Cynicism entails a certain detachment of the cynic from perceived baser human nature he/she is divorced from. Whether this is due to a desire to be seen as 'above' things or whether it is simply necessary to step beyond the situation in order to access it is different in intention but not in kind.

Which is why, when one forays deeper into academics (and gets far too embroiled in it for good measure), one naturally becomes more 'cynical', as it is almost a necessity that one is highly detached in order to categorize people, label events and speculate unemotionally about issues, all in the name of theory.