Mustain, M: Overcoming Cynicism

Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1 - Historical Cynicism: Diogenes and the Victorians Chapter 2 - Contemporary Sources of Cynicism: Fundamentalism and Scientism Chapter 3 - A Diagnosis of Disconnection at the Heart of Cynicism Chapter 4 - In Search of Alternatives: Coping with Relatedness Chapter 5 - Engaging and Reconstructing Relations: Concluding Remarks and a Path Forward Bibliography Index

Megan R. Mustain is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at St. Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas, USA.

"Mustain's well-crafted meditation on cynicism is both timely and provocative. Drawing on four case studies, from fourth-century B.C.E. Athens to twentieth century Christian fundamentalism, she skillfully diagnoses cynicism as a metaphysical disorder of disconnectedness and provides a welcome prescription that draws on William James's investigation of felt relations." -- Larry A. Hickman, Director of the Center for Dewey Studies and Professor of Philosophy, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, USA. "Overcoming Cynicism is a bold and originating diagnosis of an ancient contention, which flails us to this very day. If ultimate certitude is beyond our reach, what then is the possibility of possibility, the meaning and presence of hope and the actuality of human growth? Megan Mustain takes on this central human conflict with high intelligence, rhetorical verve and informed philosophical acuity. I welcome Megan Mustain to the newest generation of creative and wise interpreters of our rich intellectual tradition as rooted in Classical American Philosophy." -- John J. McDermott, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and Humanities, Texas A&M University, USA. "Megan Mustain has put the ideas of William James to work in the twenty-first century. She offers a diagnosis of our present and ongoing inabilities to deal with our existential instabilities by way of the history and presence of cynicism. The cynics of disjunction - Diogenes and contemporary scientism - fail to see the importance of conjunctive relations and thus are blind to possibility and the human ability to create meaning. The cynics of conjunction - Victorian colonialism and contemporary religious fundamentalism - try to ignore in ostrich-like fashion our existential disconnectedness offering instead a blind faith in an as yet incompleted ontological whole. Drawing on James's radical empiricism, Mustain suggests we recognize the importance of both sorts of relations and engage our existential situation