Cynicism (philosophy)
Cynicism (
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.[2] 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,[3] 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 a disposition of disbelief in the sincerity or goodness of human motives and actions.
Origin of the Cynic name
The term cynic derives from
There are four reasons why the Cynics are so named. First because of the indifference of their way of life, for they make a cult of indifference and, like dogs, eat and make love in public, go barefoot, and sleep in tubs and at crossroads. The second reason is that the dog is a shameless animal, and they make a cult of shamelessness, not as being beneath modesty, but as superior to it. The third reason is that the dog is a good guard, and they guard the tenets of their philosophy. The fourth reason is that the dog is a discriminating animal which can distinguish between its friends and enemies. So do they recognize as friends those who are suited to philosophy, and receive them kindly, while those unfitted they drive away, like dogs, by barking at them.[8]
Philosophy
Cynicism is one of the most striking of all the Hellenistic philosophies.[9] 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:[10][11][12]
- The goal of life is eudaimonia and mental clarity or lucidity (ἁτυφια)—literally "freedom from smoke (τύφος)" which signified false belief, mindlessness, folly, and conceit.
- Eudaimonia, or human flourishing, depends on self-sufficiency (αὐτάρκεια), arete, love of humanity, parrhesia, and indifference to the vicissitudes of life (adiaphora ἁδιαφορία).[12]
- 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 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.[13]
- A Cynic practices shamelessness or impudence (Αναιδεια) 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.[10] 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.[16] The Cynics adopted Heracles as their hero, as epitomizing the ideal Cynic.[14] Heracles "was he who brought Cerberus, the hound of Hades, from the underworld, a point of special appeal to the dog-man, Diogenes."[15] According to Lucian, "Cerberus and Cynic are surely related through the dog."[17]
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.[18]
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
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.[10] 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.[10]
Although Cynicism concentrated primarily on
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."[20]
History of Cynicism
The classical
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,[22] 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."[23] This modern definition of cynicism is in marked contrast to the ancient philosophy, which emphasized "virtue and moral freedom in liberation from desire."[24]
Influences
Various philosophers, such as the
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.[28]
In the social evolution from the
Antisthenes
The story of Cynicism traditionally begins with Antisthenes (c. 445–365 BC),:
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?[39]
Diogenes of Sinope
Diogenes (c. 412–323 BC) dominates the story of Cynicism like no other figure. He originally went 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.[40] (The phrase "defacing the currency" later became proverbial in describing Diogenes' rejection of conventional values.)[41] Later tradition claimed that Diogenes became the disciple of Antisthenes,[42] but it is by no means certain that they ever met.[43][44][45] Diogenes did however adopt Antisthenes' teachings and the ascetic way of life, pursuing a life of self-sufficiency (autarkeia), austerity (askēsis), and shamelessness (anaideia).[46] There are many anecdotes about his extreme asceticism (sleeping in a tub),[47] his shameless behaviour (eating raw meat),[48] and his criticism of conventional society ("bad people obey their lusts as servants obey their masters"),[49] and although it is impossible to tell which of these stories are true, they do illustrate the broad character of the man, including an ethical seriousness.[50]
Crates of Thebes
Other Cynics
There were many other Cynics in the 4th and 3rd centuries BC, including Onesicritus (who sailed with Alexander the Great to India), the skeptic Monimus, the moral satirist Bion of Borysthenes, the legislator Cercidas of Megalopolis, the diatribist Teles and Menippus of Gadara. However, with the rise of Stoicism in the 3rd century BC, Cynicism as a serious philosophical activity underwent a decline,[3][58] and it is not until the Roman era that Cynicism underwent a revival in the first century AD.[59]
Cynicism in the Roman world
There is little record of Cynicism in the 2nd or 1st centuries BC;
Cynicism came to be seen as an idealised form of Stoicism, a view which led Epictetus to eulogise the ideal Cynic in a lengthy discourse.[68] 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."[69] 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."[70]
Unlike Stoicism, which declined as an independent philosophy after the 2nd century CE, Cynicism seems to have thrived into the 4th century.
