Difference between revisions of "Cynic" - New World Encyclopedia

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This page is about the ancient Greek school of philosophy. For information about the current understanding of the word cynicism, see cynicism. For information about the band, see Cynic (band).

The Cynics were an influential school of ancient Greek and Roman philosophers who played an important role in the development of modern Western thought. They contributed significantly to the Stoic system of ethics, and established a tradition of challenging established beliefs in order to discover truth. They rejected the social values of their time, often flouting conventions in shocking ways to prove their point. Cynics were known for their ascetic lifestyle, having no possessions except a cloak, staff and wallet. They lived by the precept that virtue is the only good, and emphasized the value of physical activity and hard work in attaining it.

History

The earliest Cynic, according to Diogenes Laertius, was Antisthenes (c. 444-365 B.C.E.), who, he says, “was the original cause of the apathy of Diogenes, and the temperance of Crates, and the patience of Zeno, having himself, as it were, laid the foundations of the city which they afterwards built.” A pupil of Socrates, Antisthenes took the precept that “virtue is the only good,” and the concept of indifference to pain or pleasure, and set about to discover how, through exercise of reason and self-discipline, virtue could be attained. Attaching more importance to the condition of the soul than that of the physical body, he established an ascetic lifestyle, considering material possessions and luxuries as impediments to the freedom of human will.

The name Cynic is thought to be derived either from the gymnasium in Athens called Cynosarges, used by non-Athenian citizens for the worship of Heracles, where Antisthenes, and later Diogenes, gave lectures; or from the Greek word for a dog (kuon), in contemptuous allusion to the uncouth and aggressive manners adopted by the members of the school.

Diogenes of Sinope (404-323 B.C.E.), a follower of Antisthenes, was even more unconventional, flouting social mores, and using abrasive repartee to challenge the self-importance of other philosophers. He lived an extremely ascetic life, sleeping in a tub and carrying only a wallet and staff. He ate and drank in markets and public places, and developed the practice of shamelessness. His student, Crates (365-285 B.C.E.) was the teacher of Zeno of Citium, who became founder of the Stoic school. Crates and his wife Hipparchia, the first known female Cynic, set a public example by appearing everywhere together and raising their family as ascetics.

Cynicism faded in popularity as Stoicism took hold, partly because of its impracticality and because it did not offer solutions to many of the problems of philosophy. A modified form of Cynicism experienced a resurgence in Rome during the 1st and 2nd centuries C.E.. Roman Cynics included Oenomaus, and Demetrius and Demonax, praised in the works of Seneca and Lucian. In addition, their extreme lifestyle and their inclination to harshly question everything made Cynics the subject of humor in many literary and dramatic works.

Thought and Works

None of the original works of the Cynics have survived, although Diogenes Laertes makes reference to books and letters written by Antisthenes, Crates and Hipparchia. Our understanding of Cynic thought and ethics comes from the quotes attributed to them and anecdotes related by later writers, whose stories may have been colored by exaggeration. An important source is Diogenes Laertius’ Lives of Eminent Philosophers, which includes biographies of all the early Cynics.

The Cynics drew many of their precepts from Socrates, but carried them to extreme conclusions. The most important tenet, “Virtue is the only good, all else is vice,” was the basis for all aspects of Cynic thought. Virtue was a life lived in accordance with natural order, guided by reason and characterized by self-sufficiency and strength. Human will, when exercised in freedom, sought only virtue. Material possessions, luxuries, fame and power were regarded as impediments to freedom. A life of asceticism (askesis) and hard work was necessary to train the body to follow reason. Self-sufficiency was achieved by reducing the necessities of life to the bare minimum; Cynics were known for walking about with only a worn cloak, a staff and a wallet.

Freedom was considered to have three aspects, personal freedom (eleutheria) (the freedom to act in pursuit of virtue); self-sufficiency (autarkeia) (freedom from social and financial obligations); and freedom of speech (parrhēsia)(freedom to speak frankly). A person who was not dependent on society was free to speak out in criticism of it. They coined the term "kosmopolites," or citizen of the cosmos, to counter the great importance attached at the time to Athenian citizenship and to emphasize that they were instead citizens of the greater natural world.

