Cynic philosophers

Cynic philosophers, those following the principles of Antisthenes and Diogenes of Sinopē.

Antisthenēs (c.445–c.360 BC), at Athens, a pupil and friend of Socrates, but differing in his views from the latter's most famous follower, Plato; he was considered the founder of the sect, and influenced its best-known exponent Diogenes of Sinope, from whose nickname, kyōn, ‘the dog’, the sect derived its name (see below, and CYNOSARGES). Antisthenes believed that happiness is based on virtue, that virtue consists in action, and that it is a practical quality which can be taught; thus to him the life of the mythical hero Heracles epitomized the ideal. Since happiness results only from virtuous action, most pleasures do not contribute to it. The knowledge of virtue, once acquired, cannot be lost; the wise man cannot act unwisely. Antisthenes' voluminous writings, except for some fragments, have been lost, but it is known that he was interested in literature, linguistic theory, and dialectic.

Diogenēs (c.400–325 BC), after his arrival in Athens, seems to have been attracted by the austere character and way of life of Antisthenes, which perhaps influenced him in his fanatical espousal of the ‘natural’ life, the subject of many anecdotes. While in Athens he was supposed to have lived in a tub (of earthenware) belonging to the Metrōon (temple of the Mother of the gods). It is said that his later life was spent in Corinth, as a result of the voyage in which he was captured by pirates and sold as a slave to a Corinthian. Here he is reputed to have met Alexander the Great. If he in fact wrote any of the works attributed to him, nothing has survived. He rejected all conventional views of what constituted a person's happiness; for him it consisted of satisfying one's barest natural needs for things outside oneself, for food and shelter for example, in the cheapest and easiest way, and for the rest living on one's own natural endowments, renouncing all possessions and relationships. This self-sufficiency could be achieved by physical and mental self-discipline, and by losing the conventional sense of shame. It was supposed to be on account of this last characteristic that Diogenes was nicknamed ‘dog’. He illustrated his principles in his way of life and in caustic utterances. His philosophy and way of life were spread by his disciple Crates.

Cratēs (c.365–285 BC), who came to Athens from Thebes and was won over by the example of Diogenes, became famous for the wholehearted way in which he embraced Cynic doctrine. Having renounced his large fortune, and restricting himself to absolute necessities, he achieved a high degree of self-sufficiency. Hipparchia, the daughter of a rich family, threatened suicide in order to persuade her parents to let her share his life. (See also ZENO.)

The Cynics developed no elaborate philosophical system and were never organized into a school, so in practice they embraced a range of beliefs while maintaining as their central tenet that self-sufficiency could bring contentment in all the vicissitudes of life. Crates originated the type of Cynic philosopher who wandered the Greek world with stick and knapsack, the frequent object of mockery. Cynic beggars of this kind suddenly proliferated in the first and second centuries AD, and still existed in the sixth; the contrast between them and true Cynic philosophers became a literary commonplace. See also STOICS.