make people friendless and unhappy. Defenders of misanthropy have responded by pointing out that this applies only to some forms of misanthropy but not to misanthropy in general. A related issue concerns the question of the psychological and social factors that cause people to become misanthropes. Important factors include becoming disillusioned with someone that was adored before, socio-economic inequality, and living under an authoritarian regime. Misanthropy is relevant in various disciplines. It has been discussed and exemplified by philosophers throughout history. Examples include Heraclitus, Diogenes, Thomas Hobbes, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Arthur Schopenhauer, and Friedrich Nietzsche. Misanthropic outlooks form part of some religious teachings discussing the deep flaws of human beings, like the Christian doctrine of original sin. Misanthropic perspectives and characters are also found in literature and popular culture. They include William Shakespeare's portrayal of Timon of Athens, Molière's play The Misanthrope, and Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift. Misanthropy is closely related to but not identical to philosophical pessimism. Many misanthropes promote antinatalism, the view that humans should abstain from procreation. Definition Misanthropy (a word of 17th century origin, from the Greek misanthrōpos) is traditionally defined as hatred or dislike of humankind. In contemporary philosophy, the term is usually understood in a wider sense as a negative evaluation of humanity as a whole based on humanity's vices and flaws. This negative evaluation can express itself in various forms, hatred being only one of them. In this sense, misanthropy has a cognitive component based on a negative assessment of humanity and is not just a blind rejection. Misanthropy is usually contrasted with philanthropy, which refers to the love of humankind and is associated with efforts to increase human well-being, for example, through charitable aid or donations. However, the two terms do not contradict each other and the same person may be a misanthrope in one sense and a philanthrope in another sense. One important aspect of all forms of misanthropy is that their target is not local but ubiquitous. So the negative attitude is not just directed at some individual persons or groups of people but at humanity as a whole. This distinguishes misanthropes from racists, misogynists, and misandrists, which hold a negative attitude toward certain races or genders. So these forms of discrimination and intolerance are not general characteristics of misanthropes. It has been argued that misanthropy does not need to be universal in the sense that a person literally dislikes