(zynische Vernunft) German philosopher Sloterdijk, Peter’s term for what he calls enlightened false consciousness. In his unexpectedly bestselling book, Kritik der zynischen Vernunft (1983), translated as The Critique of Cynical Reason (1987), Sloterdijk describes cynical reason as the end of the ideal, central to both the Enlightenment and Marxism, that an increase in our understanding of the true nature of the world will necessarily bring about social change. Žižek, Slavoj defines cynical reason as the feeling that we know very well that our present situation is invidious, but all the same we act as though it isn’t. Global inaction, relatively speaking, in the face of knowledge about climate change is a perfect case in point. Even though we tell ourselves we know we are heading for a planet-wide disaster, we act as though nothing is wrong. See also instrumental reason.