Cynics ceaselessly questioned existing conventions and ideas in order to discover what was really true. They held that moral law took precedence over civil law, and rejected any law or custom which did not advance virtue. They practiced shamelessness , saying that anything virtuous enough to do in private was virtuous enough to be done in public. Rhetoric and dialogue were used to expose the weaknesses of philosophical propositions, and coarse repartee to expose the personal weaknesses of their acquaintances. The Cynic intention in tearing down old ideas was to allow better ones to appear in their place.

The Cynics placed importance on actions rather than words. They rejected the metaphysical and the theoretical, and focused on ethics and the practical application of their ideas. They conceived a life of asceticism as the shortest path to virtue, but understood that their way was difficult for most people to follow. Their methods resulted in pronounced individualism and isolation from the mainstream of society.

Cynics were nominalists; they believed the only reality was that which could be experienced by the senses, and rejected definition or predication. Ideas did not exist outside of the mind that thought them. The modern term “cynic” denotes someone who has a consistent skeptical attitude towards everything, and who criticizes without offering a better solution. This was untrue of the original Cynics, who attacked the values of their Greek society and government in order to establish values which were more in accordance with virtue and the natural world.

The greatest Cynic legacy is the ethics which they bequeathed to Stoicism. The Cynics firmly established the responsibility of each individual to live a moral life, and the importance of self-discipline and indifference to pleasure or pain in the pursuit of virtue. They also established a tradition of questioning the validity of every assumption until proof can be found, a practice which has continued to advance modern philosophy and science. Crates, the third major proponent of Cynicism, is credited with teaching Zeno of Citium, who later founded the Stoic school.

The extreme ascetic lifestyle and abrasive manner of the early Cynics became material for many anecdotes and humorous references in the literature and drama of the succeeding centuries. There are numerous references to Cynicism in the writings of later philosophers. Early Christians admired the mendicant lifestyle and self-discipline of the Cynics, though not their freedom of expression.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

Branham, Bracht and Marie-Odile Goulet-Cazé, eds. The Cynics: The Cynic Movement in Antiquity and Its Legacy. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996.
Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, Vols.I and II, tr. R. D. Hicks. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1925 (reprint 1995), VI.96-98.
Dudley, D.R.., A History of Cynicism: From Diogenes to the Sixth Century AD. London, 1937 (reprint Ares Publishing, 1980).
Long, A.A. and David N. Sedley, eds. The Hellenistic Philosophers, Volume 1 and Volume 2. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987.
Malherbe, Abraham J. The Cynic Epistles Scholar’s Press, Atlanta, 1997, p. 78-83.

