Cynic

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Statue of an unknown Cynic philosopher from the Capitoline Museum in Rome. This statue is a Roman-era copy of an earlier Greek statue from the 3rd or 2nd century BC. The scroll in his right hand is an 18th century restoration.
Statue of an unknown Cynic philosopher from the Capitoline Museum in Rome. This statue is a Roman-era copy of an earlier Greek statue from the 3rd or 2nd century BC. The scroll in his right hand is an 18th century restoration.

The Cynics (Greek: Κυνικοί, Latin: Cynici) were an influential group of philosophers from the ancient school of Cynicism. Their philosophy was that the purpose of life was to live a life of Virtue in agreement with Nature. The name Cynic derives from the Greek word for Dog (Greek: κύων, kyôn, genitive: kynos), a Cynic declared that "other dogs bite their enemies, I bite my friends to save them."[1]

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Various philosophers, such as the Pythagoreans, had advocated simple living in the centuries preceding the Cynics. In the early sixth 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.[2] Perhaps of importance were tales of Indian philosophers, known to later Greeks as the Gymnosophists, who had adopted a strict asceticism together with a disrespect for established laws and customs.[3] 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,[4] together with a disdain for general opinion.[5] 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.

The story of Cynicism traditionally begins with Antisthenes, who was an older contemporary of Plato and a pupil of Socrates. At about 25 years his junior, Antisthenes was one of the most important of Socrates' disciples.[6] Although later classical authors had little doubt about labelling him as the founder of Cynicism, his philosophical views seem to be more complex than the later simplicities of pure Cynicism. It is notable that in the list of works ascribed to Antisthenes by Diogenes Laërtius, writings on Language, Dialogue and Literature far outnumber those on Ethics or Politics,[7] although it is quite possible he wrote many of these works in his youth. It is certainly true that Antisthenes preached a life of poverty:

I have enough to eat till my hunger is stayed, to drink till my thirst is sated; to clothe myself as well; and out of doors not [even] Callias there, with all his riches, is more safe than I from shivering; and when I find myself indoors, what warmer shirting do I need than my bare walls?[8]

He may have lectured at the Cynosarges, the gymnasium for outsiders at Athens, and later writers suggested that this may have been one possible derivation for the word "Cynic."

Diogenes of Sinope dominates the story of Cynicism like no other figure. He originally came to Athens, fleeing his home city, after he and his father, who was in charge of the mint at Sinope, got into trouble for falsifying the coinage.[7] (The phrase "defacing the currency" later became proverbial in describing Diogenes' rejection of conventional values.) Later tradition claimed that Diogenes became the disciple of Antisthenes, but it is by no means certain that they ever met. What is true is that Diogenes adopted Antisthenes teachings and embraced the ascetic way of life, adopting a lifestyle of self-sufficiency (autarkeia), austerity (askēsis), and shamelessness (anaideia).[9] There are countless anecdotes about his extravagant asceticism (sleeping in a tub), shameless behaviour (eating raw meat), and his biting satire (on travelling from Sparta to Athens: "I am going from the men's apartments to the women's"),[7] and although it is impossible to tell which of these stories are genuine, they do illustrate the broad character of the man, including an ethical seriousness. He became known as "the Dog"[10] (Greek: κύων, kyôn) which is the likeliest derivation of the word "Cynic."

Crates of Thebes is the third figure who dominates Cynic history. He is notable because he renounced a large fortune to live a life of Cynic poverty in Athens.[7] He is said to have been a pupil of Diogenes, but again this is uncertain. Crates married Hipparchia after she had fallen in love with him and together they lived like beggars on the streets of Athens,[11] where Crates was treated with respect.[12] Crates' later fame (apart from his unconventional lifestyle) lies in the fact that he became the teacher of Zeno of Citium, the founder of Stoicism. The Cynic strain to be found in early Stoicism (such as Zeno's own radical views on sexual equality spelled out in his Republic) can be ascribed to Crates' influence.

There were many other Cynics around in the 4th and 3rd centuries BC, including Onesicritus (who sailed with Alexander the Great to India), and the moral satirists Bion of Borysthenes and Menippus of Gadara. However, with the rise of Stoicism in the 3rd century BC, Cynicism as a serious philosophical activity underwent a decline, and it is not until we reach the Roman era that there seems to be a Cynic revival.

Cynicism is one of the most striking of all the Hellenistic philosophies. It offered 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 summarised as follows:[13][14]

  1. The goal of life is happiness which is to live in agreement with Nature.
  2. Happiness depends on being self-sufficient, and a master of mental attitude.
  3. Self-sufficiency is achieved by living a life of Virtue.
  4. The road to Virtue is to free oneself from any influence such as wealth, fame, or power, which have no value in Nature.
  5. Suffering is caused by false judgments of value, which cause negative emotions and a vicious character.

