Cynic vs Pragmatist - What's the difference?
cynic | pragmatist |
cynical (in all senses)
(not comparable) Relating to the Dog Star.
A person who believes that all people are motivated by selfishness.
A person whose outlook is scornfully negative.
One who acts in a practical or straightforward manner; one who is pragmatic; one who values practicality or pragmatism.
One who acts in response to particular situations rather than upon abstract ideals; one who is willing to ignore their ideals to accomplish goals.
One who belongs to the philosophic school of pragmatism; one who holds that the meaning of beliefs are the actions they entail, and that the truth of those beliefs consist in the actions they entail successfully leading a believer to their goals.
* 2007 , John Lachs and Robert Talisse, American Philosophy: An Encyclopedia , p. 310.
As nouns the difference between cynic and pragmatist
is that cynic is a person who believes that all people are motivated by selfishness while pragmatist is one who acts in a practical or straightforward manner; one who is pragmatic; one who values practicality or pragmatism.As an adjective cynic
is cynical (in all senses.As a proper noun Cynic
is a member of a sect of Ancient Greek philosophers who believed virtue to be the only good and self-control to be the only means of achieving virtue.cynic
English
(wikipedia cynic)Alternative forms
* cynick (obsolete)Adjective
(en adjective)- the cynic''', or Sothic, year; '''cynic cycle
Noun
(en noun)Anagrams
* ----pragmatist
English
Noun
(en noun)- A pragmatist would never plant such a messy tree, but I like its flowers.
- I'm not a thief, I am a pragmatist. I need this bread to feed my family.
- We cannot trust him not to lie for his own gain, he's an opportunist and a pragmatist.
- [S]ome pragmatists (such as William James) took a more pantheist or pandeist approach by rejecting views of God as separate from the world.