External links

In Our Time on the Cynics

Christ and the Cynics

Cynic School of Philosophy - Catholic Encyclopedia article

[1]Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 :''This page is about the ancient Greek school of philosophy. For information about the current understanding of the word cynicism, see [[cynicism]]. For information about the band, see [[Cynic (band)]].''
-The '''Cynics''' were an influential [[School (discipline)|school]] of ancient [[philosopher]]s. They rejected the social values of their time, often flouting conventions in shocking ways to prove their point. They challenged their listeners to get in touch with their "natural" animal side.
+The Cynics were an influential school of ancient [[Hellenistic philosophy|Greek]] and [[Roman philosophy|Roman]] philosophers who played an important role in the development of modern [[Western thought]].  They contributed significantly to the [[Stoicism|Stoic]] system of [[ethics]], and established a tradition of challenging established beliefs in order to discover truth. They rejected the social values of their time, often flouting conventions in shocking ways to prove their point.  Cynics were known for their [[asceticism|ascetic lifestyle]], having no possessions except a cloak, staff and wallet. They lived by the precept that virtue is the only good, and emphasized the value of physical activity and hard work in attaining it.
-Their name is thought to be derived either from the building in Athens called Cynosarges, the earliest home of the school, or from the Greek word for a dog (''kuon''), in contemptuous allusion to the uncouth and aggressive manners adopted by the members of the school. Whichever of these explanations is correct, it is noticeable that the Cynics agreed in taking a dog as their common badge or symbol, as early as the [[tomb stone|tombstone]] of [[Diogenes of Sinope]]. From a popular conception of the intellectual characteristics of the school comes the modern sense of "cynic," implying a sneering disposition to disbelieve in the goodness of human motives and a contemptuous feeling of superiority.
+== History ==
+The earliest Cynic, according to [[Diogenes Laertius]], was [[Antisthenes]] (c. 444-365  b.c.e), who, he says, “was the original cause of the apathy of [[Diogenes of Sinope|Diogenes]], and the temperance of [[Crates]], and the patience of [[Zeno of Citium|Zeno]], having himself, as it were, laid the foundations of the city which they afterwards built.”  A pupil of [[Socrates]], Antisthenes took the precept that “virtue is the only good,” and the concept of indifference to pain or pleasure, and set about to discover how, through exercise of reason and self-discipline, virtue could be attained.  Attaching more importance to the condition of the soul than that of the physical body, he established an ascetic lifestyle, considering material possessions and luxuries as impediments to the freedom of human will.
-The importance of the school's principles lies not only in their intrinsic value as an ethical system, but also in the fact that they form the link between [[Socrates]] and the [[Stoicism|Stoics]], between the essentially Greek philosophy of the [[4th century B.C.E.]] and a system of thought which has exercised a profound and far-reaching influence on [[medieval]] and modern ethics. From the time of Socrates in unbroken succession up to the reign of [[Hadrian]], the school was represented by men of strong individuality. The leading earlier Cynics were [[Antisthenes]], [[Diogenes of Sinope]], [[Crates of Thebes]], and [[Zeno of Citium|Zeno]]; in the later Roman period, the chief names are [[Demetrius Phalereus|Demetrius]] (the friend of [[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]]), [[Oenomaus]] and [[Demonax]]. All these men adhered steadfastly to the principles laid down by [[Antisthenes]].
+The name Cynic is thought to be derived either from the gymnasium in Athens called [[Cynosarges]], used by non-Athenian citizens for the worship of Heracles, where Antisthenes, and later Diogenes, gave lectures; or from the Greek word for a dog (kuon), in contemptuous allusion to the uncouth and aggressive manners adopted by the members of the school.
-Antisthenes was a pupil of Socrates, from whom he imbibed the fundamental ethical precept that virtue, not pleasure, is the end of existence. He was, therefore, in the forefront of that intellectual revolution in the course of which speculation ceased to move in the realms of the physical and focused itself upon human reason in its application to the practical conduct of life. "Virtue," says Socrates, "is knowledge": in the ultimate harmony of morality with reason is to be found the only true existence of man. Antisthenes adopted this principle in its most literal sense, and proceeded to explain "knowledge" in the narrowest terms of practical action and decision, excluding from the conception everything except the problem of individual will realizing itself in the sphere of ordinary existence. Just as in logic the inevitable result was the purest nominalism, so in ethics he was driven to individualism, to the denial of social and national relations, and to the exclusion of scientific study and of almost all that the Greeks understood by education. This individualism he and his followers carried to its logical conclusion. The ordinary pleasures of life were for them not merely negligible but positively harmful inasmuch as they interrupted the operation of the will. Wealth, popularity and power tend to dethrone the authority of reason and to pervert the soul from the natural to the artificial. Man exists for and in himself alone; his highest end is self-knowledge and self-realization in conformity with the dictates of his reason, apart altogether from the state and society. For this end, disrepute and poverty are advantageous, in so far as they drive back the man upon himself, increasing his self-control and purifying his intellect from the dross of the external. The good man (i.e. the wise man) wants nothing: like the gods, he is self-sufficing; "let men gain wisdom—or buy a rope"; he is a citizen of the world, not of a particular country.