A Cynic, then, has no property and rejects all conventional values of money, fame, power or 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 Hercules as their hero, as epitomizing the ideal Cynic.

The Cynical way of life required continuous training, not just in exercising one's 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.[7]

None of this meant that the Cynic would retreat from society, far from it, Cynics would live in the full glare of the public's gaze and would 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)."[7]

The ideal Cynic would evangelise; as the watchdog of humanity, it was their job 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, by concentrating solely on ethics, Cynicism had limited goals, Cynic ethical philosophy had a big 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."[15]

Cynicism appears to have had a considerable vogue in the Roman Empire. Demetrius and Demonax are highly praised by Seneca[16] and Lucian[17] respectively. Cynicism in Rome was both the butt of the satirist and the ideal of the thinker.

Cynicism emphasized two principles: the absolute responsibility of the individual as the moral unit, and the autocracy of the will. These principles led Epictetus to eulogise the ideal Cynic in a lengthy discourse.[18] Epictetus' idea of Cynicism is undoubtedly a Stoic one: according to Epictetus, the ideal Cynic "must know that he is sent as a messenger from Zeus to people concerning good and bad things, to show them that they have wandered."[19] Unfortunately for Epictetus, many Cynics of the era did not live up to the ideal: "consider the present Cynics who are dogs that wait at tables, and in no respect imitate the Cynics of old except perchance in breaking wind."[20]

Cynicism seems to have thrived into the 4th century. The Emperor Julian (ruled 361-363 AD), like Epictetus, praised the ideal Cynic and complained about the actual practitioners of Cynicism.[21]

The final Cynic we hear about is Sallustius of Emesa in the late 5th century.[22] A student of the Neoplatonic philosopher Isidore of Alexandria, he devoted himself to living a life of Cynic asceticism.

See also: Category:Cynic philosophers

Greek-era Cynics:

Roman era Cynics:

  • Branham, Goulet-Cazé, (editors), The Cynics: The Cynic Movement in Antiquity and Its Legacy. University of California Press. (1996).
  • Dudley, D., A History Of Cynicism from Diogenes to the 6th Century A.D. Cambridge. (1937).
  • Navia, L., Classical Cynicism: A Critical Study. Greenwood Press. (1996).
  • Prince, S., Socrates, Antisthenes, and the Cynics. in A Companion to Socrates, ed. Ahbel-Rappe and Kamtekar. Blackwell Publishing. (2005).
  • Urmson, J., Rée, J., The Concise Encyclopedia of Western Philosophy. Routledge. (2005).

  1. ^ Diogenes of Sinope, from Stobaeus, Florilegium, iii. 13. 44.
  2. ^ Martin, R., "The Scythian Accent: Anacharsis and the Cynics," in The Cynics: The Cynic Movement in Antiquity and Its Legacy. (ed. Branham and Goulet-Cazé), University of California Press, (1996).
  3. ^ Romm, J., "Dog Heads and Noble Savages: Cynicism before the Cynics," in The Cynics: The Cynic Movement in Antiquity and Its Legacy. (ed. Branham and Goulet-Cazé), University of California Press, (1996).
  4. ^ Plato, Apology, 41e.
  5. ^ Xenophon, Apology, 1.
  6. ^ Xenophon, Symposium, 4.57-64.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Diogenes Laërtius, The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, VI
  8. ^ Xenophon, Symposium, 4.34.
  9. ^ Sarton, G., Ancient Science Through the Golden Age of Greece, Dover Publications. (1980).
  10. ^ An obscure reference to "the Dog" in Aristotle's Rhetoric (3.10.1411a25) is generally agreed to be the first reference to Diogenes.
  11. ^ Although there is no evidence that they actually did beg.
  12. ^ Plutarch, Symposiacs, 2.1.
  13. ^ Kidd, I., "Cynicism," in The Concise Encyclopedia of Western Philosophy. (ed. Urmson and Rée), Routledge. (2005)
  14. ^ Long, A. A., "The Socratic Tradition: Diogenes, Crates, and Hellenistic Ethics," in The Cynics: The Cynic Movement in Antiquity and Its Legacy. (ed. Branham and Goulet-Cazé), University of California Press, (1996).
  15. ^ Diogenes Laërtius, The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, VII
  16. ^ Seneca, On Benefits, Book VII.
  17. ^ Lucian, Life of Demonax.
  18. ^ Epictetus, Discourses, 3. 22.
  19. ^ Epictetus, Discourses, 3. 22. 23
  20. ^ Epictetus, Discourses, 3. 22. 80
  21. ^ Julian, Oration 6: To the Uneducated Cynics; Oration 7: To the Cynic Heracleios.
  22. ^ Damascius, Life of Isidorus: fragments preserved in the Commentary on Plato's Parmenides by Proclus, in the Bibliotheca of Photius, and in The Suda.

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