Cynicism and Christianity
Jesus as a Jewish Cynic
Some historians have noted the similarities between the teachings of
Cynic influences on early Christianity
Many of the ascetic practices of Cynicism may have been adopted by
During the 2nd century, Justin Martyr clashed with Crescens the Cynic, who is recorded as claiming the Christians were atheotatous (“the most without a god”), in reference to their rejection of the pagan gods and their absence of temples, statues, or sacrifices. This was a popular criticism of the Christians and it continued on into the 4th century.[87]
See also
- Anticonformism
- Asceticism
- Cynic epistles
- Encratites
- Foolishness for Christ
- List of ancient Greek philosophers
- List of Cynic philosophers
- Natural law
- Stoicism
- Kotzker Rebbe(a chasidic "Cynic" in the ancient sense of the word)
Notes
- ^ Christopher H. Hallett, (2005), The Roman Nude: Heroic Portrait Statuary 200 BC–AD 300, p. 294. Oxford University Press
- ^ Laërtius & Hicks 1925, VI:23; Jerome, Adversus Jovinianum, 2.14.
- ^ a b Dudley 1937, p. 117
- ^ Kynikos, "A Greek-English Lexicon", Liddell and Scott, at Perseus
- ^ Diogenes Laërtius, vi. 13. Cf. The Oxford Companion to Classical Literature, 2nd edition, p. 165.
- ^ An obscure reference to "the Dog" in Aristotle's Rhetoric (3.10.1411a25) is generally agreed to be the first reference to Diogenes.
- ^ Diogenes of Sinope, quoted by Stobaeus in Anthology, Book 3, Chapter 13, Paragraph 44. "Ὁ Διογένες ἔλεγεν, ὄτι οἱ μὲν ἄλλοι κύνες τοὺς ἐχθροὺς δάκνουσιν, ἐγὼ δὲ τοὺς φίλους, ἵνα σώσω."
- ^ Christian August Brandis, Scholium on Aristotle's Rhetoric, quoted in Dudley 1937, p. 5
- ^ Long 1996, p. 28
- ^ a b c d e Kidd 2005
- ^ Long 1996, p. 29
- ISBN 978-0-19-872802-3.
- ^ a b Diogenes Laërtius, vi. 2, 71; Dio Chrysostom, Orations, viii. 26–32; Pseudo-Lucian, Cynicus, 13; Lucian, De Morte Peregrini, 4, 33, 36.
- ^ a b Orlando Patterson: Freedom. p. 186[permanent dead link]
- ^ Long 1996, p. 34
- ^ Lucian, Dialogues of the Dead, 21
- ^ Diogenes Laërtius, vi. 70
- ^ Diogenes Laërtius, vi. 63
- ^ Diogenes Laërtius, vii. 121
- ^ Cynics – The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
- ISBN 0-8139-2615-7
- ^ Cynicism, The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. Fourth Edition. 2006. Houghton Mifflin Company.
- ^ Bertrand Russell, A History of Western Philosophy, p. 231. Simon and Schuster.
- ^ R. Martin, The Scythian Accent: Anacharsis and the Cynics, Branham & Goulet-Cazé 2000
- ^ Plato, Apology, 41e.
- ^ Xenophon, Apology, 1.
- ^ Epictetus, 3.22
- ^ Aristotle, Politics (Aristotle): bk 2, 1268b
- ^ Veblen, 1994 [1899]: 162
- ^ Jon 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
- ^ Dudley 1937, p. 1
- ^ Branham & Goulet-Cazé 2000, p. 6
- ^ Xenophon, Symposium, 4.57–64.
- ^ Diogenes Laërtius, vi. 2
- ^ Diogenes Laërtius, vi. 15–18
- ^ Prince 2005, p. 79
- ^ Xenophon, Symposium, 4.34.
