Cynicism is the ancient Greek school that prized virtue, self-sufficiency and freedom from convention, achieved through a life stripped of property, reputation and the pursuit of wealth or power. Ancient sources trace it to Antisthenes and give it its most vivid embodiment in Diogenes of Sinope, though scholars note it lacked the settled organization of a school like Plato's Academy or Zeno's Stoa.
Facts
Disputed
Start YearTraditionally traced to Antisthenes (c. 445-365 BCE), a pupil of Socrates; many historians place the school's effective beginning a generation later, with Diogenes of Sinope's adoption of the Cynic way of life in the fourth century BCE. End YearMarks the last Cynic recorded in antiquity; the school had already declined sharply after the third century BCE, surviving this long only through a revival under the Roman Empire. RegionAncient Greece, later the Roman Empire 1 Connections
Associated With
Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Later Stoics idealized the Cynic life as their own ideal stripped bare.
Source Cynicism, Philosophy (Wikipedia)
In Branch
Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Open Questions
Source Cynicism (Encyclopedia of Philosophy via Encyclopedia.com)
Traditions Founded
Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Sources
1. Cynicism, Philosophy (Wikipedia)
Philosophy section
A Cynic has no property and rejects all conventional values of money, fame, power and reputation
Decline section
The final Cynic noted in classical history is Sallustius of Emesa in the late 5th century.
Founding section
The story of Cynicism traditionally begins with Antisthenes (c. 445-365 BC), who was an older contemporary of Plato and a pupil of Socrates.
- In Category: Schools of Philosophy
Associated With: Stoicism, Cynicism in the Roman world
Cynicism came to be seen as an idealised form of Stoicism, a view which led Epictetus to eulogise the ideal Cynic
Cynicism (Encyclopedia of Philosophy via Encyclopedia.com)
Cynics entryQuote, Cynics entry
Cynicism was not a school of philosophy comparable to Plato's Academy or Zeno's Stoa. Accordingly, it had neither a founder nor an identifiable place of origin nor a set of principles or beliefs.
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Stanford University, Center for the Study of Language and Information- In Branch: Ethics
- Traditions Founded: Diogenes of Sinope, s.v. Ancient Ethical Theory (Cynicism)
- Associated With: Diogenes of Sinope
View the Source Open Questions (1 open question)
Did Cynicism Have a Single Founder and Founding Moment?
Unlike Plato's Academy or Zeno's Stoa, Cynicism is not attested as a formally organized school with one identifiable founder, founding place or fixed set of doctrines; ancient sources give rival, uncertain traditions crediting Antisthenes, Diogenes of Sinope, or both, and it is not even certain the two men ever met.
What would resolve this A firmer body of contemporary ancient testimony fixing a specific founding teacher, place and date, which the surviving sources do not provide and later doxography likely cannot supply.
History of ancient philosophyCynicism (Encyclopedia of Philosophy via Encyclopedia.com)
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