Name: Cynical Theories
ISBN: 9781634312028

Cynical Theories

Have you heard that language is violence and that science is sexist? Have you read that you shouldn't practice yoga or cook Chinese food? Are you confused by these ideas and wonder how they have managed to challenge so quickly the very logic of Western society? In this probing and intrepid volume, Helen Pluckrose and James A. Lindsay document the evolution of this dogma, from its coarse origins in French postmodernism to its refinement within activist academic fields. As Pluckrose and Lindsay warn, the unchecked proliferation of these anti-Enlightenment beliefs presents a threat not only to liberal democracy but also to modernity itself. Only through a proper understanding of the evolution of these ideas can those who value science, reason, and consistently liberal ethics successfully challenge this dangerous and authoritarian orthodoxy.

What Hacker News says

yakshaving_jgtApr 2026

Postmodernist movements like DEI were never about objective reality — in fact the idea of an objective reality is outright rejected. It doesn't matter if men are being left out of jobs (statistically) — they're [according to the ideology] the eternal benefactors of invisible, omnipresent systemic privilege. This is of course the complete opposite of the ideals of liberalism and the human rights movement, which is why so many people are fundamentally at odds with common illiberal corporate policy today (although it's often difficult to articulate why without being dismissed as a bigot).

For more on this, I recommend Cynical Theories[0] by Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay.

[0]: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53052177-cynical-theorie...

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mckernFeb 2024

For the race-essentialist practices described by the original poster, Yascha Mounk's "The Identity Trap," published in 2023, and interviews with Coleman Hughes regarding his college experience at Columbia are insightful resources.

To delve into the philosophical roots that lead to the type of absurd reasoning mentioned by the original poster, "Cynical Theories" by Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay, released in 2020, is recommended. Despite Lindsay's more recent radical stance, the book provides a critical exploration of these theories. It is also heavy on citations.

For the kind of misconduct in higher education described by the original poster, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) or the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) serve as reliable references. There's no lack of explicit anti-semitism on campus.

The discussion around "woke" culture is often muddled by attempts to obscure its existence, framing it as merely an extreme right-wing concern. For those who genuinely want a quick way to challenge their priors regarding "woke" being some kind of "right-wing" thing, you should give this short piece[0] a read. Does it comport with your notion of "right-wing"? If not, you should start questioning those who use "right-wing" as a boogeymen to convince you that there isn't a radical ideology who've created newspeak for their brand of racism, sexism, whatever-ism.

[0] https://helenpluckrose.substack.com/p/defining-woke-and-woke...

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wolframhempelNov 2023

Yup. I've been looking for books that explain the underlying structures and dynamics of "wokeness" for a while. I feel "the Coddling" does a good job for some aspects of it. The best book I found so far in this regard is "Cynical Theories" by Helen Pluckrose. You read it and just think: "yeah, this is it". Unfortunately it's written like a PhD thesis, so not the lightest read.

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prewettOct 2023

The Social Justice movement has two kinds of people. The thought leaders in the universities are functionally revolutionaires: "Justice" doesn't mean fairness in their thinking, it means "privileging" the oppressed group and de-privileging the oppressor group. (See the book "Cynical Theories" for a thorough--and left-leaning--analysis of the development of the academic ideas from disillusioned Marxists Foucault/Derrier to the current state.) This isn't really "justice" in the sense of fairness, it is retribution: attempting to right a wrong by wronging.

Then there are the masses, who think "Justice" means "justice" and more or less buy the narrative. (At least, as far as I can tell.) These days, activism is how a lot of people seem to derive their meaning in life. So, "defund the police" advances the revolutionary cause, while being a pithy cause activists can rally around if they are not of the critical thinking persuasion.

The lack of thought about the after-effects is from the academic thinking. The goal is simply to tear down the oppressive system; there is no thought given to a replacement system or how that system would avoid simply being a different oppressing system. Or whether a replacement system would actually be less oppressive than the current system, which by historical standards is one of the least oppressive.

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sersheDec 2022

1) Chris Moriarty. Spin State - relatively-hard sci-fi with decent non sci-fi elements (i.e. characters and stuff), which I think is rare.

2) Ralph Ellison. Invisible Man. I really enjoyed the writing, among other things, and how he captures short moments and scenes with sort of a hard-to-describe quality of a visual art, almost.

3) Ilya Somin. Free To Move. To me most of the book was "duh" but I think it would be a good read for people on the fence about immigration and private vs public institutions.

4) Vaclav Smil. Energy And Civilization; possibly How the World Really Works, still reading that one. Really dense and detailed examination of energy history of mankind for the former, and infrastructure of technological civilization for the latter.

5) Pluckrose & Lindsday. Cynical Theories. Good 101 on CRT and modern woke movement.

6) Alexander. New Jim Crow. Good 101 on war on drugs, although some broader social arguments the book makes straightforwardly don't seem to follow, or are contradicted by, its factual base IMHO.

7) Stephenson. Seveneves - really good hard sci-fi imho, although felt very, very long.

8) Orwell. Down and Out in Paris and London. A good book about poverty only 70-100 years ago. Also a good perspective for modern complaints about poverty - I have some non-US background for that, so I think many US readers might benefit more.

On the fence. 1) I want to plug Seleukid Royal Economy, just for the hell of it, if you are interested in ancient economy :)

2) Galef. Scout Mindset - on the fence about this one, but it seemed like it was way too long for what it offers. Maybe I've just read a lot of the same stuff ago.

3) Okorafor. Binti - not bad as a YA book, but sci-fi aspects are remarkably bad.

A few more I'm too lazy to type out ;)

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the_third_waveMay 2022

Not one but several individuals have done just that, sometimes going into excruciating detail. James Lindsay (of the hoax grievance studies fame, co-author of "Cynical Theories" [1] - a book which goes a long way into answering this question) has lately made a career out of describing the ins and outs of these things [2 (and elsewhere on that site)]. Charles Pincourt (with Lindsay as editor) wrote Counter Wokecraft: A Field Manual for Combatting the Woke in the University and Beyond [3] which is a more practical description on how to combat this ideology where it has taken hold. There are many other sources but these are a good start.

[1] https://cynicaltheories.com/

[1] https://newdiscourses.com/tag/critical-education-theory/

[3] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59606831-counter-wokecra...

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