By the way, I don’t really discuss hufflepuff cynicism in the post itself, and I was a little conflicted about whether to put it in the title. However, I do think the view here is quite central to hufflepuff cynicism. Hufflepuff cynicism is about not holding people to their stated ideals. It’s almost the same thing as not being down on hypocrisy!
I’m far closer to thinking hufflepuff cynicism is bad, though, than I am to thinking this view on hypocrisy is wrong. Hufflepuff cynicism can block corrective measures in a community stuck in a bad equilibrium, because it encourages living with the state of things if you don’t see a definite route to change. It can also make you fail to help others become stronger when they would have been receptive, or make you withhold advice on the mistaken assumption that it would come across as criticism. My view on hypocrisy has none of those problems.
On the other hand, I could see being convinced that the reason I tend toward hufflepuff cynicism is because I have too much patience for hypocrisy. If I also decided hufflepuff cynicism is really bad, then my position would be something like: flinching away from hypocrisy may not exactly be epistemically hygienic, but the norm is so important overall that it’s worth the cost.
By the way, I don’t really discuss hufflepuff cynicism in the post itself, and I was a little conflicted about whether to put it in the title. However, I do think the view here is quite central to hufflepuff cynicism. Hufflepuff cynicism is about not holding people to their stated ideals. It’s almost the same thing as not being down on hypocrisy!
I’m far closer to thinking hufflepuff cynicism is bad, though, than I am to thinking this view on hypocrisy is wrong. Hufflepuff cynicism can block corrective measures in a community stuck in a bad equilibrium, because it encourages living with the state of things if you don’t see a definite route to change. It can also make you fail to help others become stronger when they would have been receptive, or make you withhold advice on the mistaken assumption that it would come across as criticism. My view on hypocrisy has none of those problems.
On the other hand, I could see being convinced that the reason I tend toward hufflepuff cynicism is because I have too much patience for hypocrisy. If I also decided hufflepuff cynicism is really bad, then my position would be something like: flinching away from hypocrisy may not exactly be epistemically hygienic, but the norm is so important overall that it’s worth the cost.