Hope for Cynics
Contributing author: Dr. Douglas Reeves
In this inspiring book (Hope for Cynics: The Surprising Science of Human Goodness, 2025) by Stanford’s Jamil Zaki, there is a treasure trove of research that will help all of us who support educators and school leaders who are dealing with despair in the dark winter months and pervasive threats to our schools, students, and professional careers. Professor Zaki marshals research and keen observation to make these essential arguments.
Those of us who support educators and school leaders confront cynicism every day and find ample reasons for cynicism. Funding cuts, chronic absenteeism, and persistent failure – often for causes far beyond our control – can consume the work of collaborative teams. Zaki argues that we can look to the better angels of our nature. Cynicism encourages people to assume the worst, and that temptation can be contagious among students and colleagues. But decades of research support the idea that hope and trust, not cynicism, are the answers.
Cynics suffer more depression, alcoholism, and early death. Our job, therefore, is to understand cynicism and then provide evidence for hope. Professor Zakin makes a compelling case that cynics are not smarter or more insightful than the rest of us. He argues that collaboration, trust, and love are essential to our survival. Our job is to focus on compassion and connection. Hope is the antidote to cynicism.
There is an important distinction between syndics and skeptics. Skeptics just want to see the evidence. Cynics do not care about evidence, but only reject what is placed squarely before them. As educators, we must embrace the skeptics but reject the cynics.
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