- ^ Diogenes Laërtius, vi. 20–21
- ^ Diogenes Laërtius, vi. 20, 71
- ^ Diogenes Laërtius, vi. 6, 18, 21; Aelian, x. 16; Epictetus, Discourses, iii. 22. 63
- ^ Long 1996, p. 45
- ^ Dudley 1937, p. 2
- ^ Prince 2005, p. 77
- ^ Sarton, G., Ancient Science Through the Golden Age of Greece, Dover Publications. (1980).
- ^ Diogenes Laërtius, vi. 23; Jerome, Adversus Jovinianum, 2.14
- ^ Diogenes Laërtius, vi. 34
- ^ Diogenes Laërtius, vi. 66
- ^ Long 1996, p. 33
- ^ Diogenes Laërtius, vi. 87–88
- ^ Diogenes Laërtius, vi. 85, 87; Epictetus, Discourses, iii. 22. 63
- ^ Long 1996, p. 46
- ^ Although there is no mention in ancient sources of them actually begging. Cf. Doyne Dawson, (1992), Cities of the gods: communist utopias in Greek thought, p. 135. Oxford University Press
- ^ Plutarch, Symposiacs, 2.1; Apuleius, Florida, 22; Julian, Orations, 6.201b
- ^ Diogenes Laërtius, i. 15, vi. 105, vii. 2, etc
- ^ Schofield 1991
- ^ Branham & Goulet-Cazé 2000, p. 13
- ^ Long 1986, p. 234
- ^ Cicero, De Officiis, i. 41.
- ^ Dudley 1937, p. 124
- ^ Lucian, De Morte Peregrini, 3
- ^ Lucian, Fugitivi, 16.
- ^ Aelius Aristides, iii. 654–694
- ^ Seneca, De Beneficiis, vii.
- ^ Lucian, De Morte Peregrini.
- ^ Lucian, Demonax.
- ^ Epictetus, Discourses, 3. 22.
- ^ Epictetus, Discourses, 3. 22. 23
- ^ Epictetus, Discourses, 3. 22. 80
- ^ Dudley 1937, p. 202
- ^ Julian, Oration 6: To the Uneducated Cynics; Oration 7: To the Cynic Heracleios.
- ^ Damascius, Life of Isidorus: fragments preserved in the Commentary on Plato's Parmenides by Proclus, in the Bibliotheca of Photius, and in the Suda.
- ^ a b Dudley 1937, pp. 209–211
- ^ a b Leif Vaage, (1994), Galilean Upstarts: Jesus' First Followers According to Q. TPI
- ^ F. Gerald Downing, (1992), Cynics and Christian Origins. T. & T. Clark.
- ^ In particular, Menippus (3rd century BC), Meleager (1st century BC), and Oenomaus (2nd century CE), all came from Gadara.
- ^ Quoted in R. Ostling, "Who was Jesus?", Time, August 15, 1988, pp. 37–42.
- ISBN 0-06-061629-6
- ^ Craig A. Evans, Life of Jesus Research: An Annotated Bibliography, p. 151. Brill
- ^ F. Gasco Lacalle, (1986) Cristianos y cinicos. Una tificacion del fenomeno cristiano durante el siglo II, pp. 111–119. Memorias de Historia Antigua 7.
- ^ Dio Cassius, Epitome of book 65, 15.5; Herodian, Roman History, 1.9.2–5[permanent dead link]
- ^ Lucian, De Morte Peregrini, 10–15
- ^ Origen, adv. Cels. 2.41, 6.28, 7.7; Basil of Caesarea, Leg. Lib. Gent. 9.3, 4, 20; Theodoret, Provid. 6; John Chrysostom, Ad. Op. Vit. Monast. 2.4, 5
- ^ Augustine, De Civitate Dei 14.20.
