Hi there! We will now leave China behind and go visit the ancient Greco-Roman world to have a look at 2 important schools of thought: Cynicism and Stoicism. In this present post we’ll be looking at Cynicism, a school founded by one Antisthenes, followed by such pitoresque figures as Diogenes of Sinope, Crates of Thebes and Demonax.
Main doctrines
“Cynic” comes from the greek word for “dog”. Man’s best friend has an important role to play here and we will get to that in a moment. They advocated that a man is free if he can do 3 things: depend little on others, speak his mind freely without fear of public retribution and maintain clear judgement and mental calm in the face of adversity. They had little regard for political and religious pomposity and believed that philosophy meant not the elaboration of metaphysical doctrines, rather one’s commitment to better himself and free oneself from the shackles of unjust law, pointless custom and fear of natural events such as death. They were not partisans of any polis (=”state” in Ancient Grece”) and called themselves “Kosmopolites” meaning “citizens of the world”–that is not to say that they were apolitical, but that they claimed to belong to the bigest political party of all: the entire planet! They engaged in askesis, a word meaning “training”. These exercices could take different forms: learning to endure heat and cold, giving away one’s wealth so as to be in a position where they had to make due without luxury etc; anything that would make them stronger and less vulnerable to suffering (and those friends of mine who will read this post will finally understand why I go around in a t-shirt in the middle of winter 
).
[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 vigor necessary for the practice of what is good, depend equally on both mind and body. (Laertius)
The main points of cynic thought run as follows:
- The goal of life is happiness which is to live in agreement with Nature.
- Happiness depends on being self-sufficient, and a master of mental attitude.
- Self-sufficiency is achieved by living a life of Virtue. (virtue here does not mean “pious” in a religious sense)
- The road to virtue is to free oneself from any influence such as wealth, fame, or power, which have no value in Nature.
- Suffering is caused by false judgments of value, which cause negative emotions and a vicious character.
Cynics are most well-known for rejecting those social conventions which they saw as hindering people’s developement into wise and capable individuals (so they didn’t reject everything blindly, but assessed weather a given social norm was natural or not; if not, out the window it went). They were imune to insults, because they saw them as having no meaning. Now we will look at some representatives of cynicism.
Diogenes of Sinope
We will begin with the following quote from Laertius, a Roman author who wrote a book entitled “Lives of Eminent Philosophers” in which he gives short biographies of the most important figures of his day. He writes:
“Plato saw Diogenes of Sinope washing lettuces, came up to him and quietly said to him, ‘Had you paid court to Dionysius, you wouldn’t now be washing lettuces,’ and [Diogenes] with equal calmness answered, ‘If you had washed lettuces, you wouldn’t have paid court to Dionysius’”
Many philosophers (Plato, Aristotle and others) gained their living by attending the courts of kings. Cynics had a strong dislike for theoretical philosophy (such as that of Plato, with his “world of ideas”) and were far more concerned with practical matter than with metaphysical speculations and debates on super-natural subject. Here Diogenes is seen reproaching Plato for “kissing up to authority” as it were, instead of living a life free from politicians; if he had not wasted his time with philosophical abstractions and politics, he would have been able to learn something useful…like washing lettuces! This point is well-illustrated by another incident, where another “smart fellow” used logical deduction to prove to Diogenes that he had horns (such practices were thought of as showing a person’s “skill” at logic back then). He simply got up and left without bothering to say a word. As far as politics goes, once he was laying in the sun (relaxing), and Alexander the Great (yeah, that guy from the history books), came to him and said “Ask whatever you want from me and I’ll give it to you.” To which Diogenes replied: “Get out of my sunlight!” And as for the Cynics and dogs…
Diogenes believed human beings live artificially and hypocritically and would do well to study the dog. A dog will eat anything, and make no fuss about where to sleep. Dogs live in the present without anxiety, and have no use for the pretensions of abstract philosophy. In addition to these virtues, dogs are thought to know instinctively who is friend and who is foe. Unlike human beings who either dupe others or are duped, dogs will give an honest bark at the truth. Diogenes stated that “other dogs bite their enemies, I bite my friends to save them.” (Wikipedia)
Here is a link you can go to for some useful and amusing quotes:
http://members.optushome.com.au/davidquinn000/Diogenes%20Folder/Diogenes.html
Crates of Thebes (365-285 BC)
He was a wealthy man who was born lame and gave up his wealth to lead a Cynic life. He married and held his wife Hyparchia on equal terms with himself; he took his son to a brothel to explain what sexual life is, and allowed his daughter to have a 1-month probation marriage with her possible husbands; all this was uncommon in Grece at the time. Here are a few quotes about him:
But Crates with only his wallet and tattered cloak laughed out his life jocosely, as if he had been always at a festival. (Plutarch)
He used to enter the houses of his friends, without being invited or otherwise called, in order to reconcile members of a family, even if it was apparent that they were deeply at odds. He would not reprove them harshly, but in a soothing way, in a manner which was non-accusatory towards those whom he was correcting, because he wished to be of service to them as well as to those who were just listening. (Julian)
And therefore Crates replied to the man who asked, “What will be in it for me after I become a philosopher?” “You will be able,” he said, “to open your wallet easily and with your hand scoop out and dispense lavishly instead of, as you do now, squirming and hesitating and trembling like those with paralyzed hands. Rather, if the wallet is full, that is how you will view it; and if you see that it is empty, you will not be distressed. And once you have elected to use the money, you will easily be able to do so; and if you have none, you will not yearn for it, but you will live satisfied with what you have, not desiring what you do not have nor displeased with whatever comes your way.” (Teles)
Demonax (70-170 AD)
He was never known to shout or be over vehement or angry,7 even when he had to correct; he touched offences, but pardoned offenders, saying that the doctors’ was the right model, who treat sickness but are not angry with the sick.
He was fond of playing peace-maker between brothers at variance, or presiding over the restoration of marital harmony. He could say a word in season, too, before an agitated political assembly, which would turn the scale in favour of patriotic duty. Such was the temper that philosophy produced in him, kindly, mild, and cheerful.
Nothing ever grieved him except the illness or death of a friend, friendship being the one among blessings that he put highest; and indeed he was every man’s friend, counting among his kindred whatever had human shape. (Lucian)
Those were quotes about him. Now a few incidents from his life:
He once picked up a little gold charm in the road as he walked, and posted a notice in the market-place stating that the loser could recover his property, if he would call upon Demonax and give particulars of the weight, material, and workmanship. A handsome young exquisite came, professing to have lost it. The philosopher soon saw that it was a got-up story; ‘Ah, my boy,’ he said, ‘you will do very well, if you lose your other charms as little as you have lost this one.’
A man once boasted that he was a wizard, and possessed of23 mighty charms whereby he could get what he chose out of anybody. ‘Will it surprise you to learn that I am a fellow-craftsman?’ asked Demonax; ‘pray come with me to the baker’s, and you shall see a single charm, just one wave of my magic wand, induce him to bestow several loaves upon me.’ Current coin, he meant, is as good a magician as most.
When another person kept himself shut up in the dark, mourning his son, Demonax represented himself to him as a magician: he would call up the son’s ghost, the only condition being that he should be given the names of three people who had never had to mourn. The father was unable, doubtless, to produce any such person, till Demonax broke in: ‘And have you, then, a monopoly of the unendurable, when you cannot name a man who has not some grief to endure?’
That about covers Cynicism in a nutshell… Hope you enjoyed Anarchy, because next we’ll be looking at the Stoics. Pop up any time!
Yours,
Victor