+Diogenes of Sinope (404-323 B.C.E..e.), a follower of Antisthenes, was even more unconventional, flouting social mores, and using abrasive repartee to challenge the self-importance of other philosophers.  He  lived an extremely ascetic life, sleeping in a tub and carrying only a wallet and staff.  He ate and drank in markets and public places, and developed the practice of shamelessness.  His student, [[Crates]] (365-285 b.c.e.) was the teacher of Zeno of Citium, who became founder of the Stoic school.  Crates and his wife Hipparchia, the first known female Cynic, set a public example by appearing everywhere together and raising their family as ascetics.
-It is not surprising that the pioneers of such a system were criticized and ridiculed by their fellows, and this by no means unjustly. We learn that Diogenes and Crates sought to force their principles upon their fellows in an obtrusive, tactless manner. The very essence of their philosophy was the negation of the graces of social courtesy; it was impossible to "return to nature" in the midst of a society clothed in the accumulated artificiality of evolved convention without shocking the ingrained sensibilities of its members. Nor is it unjust to infer that the sense of opposition provoked some of the Cynics to an overweening display of superiority. At the same time, it is absurd to regard the eccentricities of a few as the characteristics of the school, let alone as a condemnation of the views which they held.
+Cynicism faded in popularity as Stoicism took hold, partly because of its impracticality and because it did not offer solutions to many of the problems of philosophy.  A modified form of Cynicism experienced a resurgence in Rome during the 1st and 2nd centuries C.E..  Roman Cynics included [[Oenomaus]], and Demetrius and [[Demonax]], praised in the works of [[Seneca]] and Lucian.  In addition, their extreme lifestyle and their inclination to harshly question everything made Cynics the subject of humor in many literary and dramatic works.
-In [[logic]] Antisthenes was troubled by the problem of the One and the Many. A [[nominalism|nominalist]] to the core, he held that definition and predication are either false or [[tautology|tautological]]. Ideas do not exist save for the consciousness which thinks them. "A horse," said Antisthenes, "I can see, but horsehood I cannot see." Definition is merely a circuitous method of stating an identity:
+== Thought and Works ==
+None of the original works of the Cynics have survived, although Diogenes Laertes makes reference to books and letters written by Antisthenes, Crates and Hipparchia.  Our understanding of Cynic thought and ethics comes from the quotes attributed to them and anecdotes related by later writers, whose stories may have been colored by exaggeration.  An important source is Diogenes Laertius’ ''Lives of Eminent Philosophers,'' which includes biographies of all the early Cynics.
-:"a tree is a vegetable growth" is logically no more than "a tree is a tree."
+The Cynics drew many of their precepts from Socrates, but carried them to extreme conclusions.  The most important tenet, “Virtue is the only good, all else is vice,” was the basis for all aspects of Cynic thought.  Virtue was a life lived in accordance with natural order, guided by reason and characterized by self-sufficiency and strength.  Human will, when exercised in freedom, sought only virtue.  Material possessions, luxuries, fame and power were regarded as impediments to freedom.  A life of asceticism (''askesis'') and hard work was necessary to train the body to follow reason.  Self-sufficiency was achieved by reducing  the necessities of life to the bare minimum;  Cynics were known for walking about with only a worn cloak, a staff and a wallet.
-Cynicism appears to have had a considerable vogue in Rome in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. Demetrius and Demonax are highly praised by Seneca and [[Lucian]] respectively. It is probable that these later Cynics adapted themselves somewhat to the times in which they lived and avoided the crude extravagance of Diogenes and others. But they undoubtedly maintained the spirit of Antisthenes unimpaired and held an honourable place in Roman thought. This very popularity had the effect of attracting into their ranks charlatans of the worst type. Thus, in Rome also Cynicism was partly the butt of the satirist and partly the ideal of the thinker.
+Freedom was considered to have three aspects, personal freedom (''eleutheria'') (the freedom to act in pursuit of virtue); self-sufficiency (''autarkeia'') (freedom from social and financial obligations); and  freedom of speech (''parrhēsia'')(freedom to speak frankly).  A person who was not dependent on society was free to speak out in criticism of it. They coined the term "''kosmopolites''," or citizen of the cosmos, to counter the great importance attached at the time to Athenian citizenship and to emphasize that they were instead citizens of the greater natural world.
