Are You A Misanthrope? 14 Traits And Attitudes Of These People
Ours is an increasingly individualistic society, in which great efforts are dedicated to differentiating ourselves from the crowd. Part of these efforts, which some people have come to call “posturing,” involves feigning a studied contempt for other people in general
However… to what extent is this misanthropy true or just a facade?
Misanthropy is a psychological disposition that is defined by the rejection and contempt for the human species in general. In fact, Etymologically this term means hatred of human beings
That is to say, misanthropic people do not feel aversion to a specific group of people, no matter how large, but rather to the entire group of human beings in general, including individuals whom they do not know and who are not going to meet. Misanthropy is, so to speak, the opposite of philanthropy
Now, theory is one thing and practice is another. What are the specific characteristics that are typical of misanthropic people? The main ones are listed below. However, it must be taken into account that none of them separately turns the person who presents it into a misanthrope, but rather this attitude occurs when several of them are present.
Misanthropic people do not have to remain isolated all day, since They know that by manipulating other people they can obtain rewards In this sense, misanthropy is related to the traits associated with psychopathy, since if they can obtain personal benefits by exploiting others, there is no moral obstacle that prevents them from doing so.
2. They show sadism
A misanthropic person does not show mercy, because the suffering of others is not related to what is morally bad in itself, unless it results in something that harms oneself. This means that the fact of generating discomfort or pain in others is sometimes seen as a game, a space of possibilities with which one can experiment.
3. They believe they are superior
This is a completely subjective belief that does not depend on the skills or knowledge that others have. For the misanthropes all people in general are despicable a priori , so whatever skills they may have are irrelevant. The simple fact of being other people causes the misanthrope to alienate his ability to feel and to be entities with humanity. Something similar happens to what someone who plays video games would feel about the characters that appear in them.
4. They spend their free time alone
When not working or carrying out a strategy with long-term goals, misanthropic people invest a large part of their leisure time in activities that can be done alone or in the company of non-human animals. The reason for this is that the company of others is not something pleasant in itself and it can be a nuisance.
Misanthropic people conceive of rules as a code of conduct that only exists to benefit society in general, but for them this objective has no value.
6. They do not feel sorry for the departure or death of others
In some cases, the social circle of people for whom one can experience pity is reduced to the family, and in some cases there is not even a group that generates special sympathy. Death can be seen as something liberating
7. They look down on politics
Politics is an effort to manage social problems, and the latter are not of interest to misanthropic people. That’s why consider political participation a waste of effort and time unless this is exercised to avoid specific threats arising from politics itself, and they will advocate for the non-intervention of public institutions. They are defenders of the idea that “each stick holds its candle.”
8. They do not understand spaces for citizen participation
For the same reason as before, misanthropic people fail to understand the meaning of festivals, collective rituals and forms of political participation and organization outside of institutions. It is considered that nothing good can come from the joint organization of several human beings
9. They build their own morality
Very misanthropic people They rarely structure their morality by adopting it in already agreed upon ethical forms, such as Christian morality. Instead, they build a custom value system and ethical scale, starting from scratch.
10. Your way of expressing emotions is solitary and isolated
Misanthropic people do experience emotions, but these are reflected in solitary acts, which do not need the participation of others to be able to develop. For example, when experiencing a feeling of loss, they do not hug someone to cry. The sentimental and emotional is something that ends with oneself, and therefore does not involve others (sometimes appearances can be maintained for personal interest).
Misanthropy consists of a contempt that is limited to what are perceived to be human beings. That means that yes may feel attached to other animals who are often idealized, attributing all kinds of positive psychological characteristics and relativizing the harmful actions they perform.
12. His sense of humor is dark and twisted
Much of his sense of humor consists of imaginary situations in which attacks, abuse or humiliation occur. It is rarely a sense of humor based on joint identification with everyday situations, but rather It is based on crazy and, at times, aberrant scenes
13. They easily enjoy acts of real or fictional violence
The imagery of misanthropic people is well stocked with violence and, in general, situations in which in which human beings are treated as objects that are allowed to be broken The reason, as with many other characteristics of misanthropic people, is that from a moral perspective there are no reasons not to do it, and instead breaking those social norms generates a pleasure linked to crossing the line of what is forbidden.
14. They tend to be arrogant
When they can, they appear arrogant in front of others. They don’t mind humiliating other people pointing out their defects or going so far as to invent and exaggerate them.
