Misanthropy: Hatred of the Human Race Quiz

Answer: Arthur Schopenhauer

Schopenhauer was a controversial 19th century philosopher with opinions on many sociological issues. As well as the many misanthropic tendencies he exhibited including the sort of statements as given above, he had a clear stance on, amongst other things, eugenics and the role of women. Regarding the topic of eugenics, he believed that character and intelligence were inherited from the father and the mother respectively. He therefore put forth the theory that a "better" race could be achieved by the procreation between magnanimity in males and intelligence in females. There are parallels here with the 20th century attempt to produce another master race, the herrenvolk, by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. The misanthropic Schopenhauer's view on eugenics is said to have been a great influence on the later philosophy of a fellow German thinker, Friedrich Nietzsche.

Regarding women, Schopenhauer stated that "...woman is by nature meant to obey." Despite this he did believe that women held many good traits including their ability to be more sympathetic to others. This has been criticised by many as being a weakness than being his true evaluation of the role of women in society.

This interesting man was surprisingly liberal in some aspects for his time. He was opposed to many taboos including those held against homosexuals. This brings forth a very interesting point about misanthropy which is that even though they have a general dislike of humankind and don't wish to be around people, they aren't inherently evil and vengeful to the human race.

Answer: Finland

Linkola's misanthropy stems from the fact that he believes the destruction of the environment is entirely the fault of humankind. His misanthropic views were at times worryingly radical especially when it came to the topic of human tragedy. He said in a "Wall Street Journal" interview that a third world war would be,"a happy occasion for the planet...If there were a button I could press, I would sacrifice myself without hesitating, if it meant millions of people would die." He has also made his opinion of the Holocaust known.

He described the way that millions of Jews and other victims of Nazi ideology died as "ideally painless means, without any damage to the environment."

Answer: Molière

Molière's play, "Le Misanthrope", is a comedy in which the playwright particularly satirises the behaviour of social classes. The protagonist of the play, Alceste, is stereotypically misanthropic with his constant criticisms of other characters. He even criticises himself as he hates the habits of humans. Despite hating the personal behaviour of another character, Célimène, he cannot deny his love for her.

After initially being unsuccessful, the play is now one of Molière's most renowned. There have been many debates over the years as to whether there is any sort of connection between the attitude and behaviour of Molière and his creation, Alceste.

Answer: Athens

Athens, the capital of Greece, is known for many things, most notably its extensive history and mythology. Greece is world renowned as the place of birth of both the Olympics and democracy. Shakespeare clearly was interested enough in Greece to construct one of his inimitable pieces of literature about the country.

This very confusing piece is basically about the life of Timon, an Athenian lord, a very wealthy lord at that. He is lavish and exuberant which would ultimately prove to be his downfall.

After spending all of his money, his "friends" were nowhere to be found. After this moment of what he perceived as betrayal he became withdrawn and misanthropic. Alternatively, it may have just been a realisation of human greed? He later found himself wealthy again but never took back those who betrayed him.

Answer: Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was not only a clash between the political ideologies of communist Vietnam and democratic USA, but, also an ideological battle an a grand scale between ardent anti-communists and the pacifist population. It is infamous for its use of chemical defoliants, most notably Agent Orange.

The effects of this chemical are reported to be still seen in many clusters of the Vietnamese population. Ayn Rand was never one to shy away from controversy. She held controversial opinions on many aspects of philosophy and on humanity in general, including her thoughts on gender and sexuality. Such thoughts, which she was of course very vocal about, included the belief that homosexuality is "disgusting" and actively defended the ability of businesses to be discriminatory.

The discrimination wasn't however limited to sexuality but also included race.

Answer: Reinhard Heydrich

Reinhard Heydrich who chaired the committee at Wannsee was one of the minds behind the 'Final Solution to the Jewish Question' or, in German, 'Die Endlösung der Judenfrage'. The outcome was the extermination of European Jews by the horrifying systematic methods used in concentration camps such as those in Auschwitz-Birkenau and Treblinka. On a personal level, Heydrich was a cold character. Bullied in his youth, this young man had desire and ambition and his misanthropy aided his acceleration through the ranks of the SS (Schutzstaffel) militant organisation.

Whilst still in his 30s, he had been promoted to second in command of the SS with his only superior being the Reichsfuehrer-SS, Heinrich Himmler. He was eventually assassinated in 1942 which had devastating repercussions across Germany and Czechoslovakia.

Answer: Dr Gregory House

Gregory House MD, played by the award-winning British actor Hugh Laurie, is described as being a polymath due to his grasp of several languages and his amazing ability to diagnose rare conditions where other doctors fail. His social philosophy is that "everybody lies".

He was married to a lawyer and had no children, but, due to his misanthropy, he fails to let anybody close to him and is forever sarcastic and cutting to those who try to befriend him. His addiction to the narcotic, Vicodin, is believed to be one of the reasons for his contempt of humanity, however, his ex-wife made it known that he was always misanthropic.

Answer: Florence King

Florence King is a self-confessed misanthrope and for years penned a column in the 'National Review' magazine, an influential piece of literature regarding American Republicanism and conservatism. The title of her first (earlier) column was,'The Misanthrope's Corner' and her second (later) column was entitled,'The Bent Pin'. King's misanthropy was at times witty and humourous and one such example is as follows,"The American attention span always has gotten a lot of attention.

The first to note our easy distractibility was Alexis de Tocqueville.

His findings were echoed by Frederick Jackson Turner, but being an American, Turner used the more tactful and romantic 'restlessness'".

Answer: HL Mencken

HL Mencken was not so much misanthropic, but rather, amused by society and all of its popular notions. Such notions included the concept of democracy which he believed was to satisfy the will of common men to feel important. It could be argued that Mencken played the devil's advocate in order for his writing, featured in newspaper columns and books, to shock. For instance, he took an anti-American stance in favour of European culture and denounced all things Americana.

He even went as far as insulting the American middle classes by rather amusingly referring to them as the "Booboisie" and riskier still insulted the entire state of Arkansas by labelling it the "apex of moronia". Perhaps an indication of his misanthropy, Mencken described marriage as the "end of hope", however, he later went on to marry Sara Haardt. Haardt, an English professor later died of meningitis, leaving the satirical Mencken distraught.

Answer: Kefka

Kefka was a nihilist and proclaimed that all human life is of no worth and there is no meaning for the existence of humanity and culture and his ultimate aim was to exterminate the human population. Despite these strong and controversial views, the character was a feeble being and that ultimately led to his downfall.

The three incorrect answers (Brock, Ash and Giovanni) are all characters from the successful anime production,'Pokémon'.

Thanks for playing this rather mixed quiz! I hope you enjoyed.