<human>:  I have a question about the play The Misanthrope by Molière. Why is Alceste so misanthropic?
<bot>: Alceste is misanthropic because he is a cynic. Cynicism is a philosophical position that holds that human life is meaningless and that people are basically self-interested. Cynics believe that people are not inherently good or bad, but rather that they are motivated by self-interest.