A Shift to Social-Ethical Issues in the Classical Period: Socrates and His Followers (Socratics)

The Cynics

The founder of the Cynic school, Antisthenes, began teaching at the Gymnasium of Cynosarges (which translates as "White Dog") around 390 BCE. The name of this gymnasium led some to label Antisthenes' school as the Cynics. Around 380 BCE, Diogenes of Sinope, probably the most renowned Cynic, came to study with Antisthenes. Due to his extreme asceticism—akin to modern-day homelessness—Diogenes earned the nickname "the Mad Socrates."

The Cynics can be seen as a truly Socratic school, as their teachings centered on ethics. Cynic ethics were infused with the principle of autarkeia, or self-sufficiency. This concept included several tenets: firstly, that the sage should need nothing from anyone or anything; secondly, that one should be content with what is available and not fear poverty. To illustrate this, Cynic writers often invoked the figure of Socrates. Thirdly, they believed that happiness could be achieved through virtue alone: "To be happy, one need only be virtuous; nothing else is required except Socratic strength." In other words, to be virtuous and happy, one requires nothing beyond one's own desire, will, and practice in virtuous deeds.

Since virtue was seen as a matter of action, the Cynics glorified labor and industriousness. Antisthenes remarked, "I sought pleasure only after labor, not before it." Hence, it is understandable that Heracles was considered a hero by the Cynics.

Moreover, to become excellent and good, one must rid oneself of the vices within. The lack of desire among the masses to become excellent and good astonished and condemned the Cynics. Diogenes was amazed that people did not compete in the art of becoming better: musicians tune their instruments, but fail to harmonize with their own characters.

Since happiness and virtue depend solely on one's own intentions and efforts ("virtue is a tool no one can take away"), the Cynics argued that one does not need anything external to achieve them. Thus, the "Cynic" was a free individual, independent of anything and anyone. This atomization of the individual and the Cynics' emphasis on the reality of individual, sensory experiences aligned with their views on reality. In a dispute with Plato, Antisthenes retorted, "Oh Plato, I see the horse, but I do not see horseness."

The Cynic sage’s independence from all natural and social conditions was thought to be ensured, firstly, by minimizing life’s needs to the bare essentials, even the purely physiological ones. This approach is closely related to asceticism.

Asceticism, as an ethical stance in various philosophical schools, involves adhering to practices aimed at achieving spiritual and moral perfection by suppressing bodily and sensual desires and focusing solely on spiritual life. Such practices include living in poverty, sexual abstinence, patience, detachment from worldly concerns, and so forth. This approach necessitates the mortification of the flesh and its subordination to the spirit.

Attempts to justify ascetic practices led the Cynics to ethical paradoxes. For instance, they proclaimed that the highest pleasure was disdain for all pleasures. Generally, the goal of Cynic asceticism was to achieve the ideal of a virtuous and self-sufficient person.

A particularly notable aspect of this lifestyle was poverty, which the Cynic philosophy fervently preached. Diogenes used the example of a mouse, which needed no bedding, and a boy who managed without a cup or bowl, drinking water from his hands and eating soup from a piece of bread. According to Cicero, Diogenes claimed to be happier than the Persian king because he lacked nothing, whereas the king never had enough. The reduction of physiological needs was accompanied by a contempt for spiritual and moral values. Diogenes argued that fame was merely the decoration of vice, while obscurity was the noise of madmen.

To achieve self-sufficiency, Cynics also advocated relying solely on one's own resources and not seeking help from others. Diogenes replaced the pleasures of physical intimacy with self-stimulation and sought to quell hunger by rubbing his stomach. Furthermore, Cynics believed that satisfying needs should be accompanied by complete indifference to the pleasures experienced. Antisthenes is reported to have said, "I would prefer madness to pleasure." He also considered love a vice of nature and did not allow for the enjoyment of it. Such an attitude towards emotions essentially called for apathy, which became one of the cornerstones of Cynicism and a distinguishing trait of its founder, Antisthenes.

The term "apathy," meaning "lack of feeling" or "impassivity," was used by Cynic writers to denote insensitivity to various experiences, sufferings, sorrows, and fears, as well as a courageous endurance of misfortunes. The Cynic Telethos of Megara (active around 240 BCE) praised a sailor who, upon a shipwreck, exclaimed, "Hail, Poseidon! I am going down."

Finally, the third aspect of achieving self-sufficiency for the Cynics was the belief that one should live according to the laws of nature, meaning purely in an instinctual manner, like animals, without recognizing any cultural or moral constraints. Diogenes, for instance, engaged in activities related to Aphrodite and saw no wrongdoing in stealing from temples or even consuming human flesh; he also ate raw meat. For a vivid portrayal of the Cynics' eccentricities, one may refer to the works of A. F. Losev.

This way of life led contemporaries to liken the Cynics to dogs, and the term "Cynic" (from the Greek "kynikos," meaning "dog-like") was derived from this comparison. This term evolved into a more general meaning in Latin, referring to a person who flouts moral standards and boasts of it; a shameless person. According to Cicero, the Cynics saw modesty as a form of human hypocrisy: people are embarrassed to discuss noble acts like procreation but have no qualms about discussing sordid acts like robbery and deceit.

The Cynics' rebellion against cultural and moral norms signified, in terms of the well-known dilemma (nature versus convention), their alignment with nature. They viewed humans as natural beings who could and should live according to their own nature rather than societal customs. In the end, the sage needed neither laws nor the state, making the Cynics also anarchists. Consequently, the Cynic's conduct was guided solely by Cynic virtues.

Cynic philosophy remained highly influential and its followers continued to be present even in late antiquity, into the 5th century CE. From a universal perspective, Cynicism represents a call to naturalness and freedom, constrained by societal demands—a perennial issue relevant to all ages.