Cynicism

Cynicism was an ancient Greek philosophy, primarily concerned with virtue, whose followers were known as "The Dog Philosophers." They believed that virtue was the only necessity for happiness and that it was wholly sufficient for attaining happiness. They followed this philosophy to the extent of neglecting everything that did not further their perfection of virtue and their attainment of happiness. Thus the title cynics, from the Greek word for dog, kuon , was assigned to them because they lived like dogs; neglecting society, hygiene, family, money, etc. in order to lead wholly virtuous and happy lives.

The cynical virtues were defined by their founder, Antisthenes. Antisthenes demonstrated how our desires lead ultimately to misery; therefore, a virtuous man always neglected pleasure and pleasure seeking activities because the ultimate result of these endeavors was misery. He adopted much of Socrates' philosophy and used this as the cornerstone for his own philosophy. Some of the common ground between Antisthenes and Socrates included:

  1. A disregard for pleasure or pain, stemming from the belief that
  2. the soul is more important then the body and one should neglect the body for the benefit of the soul, and
  3. virtue is better than non-virtue because a "virtuous person uses properly whatever is present."
Antisthenes and his followers seem to have taken these ideas and carried them to their extremes: totally neglecting all of the conventions of society (i.e. bathing, marriage, money, etc.). Although Antisthenes was the founder of the cynical school of philosophy, he did not seem to practice what he preached as effectively as some of his followers. He gave most of his speeches and conducted most of his philosophy in a spa/school that he owned and which many wealthy Athenians paid to attend.

In contrast, Diogenes, one of Antisthenes most famous followers carried the cynical philosophy to its farthest extreme. Diogenes was not known merely as one of "The Dog Philosophers," his personal nickname was "The Dog" and Plato referred to him as "Socrates gone mad." He denied all physical wealth and pleasure; he lived in a barrel and his only possessions were a robe to cover himself and a walking stick. There is an antecdote of questionable historical accuracy that demonstrates the character of Diogenes: One day Diogenes was sitting on a hill next to his barrel enjoying the warm rays of the sun when he was approached by Alexander the Great. Alexander asked Diogenes if he was the infamous Diogenes of whom the Athenians had spoken. Diogenes replied that he was. Alexander asked Diogenes if it was true that he had no desire for anything. Diogenes looked up at Alexander and said that he only wanted one thing, with that he asked Alexander to move a little to one side because he was blocking the sun. After the encounter, Alexander reportedly stated that if he could be anyone other than Alexander he would want to be Diogenes. Although Diogenes' behavior was sometimes amusing, he was not well liked in Athens primarily because of his writings encouraging incest and cannibalism.

On the other hand, Crates, another famous cynic, was well liked in Athens and it has been said that all doors in Athens were open to him. He followed the same basic tennent of the cynical philosophy, namely that virtue was sufficient for happiness, but he did so in a much less abrasive manner than his predecessors. Both he and his wife, Hipparchia, a fellow cynic, renounced great family wealth in order to live a life devoted to cultivating virtues and attaining true happiness. As a result of his generally easygoing attitude, he was greatly respected in Athens as a kind and supremely virtuous man. The character of Crates closely resembled the character of an Indian philosopher, Siddhartha Gautama (a.k.a. Buddha).

In many ways, the cynical philosophy closely resembles the Buddhist philosophy. For example, both philosophies denied that pleasure was equal to or had anything to do with true happiness. Both philosophies also held as fundamental aspects of their ethics that one should neglect the body for the benefit of the soul. Finally, the common, crucial ingredient in both philosophies was the sufficiency of virtue for the attainment of happiness (enlightenment in Buddhism).

Jason Merrill

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