Throughout The Devil's Advocate Andrew Durant assigns the state psychiatrists in to two categories, cynics and zealots. The latter are detrimental to the liberty of American citizens because they believe in the ideals of the Democracy--Unity, duty, sacrifice. They "reprogram subversive citizens to follows these ideals by whatever means necessary. In doing so, these psychiatrists strip these subversive citizens of their humanity, dilute their emotions, and desensitize them from oppression. What makes this type of psychiatrist dangerous is not their loyalty to the state, but their loyalty to their work, they truly believe that their work is bettering humanity.
The other class of psychiatrists are the cynics. These doctors are self-serving opportunists. When America became a militarized dictatorship they aided the government in oppressing its citizens and relinquishing their dignity. This made it easy for the Democracy to remain in power, for without a sense of dignity man has no sense of self worth to hold on to when being oppressed, he has no reason to resist.
I extrapolated this dichotomous classification system into my life and began to wonder which class I would rather be in. However, before going on, I must decontextualize the two classes, for if they shared the same connotation as they do in the book, I would want to be neither a cynic nor a fanatic. I'll be brief with the definitions of a cynic and a zealot in my world; a zealot is a person who ardently stands by their beliefs, while a cynic is someone who is willing to compromise their virtues in order to better their position in society.
I would like to be a zealot, but I have an ambivalent demeanor towards many things and it would be difficulty for me to fully believe in and preach one side of a position. However, I believe that I would find comfort in an absolute belief in something. This comfort would certainly satisfy me, but I do not know if comfort and satisfaction are best for me and man in general.
Being a cynic allows you to partake in both sides of an argument, or to act as a devil's advocate. It allows a person to adapt to their current circumstances, and I believe that this is necessary for individual success and societal success. Being happy is great, but being happy with what you have and with what already exists is not. If all of mankind were to become content with their current circumstances, no progress would be made.
Since I discussed both of the classes, I suppose that I am a cynic. I have no problem with bettering myself, but I do not want to sacrifice my entire self for a little bit of money or renown. Therefore, I want to be a cynic with moral fortitude, a cynic that is not willing to compromise for every opportunity that comes his way.
The other class of psychiatrists are the cynics. These doctors are self-serving opportunists. When America became a militarized dictatorship they aided the government in oppressing its citizens and relinquishing their dignity. This made it easy for the Democracy to remain in power, for without a sense of dignity man has no sense of self worth to hold on to when being oppressed, he has no reason to resist.
I extrapolated this dichotomous classification system into my life and began to wonder which class I would rather be in. However, before going on, I must decontextualize the two classes, for if they shared the same connotation as they do in the book, I would want to be neither a cynic nor a fanatic. I'll be brief with the definitions of a cynic and a zealot in my world; a zealot is a person who ardently stands by their beliefs, while a cynic is someone who is willing to compromise their virtues in order to better their position in society.
I would like to be a zealot, but I have an ambivalent demeanor towards many things and it would be difficulty for me to fully believe in and preach one side of a position. However, I believe that I would find comfort in an absolute belief in something. This comfort would certainly satisfy me, but I do not know if comfort and satisfaction are best for me and man in general.
Being a cynic allows you to partake in both sides of an argument, or to act as a devil's advocate. It allows a person to adapt to their current circumstances, and I believe that this is necessary for individual success and societal success. Being happy is great, but being happy with what you have and with what already exists is not. If all of mankind were to become content with their current circumstances, no progress would be made.
Since I discussed both of the classes, I suppose that I am a cynic. I have no problem with bettering myself, but I do not want to sacrifice my entire self for a little bit of money or renown. Therefore, I want to be a cynic with moral fortitude, a cynic that is not willing to compromise for every opportunity that comes his way.