-Disregarding all the accidental excrescences of the doctrine, Cynicism must be regarded as a most valuable development and as a real asset in the sum of ethical speculation. With all its defective psychology, its barren logic, its immature technique, it emphasized two great and necessary truths, firstly, the absolute responsibility of the individual as the moral unit, and, secondly, the autocracy of the will. These two principles are sufficient ground for our gratitude to these "athletes of righteousness" (as [[Epictetus]] calls them). Furthermore they are profoundly important as the precursors of [[Stoicism]]. The closeness of the connection is illustrated by [[Juvenal]]'s epigram that a Cynic differed from a Stoic only by his cloak. Zeno was a pupil of Crates, from whom he learned the moral worth of self-control and indifference to sensual indulgence.
+Cynics ceaselessly questioned existing conventions and ideas in order to discover what was really true.  They held that moral law took precedence over civil law, and rejected any law or custom which did not advance virtue.  They practiced shamelessness , saying that anything virtuous enough to do in private was virtuous enough to be done in public.  [[Rhetoric]] and [[dialogue]] were used to expose the weaknesses of philosophical propositions, and coarse repartee to expose the personal weaknesses of their acquaintances.  The Cynic intention in tearing down old ideas was to allow better ones to appear in their place.
+The Cynics placed importance on actions rather than words.  They rejected the metaphysical and the theoretical, and focused on ethics and the practical application of their ideas.  They conceived a life of asceticism as the shortest path to virtue, but understood that their way was difficult for most people to follow.  Their methods resulted in pronounced [[individualism]] and isolation from the mainstream of society.
+Cynics were [[nominalism|nominalists]]; they believed the only reality was that which could be experienced by the senses, and rejected definition or predication.  Ideas did not exist outside of the mind that thought them.
+The modern term “cynic” denotes someone who has a consistent [[skeptic|skeptical]] attitude towards everything, and who criticizes without offering a better solution.  This was untrue of the original Cynics, who attacked the values of their Greek society and government in order to establish values which were more in accordance with virtue and the natural world.
+The greatest Cynic legacy is the ethics which they bequeathed to Stoicism.  The Cynics firmly established the responsibility of each individual to live a moral life, and the importance of self-discipline and indifference to pleasure or pain in the pursuit of virtue.  They also established a tradition of questioning the validity of every assumption until proof can be found, a practice which has continued to advance modern philosophy and science.
+Crates, the third major proponent of Cynicism, is credited with teaching Zeno of Citium, who later founded the Stoic school.
+The extreme ascetic lifestyle and  abrasive manner of the early Cynics became material for many anecdotes and humorous references in the literature and drama of the succeeding centuries. There are numerous references to Cynicism in the writings of later philosophers.  [[Early Christianity|Early Christians]] admired the mendicant lifestyle and self-discipline of the Cynics, though not their freedom of expression.
+== References ==
+*Branham, Bracht and Marie-Odile Goulet-Cazé, eds. ''The Cynics: The Cynic Movement in Antiquity and Its Legacy''. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996.
+*Diogenes Laertius, ''Lives of Eminent Philosophers, Vols.I and II'', tr. R. D. Hicks. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1925 (reprint 1995), VI.96-98.
+*Dudley, D.R.., ''A History of Cynicism: From Diogenes to the Sixth Century AD.''  London, 1937 (reprint Ares Publishing, 1980).
+*Long, A.A. and David N. Sedley, eds. ''The Hellenistic Philosophers, Volume 1 and Volume 2''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987.
+*Malherbe, Abraham J. ''The Cynic Epistles '' Scholar’s Press, Atlanta, 1997, p. 78-83.
-Finally it is necessary to point out two flaws in the Cynic philosophy. In the first place, the content of the word "knowledge" is never properly developed. "Virtue is knowledge"; knowledge of what? and how is that knowledge related to the will? These questions were never properly answered by them. Secondly they fell into the natural error of emphasizing the purely animal side of the "nature" that was their ethical criterion. Avoiding the artificial restraints of civilization, they were prone to fall back into animalism pure and simple. Many of them upheld the principle of community of wives (see [[Diogenes Laertius|Diogenes Laërtius]] vi. II); some of them are said to have outraged the dictates of public decency. It was left to the Stoics to separate the wheat from the chaff, and to assign to the words "knowledge" and "nature" a saner and more comprehensive meaning.
-''This entry has been very lightly edited from the [[1911 Encyclopedia Britannica]].''
 ==External links==
 *[http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/inourtime/inourtime_20051020.shtml In Our Time on the Cynics]
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 *[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04582a.htm Cynic School of Philosophy] - Catholic Encyclopedia article
+*[http://www.iep.utm.edu/c/cynics.htm]Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
 {{wiktionary}}
+*
 [[Category:Philosophical movements]]