insights into the minds of the individuals who identify with the misanthrope community by comparing their similarities and differences which will be examined more closely in the following paragraphs.
The first type of misanthrope that Kidd has classified by using the work of one of the great philosophers of the western tradition, Immanuel Kant, is the enemy of mankind. This noteworthy misanthrope’s primary reaction to all of the failings and vices of humanity is one of bitterness and hostility. “The Enemy of Mankind’, who, dominated by hatred and disgust at humanity’s failings, feels driven to acts of violence.”, according to (Philosophy now). The response of this type of misanthrope at the state of our species and the suffering we cause each other and everything living around us is one of intense frustration which leads them to anger and often committing physical or symbolic acts of violence. There are several examples of this type of misanthrope such as animal rights extremists who are abhorred at our treatment of animals and use violence as a means of standing up against our brutalization of other sentient life. Another example of this type of misanthrope is environmental terrorists who are repulsed by the negative impact we have on the ecosystem and use violence as a way to counter the relentless pursuit of destruction we inflict on our planet by raping it bare of life and resources for our own interests.
The second type of misanthrope that Kidd has also classified using the work of Kant is known as the fugitive of mankind. This type of misanthrope is very different from the enemy in that the reaction of the fugitive is not one of violence, but instead, a deep fear of our true nature. “The Fugitive from Mankind’, They’re dominated by fear — of what we are, the harm we do, and the morally corrupting effects of being among us.”, by (Philosophy Now). The fugitive misanthrope sees the depravity in all aspects of humankind and responds with flight, seeking to preserve oneself as best as possible from becoming infected with corruption from the virus of humanity. Preferring avoidance, the fugitive often chooses to isolate themselves from most other humans. Examples of this misanthrope may be the well-prepared and self-sufficient survivalist who fears corruption from the mass scale herd mentality of society and is skeptical of the government. A second example of the fugitive misanthrope could be a devoted worshipper of any religious faith who chooses to walk a spiritual path in isolation, preferring a simple life to purify themselves from our nature and avoid the very wickedness that humans are.
The third type of misanthrope that Kidd has classified by analyzing various beliefs from the eastern philosophy tradition is the activist misanthrope. The activist is perhaps the most optimistic misanthrope of all four categories in their beliefs about the human condition and the possibility of its improvement. “Misanthropes of this kind are motivated by hope. They see the entrenched moral failings of the world and respond with determined commitment to change this.”, also by (Philosophy Now). Being more optimistic than most other misanthropes certainly doesn’t mean that activists are naive to the countless failings of humanity, but instead, they acknowledge them and believe that humans can improve for the better and that they as individuals have the ability to create change in the world. Examples of the activist could include some religious teachers who realize that humankind is inherently flawed and dedicate themselves to helping others overcome their humanity and find their true path. Another example of this type of misanthrope may be a politician who has observed that the system is broken to its core and aims to create a collective change that would attempt to channel human nature in a less harmful trajectory.
The fourth and final type of misanthrope that Kidd has categorized by using his analysis from the eastern philosophy tradition is known as the quietist misanthrope. The qualities of this type of misanthrope are the opposite of the activist. Quietists are not known for their determination to change humanity, but rather for their hopelessness and defeatism. “What distinguishes a Quietist is their spirit of resignation. They judge that little, if anything, can be done to transform humanity for the better.”, lastly by (Philosophy Now). The quietest sees that after 200,000 years from the savannah to the office, humans are still the same creatures who take advantage of everything at their disposal in their relentless hunger for more. Realizing the futility of taking action, the quietist instead avoids the more corrupting aspects of humanity and prefers to live simply, keeping their heads down. Examples of the quietist misanthrope could include an overnight stocker who works at a grocery store to avoid toxic mainstream workplace culture. The second example of this type of misanthrope may be a remote website developer who prefers the comfort of home instead of dressing and acting like a professional herdsman in a corporation.
While it may appear that misanthropes are just bitter because they were hardened by pain and disappointment, and they despise all humans because of their own baggage and troubled pasts, this premature judgment fails to take into account the fact that all misanthropes are individuals with their own reasoning, and that they are also humans with human needs. It may seem surprising to some, but misanthropes can and often do have perfectly normal relationships with people that they find pleasant and even lovable. “While misanthropes express a general dislike for humanity on the whole, they generally have normal relationships with specific individuals.”, according to (Bionity). The biggest contradiction about misanthropes is that they care, or cared about people to such an extent that people were the very cause of their misanthropy. An article from The School of Life reads, “Misanthropists love people of course — or they did once upon a time. What high hopes one has to have started with in order to end up feeling so sad at the state of our species. How much one would need to love humanity in order to conclude that we’re a cosmic error.” The misanthrope has tried to love humanity, and humanity has demonstrated that it is not worthy of love.
As a misanthrope myself, I will share my personal grounds for holding this philosophical outlook as an example of how I fit in as a unique member of this community. For me, misanthropy has been fed and carefully nurtured over the years for a variety of reasons, but I was not always a misanthrope. It began with the many hardships in my life both trivial and severe which slowly but steadily set the unshakable bedrock for my misanthropy. However, true misanthropy only came to fruition for me when I started thinking deeply about life and I learned to put myself in the shoes of others. I realized over time most problems that humans face are because of other humans, we alone throughout history have proven to be our own biggest threat, and that we are not just the relentless torturers of ourselves, but the relentless torturers of all the other species who also share our planet. My misanthropy is one of sympathy and a deep understanding of the suffering humanity imposes upon itself and other life. Seeing that the natural world in addition to the human world are both in such dire condition because of our never-ending call to greed, I respond to the state of humankind primarily as a quietist because of the sheer scale of our atrocities as a species.
There is much wisdom to be found in the philosophy of the misanthrope. They are often individuals who are highly knowledgable in the ways of the Homo Sapien and have had first-hand experience of the various tactics that are frequently used to exploit others. “Real misanthropes are not found in solitude, but in the world; since it is experience of life, and not philosophy, which produces real hatred of mankind.”, a respectable quote from Giacomo Leopardi. This knowledge learned from experience serves as practical wisdom used to clearly recognize and avoid the many traps of humankind by seeing them well ahead of time. Another characteristic of misanthropes is that many of them are deep thinkers. This gift can be used to swiftly cut through the lies in the problems of humanity and in their own lives, so that by staring into the raw ugly core of its true nature, they may find ways to adapt or create a positive change in whatever troubles may stand before them. Misanthropy, although pessimistic, can cultivate deep thinking and insight that leads one to walk the path of wisdom. “Misanthropy always was and is a trait in the sane and the intelligent who love life so much that they wish to pursue the highest form of living.”, from (Joseph).
In conclusion to this article, misanthropy is far more than the simple hatred or distrust of humankind. These individuals are as diverse in their ideologies and reasons for embodying this underrated philosophy as is the depth and vastness of the human failings that have driven them to become those we call misanthropes. “A misanthrope is usually never a charlatan. He is a lover to lovers, but is clear that he despises the giant noble herds of man. Slipping through the gaps of the herds without ever being a part of them has to be a beautiful life.”, also by (Joseph). From pure empathy and deep thinking to seeing the true nature of reality, the misanthrope has many lessons to offer all of us about wisdom and life.