- ^ Leif E. Vaage, (1990), Cynic Epistles (Selections), in Vincent L. Wimbush, Ascetic Behavior in Greco-Roman Antiquity: A Sourcebook, pp. 117–118. Continuum International
- ISBN 978-0-521-84270-9. Retrieved 2011-04-09.
References
- Branham, R. Bracht; Goulet-Cazé, Marie-Odile, eds. (2000), The Cynics: The Cynic Movement in Antiquity and Its Legacy, University of California Press, ISBN 978-0-520-21645-7
- Dudley, R. (1937), A History of Cynicism from Diogenes to the 6th Century A.D., Cambridge University Press
- Kidd, I. (2005), "Cynicism", in Rée, Jonathan; Urmson, J. O. (eds.), The Concise Encyclopedia of Western Philosophy, Routledge, ISBN 978-0-415-32924-8
- Long, A. A. (20 August 1986). Hellenistic Philosophy: Stoics, Epicureans, Sceptics. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-05808-8. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
- – via De Gruyter.
- Navia, Luis (1996), Classical Cynicism: A Critical Study, Greenwood Press, ISBN 978-0-313-30015-8
- Prince, Susan (2005), "Socrates, Antisthenes, and the Cynics", in Ahbel-Rappe, Sara; Kamtekar, Rachana (eds.), A Companion to Socrates, Blackwell Publishing, ISBN 978-1-4051-0863-8
- Schofield, Malcolm (1991), The Stoic Idea of the City, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-226-74006-5
Further reading
Primary sources
- Socratis et Socraticorum Reliquiae, ed. G. Giannantoni, 4 volumes (Naples, 1990). Volume 2 collects fragments of the early Cynics from Antisthenes to Crates.
- The Cynic Philosophers, ed. R. Dobbin (Penguin, 2012)
- Diogenes the Cynic: Sayings and Anecdotes: With Other Popular Moralists, ed. R. Hard (Oxford, 2012)
- Diogenes Laërtius, Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, Book VI: The Cynics
- Dio Chrysostom, Cynic Discourses: Oration 6, Oration 8, Oration 9, Oration 10.
- Epictetus, Discourse 3.22, On Cynicism
- Pseudo-Lucian[citation needed], The Cynic
- Julian the Apostate, 6th Oration – To the Uneducated Cynics
- Julian the Apostate, 7th Oration – To the Cynic Heracleios
Secondary sources
- Ian Cutler, (2005), Cynicism from Diogenes to Dilbert. McFarland & Co. ISBN 0-7864-2093-6
- William D. Desmond, (2006), The Greek Praise of Poverty: Origins of Ancient Cynicism. University of Notre Dame Press. ISBN 0-268-02582-7
- ————, (2008), Cynics. Ancient Philosophies Series. Acumen Publishing. ISBN 1-84465-129-0
- F. Gerald Downing, (1992), Cynics and Christian Origins. T. & T. Clark. ISBN 0-567-09613-0
- Luis E. Navia, (1996), Classical Cynicism: A Critical Study. Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-30015-1
- Lousa Shea (2009), The Cynic Enlightenment: Diogenes in the Salon Johns Hopkins University Press.
- H. C. Baldry, "Zeno's Ideal State". Published in The Journal of Hellenic Studies, Vol. 79 (1959), pp. 3–15. doi:10.2307/627917
- Kathy L. Gaca, "Early Stoic Eros: The Sexual Ethics of Zeno and Chrysippus and their Evaluation of the Greek Erotic Tradition". Published in Apeiron: A Journal for Ancient Philosophy and Science, Vol. 33, No. 3 (September 2000), pp. 207–238.
External links
- Cynicism on In Our Time at the BBC
- "Cynicism (philosophy)". Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
- "Cynicism", in The Dictionary of the History of Ideas
- Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. .
- Lives & Writings on the Cynics, directory of literary references to Ancient Cynics