Cynicism () is a school of thought in ancient Greek philosophy, originating in the Classical period and extending into the Hellenistic and Roman Imperial periods. According to Cynicism, people are reasoning animals, and the purpose of life and the way to gain happiness is to achieve virtue, in agreement with nature, following one's natural sense of reason by living simply and shamelessly free from social constraints. The Cynics (, ) rejected all conventional desires for wealth, power, pleasure, glory, social recognition, conformity, and worldly possessions and even flouted such conventions openly and derisively in public.
The first philosopher to outline these themes was Antisthenes, who had been a pupil of Socrates in the late 400s BC. He was followed by Diogenes, who lived in a ceramic jar on the streets of Athens.Laërtius & Hicks 1925, VI:23; Jerome, Adversus Jovinianum, 2.14. Diogenes took Cynicism to its logical extremes with his famous public demonstrations of non-conformity, coming to be seen as the archetypal Cynic philosopher. He was followed by Crates of Thebes, who gave away a large fortune so he could live a life of Cynic poverty in Athens.
Cynicism gradually declined in importance after the 3rd century BC, but it experienced a revival with the rise of the Roman Empire in the 1st century. Cynics could be found begging and preaching throughout the cities of the empire, and similar ascetic and rhetorical ideas appeared in early Christianity. By the 19th century, emphasis on the negative aspects of Cynic philosophy led to the modern understanding of cynicism to mean an attitude of disbelief in the sincerity or goodness of human motives and actions.
Origin of the Cynic name The term cynic derives (genitive: kynos).Kynikos, "A Greek-English Lexicon", Liddell and Scott, at Perseus One explanation offered in ancient times for why the Cynics were called "dogs" was because the first Cynic, Antisthenes, taught in the Cynosarges gymnasium at Athens.Diogenes Laërtius, vi. 13. Cf. The Oxford Companion to Classical Literature, 2nd edition, p. 165. The word cynosarges means the "place of the white dog". It seems certain, however, that the word dog was also thrown at the first Cynics as an insult for their shameless rejection of conventional manners, and their decision to live on the streets. Diogenes, in particular, was referred to as the "Dog",An obscure reference to "the Dog" in Aristotle's Rhetoric (3.10.1411a25) is generally agreed to be the first reference to Diogenes. a distinction he seems to have revelled in, stating that "other dogs bite their enemies, I bite my friends to save them."Diogenes of Sinope, quoted by Stobaeus in Anthology, Book 3, Chapter 13, Paragraph 44. "Ὁ Διογένες ἔλεγεν, ὅτι οἱ μὲν ἄλλοι κύνες τοὺς ἐχθροὺς δάκνουσιν, ἐγὼ δὲ τοὺς φίλους, ἵνα σώσω." Later Cynics also sought to turn the word to their advantage, as a later commentator explained:
Philosophy Cynicism is one of the most striking of all the Hellenistic philosophies. It claimed to offer people the possibility of happiness and freedom from suffering in an age of uncertainty. Although there was never an official Cynic doctrine, the fundamental principles of Cynicism can be summarized as follows:Navia, Luis E. Classical Cynicism: A Critical Study. p. 140.
The goal of life is eudaimonia and mental clarity or lucidity (ἁτυφια, atuphia)—literally "freedom from smoke (τύφος, tuphos)" which signified false belief, mindlessness, folly, and conceit. Eudaimonia, or human flourishing, depends on self-sufficiency (αὐτάρκεια, autarkeia), equanimity, arete, love of humanity, parrhesia, and indifference to the vicissitudes of life (adiaphora ἁδιαφορία). Eudaimonia is achieved by living in accord with Nature as understood by human reason. Arrogance (τύφος) is caused by false judgments of value, which cause negative emotions, unnatural desires, and a vicious character. One progresses towards flourishing and clarity through ascetic practices (ἄσκησις, áskēsis) which help one become free from influences such as wealth, fame, and power which have no value in Nature. Instead they promoted living a life of ponos. For the Cynics, this did not seem to mean actual physical work. Diogenes of Sinope, for example, lived by begging, not by doing manual labor. Rather, it means deliberately choosing a hard life—for instance, wearing only a thin cloak and going barefoot in winter. A Cynic practices shamelessness or impudence (Αναιδεια, Anaideia) and defaces the nomos of society: the laws, customs, and social conventions that people take for granted.
