Diogenes And Cynicism In Modern Society

How did the meaning of the cynic philosophy change its meaning throughout the years?

People often use the word “cynic”, for someone bitter, distrustful, and pessimistic. However, in ancient Greece, cynicism was an important school of thought that promoted an anti-materialistic way of life.

The Cynic School was founded by Antisthenes (445–360 or 444–368), son of an Athenian and a slave from Thrace, who was a distinguished warrior and a student of the sophist Gorgias. The school was founded in Kynosarges of Athens, and it was the only school in the city that accepted non-Athenian citizens.

A lot of philosophers, such as Aristotle (in Nicomachean Ethics, Eudemian Ethics), Homer, Plato, and Socrates, considered Virtue (Αρετή) to be an important factor to be happy.

For cynics, (Kyon, meaning dog in ancient Greek, κύων), virtue is considered to be the ultimate goal, and to achieve this, you have to neglect anything that doesn’t help you gain virtue and happiness. Cynicism has been also characterized as an anti-philosophy, which mocks intellectualism, and tries to prove that common sense beats complex theories.

Goods were distinguished into two categories, the external (property, physical pleasure, luxury) and the internal. To the latter belongs the pre-eminent demand of the philosophers, that is, the secure knowledge of Truth and Self. However, “Virtue” doesn’t depend on knowledge, but it is a result of practice and dedication.

Diogenes of Sinope (400-325 BC) was a student of Antisthenes and he is, without a doubt, the most popular cynic. His opinion was that true virtue would be revealed by one’s actions and not his theories. He was against materialism, he lived in a large ceramic jar(πυθάρι), and his goal was to provoke people to get closer with their nature.

Diogenes often criticized social values and believed that society was corrupted, confused, and alienated from…

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