I was reading through some blog posts the other day, and I came across a post in which the author classified himself as a skeptic and not a cynic. And something about that resonated with me.
I have often been tagged as cynical – and I can see why – but it’s not the way I see myself. I’ve never really put a lot of thought into it though.
My English being what it is (let’s just say my verbal SAT score trailed my math score..) I’m always fascinated when I stumble across a word that has such a great definition – one that’s more precise than others that I’ve used in the past.
And this is just one of those cases. I really like skeptical as a way to define the way I view situations. Cynicism implies, or should imply, a much more negative outlook whereas skepticism is more about doubt. I tend to be doubtful until I fully understand a situation – which is not to say that I have a negative outlook. It’s just that I approach things with what I think of as a healthy doubt. And I like to think that I take the time to understand the situation – gather enough information – that I can then form a more informed outlook. And sometimes that outlook just might be rosy.