id author title date pages extension mime words sentences flesch summary cache txt en-wikipedia-org-5670 Cynicism (contemporary) - Wikipedia .html text/html 1876 249 57 By the 19th century, emphasis on the ascetic ideals and the critique of current civilization based on how it might fall short of an ideal civilization or negativistic aspects of Cynic philosophy led the modern understanding of cynicism to mean a disposition of disbelief in the sincerity or goodness of human motives and actions.[citation needed] Modern cynicism is a distrust toward professed ethical and social values, especially when there are high expectations concerning society, institutions, and authorities that are unfulfilled. A study[10] published in Neurology journal in 2014 found an association between high levels of late-life "cynical distrust" (interpreted and measured in the study in terms of hostility) and dementia. Social cynicism[edit] The media framing of political news is implicated in "activating, if not creating, cynicism about campaigns, policy, and governance." ./cache/en-wikipedia-org-5670.html ./txt/en-wikipedia-org-5670.txt