Thus a Cynic has no property and rejects all conventional values of money, fame, power and reputation. A life lived according to nature requires only the bare necessities required for existence, and one can become free by unshackling oneself from any needs which are the result of convention. The Cynics adopted Heracles as their hero, as epitomizing the ideal Cynic.Diogenes Laërtius, vi. 2, 71; Dio Chrysostom, Orations, viii. 26–32 ; Pseudo-Lucian, Cynicus , 13; Lucian, De Morte Peregrini , 4, 33, 36. Heracles "was he who brought Cerberus, the hound of Hades, from the underworld, a point of special appeal to the dog-man, Diogenes."Orlando Patterson: Freedom. p. 186 According to Lucian, "Cerberus and Cynic are surely related through the dog."Lucian, Dialogues of the Dead, 21
The Cynic way of life required continuous training, not just in exercising judgments and mental impressions, but a physical training as well: [Diogenes] used to say, that there were two kinds of exercise: that, namely, of the mind and that of the body; and that the latter of these created in the mind such quick and agile impressions at the time of its performance, as very much facilitated the practice of virtue; but that one was imperfect without the other, since the health and vigour necessary for the practice of what is good, depend equally on both mind and body.Diogenes Laërtius, vi. 70
None of this meant that a Cynic would retreat from society. Cynics were in fact to live in the full glare of the public's gaze and be quite indifferent in the face of any insults which might result from their unconventional behaviour. The Cynics are said to have invented the idea of cosmopolitanism: when he was asked where he came from, Diogenes replied that he was "a citizen of the world, (kosmopolitês)."Diogenes Laërtius, vi. 63
The ideal Cynic would evangelise; as the watchdog of humanity, they thought it was their duty to hound people about the error of their ways. The example of the Cynic's life (and the use of the Cynic's biting satire) would dig up and expose the pretensions which lay at the root of everyday conventions. Although Cynicism concentrated primarily on ethics, some Cynics, such as Monimus, addressed epistemology with regard to tuphos (τῦφος) expressing skeptical views.
Cynic philosophy had a major impact on the Hellenistic world, ultimately becoming an important influence for Stoicism. The Stoic Apollodorus, writing in the 2nd century BC, stated that "Cynicism is the short path to virtue."Diogenes Laërtius, vii. 121
History of Cynicism
The classical Greek and Roman Cynics regarded virtue as the only necessity for happiness, and saw virtue as entirely sufficient for attaining it. Classical Cynics followed this philosophy to the extent of neglecting everything not furthering their perfection of virtue and attainment of happiness, thus, the title of Cynic, derived from the Greek word κύων (meaning "dog") because they allegedly neglected society, hygiene, family, money, etc., in a manner reminiscent of dogs. They sought to free themselves from conventions; become self-sufficient; and live only in accordance with nature. They rejected any conventional notions of happiness involving money, power, and fame, to lead entirely virtuous, and thus happy, lives.Cynics – The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
The ancient Cynics rejected conventional social values, and would criticise the types of behaviours, such as greed, which they viewed as causing suffering. Emphasis on this aspect of their teachings led, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries,David Mazella, (2007), The Making of Modern Cynicism, University of Virginia Press. to the modern understanding of cynicism as "an attitude of scornful or jaded negativity, especially a general distrust of the integrity or professed motives of others."Cynicism , The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. Fourth Edition. 2006. Houghton Mifflin Company. This modern definition of cynicism is in marked contrast to the ancient philosophy, which emphasized "virtue and moral freedom in liberation from desire."Bertrand Russell, A History of Western Philosophy, p. 231. Simon and Schuster.
Influences Various philosophers, such as the Pythagoreans, had advocated simple living in the centuries preceding the Cynics. In the early 6th century BC, Anacharsis, a Scythian sage, had combined plain living together with criticisms of Greek customs in a manner which would become standard among the Cynics.R. Martin, The Scythian Accent: Anacharsis and the Cynics, Perhaps of importance were tales of Indian philosophers, known as gymnosophists, who had adopted a strict asceticism. By the 5th century BC, the sophists had begun a process of questioning many aspects of Greek society such as religion, law and ethics. However, the most immediate influence for the Cynic school was Socrates. Although he was not an ascetic, he did profess a love of virtue and an indifference to wealth,Plato, Apology , 41e. together with a disdain for general opinion.Xenophon, Apology , 1. These aspects of Socrates' thought, which formed only a minor part of Plato's philosophy, became the central inspiration for another of Socrates' pupils, Antisthenes.
Symbolisms Cynics were often recognized in the ancient world by their apparel—an old cloak and a staff. The cloak was an allusion to Socrates and his manner of dress, the staff to the club of Heracles. These items became so symbolic of the Cynic vocation that ancient writers accosted those who thought that donning the Cynic garb would make them suited to the philosophy.Epictetus, 3.22
In the social evolution from the archaic age to the classical, the public ceased carrying weapons into the poleis. Originally it was expected that one carried a sword while in the city. However, a transition to spears and then to staffs occurred until wearing any weapon in the city became a foolish old custom.Aristotle, Politics (Aristotle): bk 2, 1268b Thus, the very act of carrying a staff was slightly taboo itself. According to modern theorists, the symbol of the staff was one which both functions as a tool to signal the user's dissociation from physical labour, that is, as a display of conspicuous leisure, and at the same time it also has an association with sport and typically plays a part in hunting and sports clothing. Thus, it displays active and warlike qualities, rather than being a symbol of a weak man's need to support himself.Veblen, 1994 : 162Jon Ploug Jørgensen, The taming of the aristoi – an ancient Greek civilizing process? History of the Human Sciences: July 2014 vol. 27 no. 3, pp. 42–43 The staff itself became a message of how the Cynic was free through its possible interpretation as an item of leisure, but, just as equivalent, was its message of strength—a virtue held in abundance by the Cynic philosopher.
Antisthenes