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2024年1月5日发(作者:concatemer)

What’s Cynicism

 Cynicism, refers to the beliefs of an ancient school of Greek philosophers known as

the Cynics.

 Their philosophy was that the purpose of life was to live a life of Virtue in agreement

with Nature. This meant rejecting all conventional desires for wealth, power, health,

and fame, and by living a simple life free from all possessions.

 People could gain happiness by

1. rigorous(严苛的) training

2. living in a way which was natural for humans.

 Suffering was caused by

1. false judgments of what was valuable

2. the worthless customs and conventions which surrounded society.

 Many of these thoughts were later absorbed into Stoicism(禁欲主义)

3 main cynics

Antisthenes

An older contemporary of Plato

1. A disciple(门徒,弟子) of Socrates

1. He preached a life of poverty

Diogenes of Sinope

1. The disciple of Antisthenes (?)

1. He embraced the ascetic(禁欲的) way of life

1. lifestyle:self-sufficiency ,austerity(苦行), and shamelessness

Asceticism: sleeping in a tub

Shameless behaviour: eating raw meat

Biting satire: "bad people obey their lusts as servants obey their masters"

Crates of Thebes others

1. The third figure who dominates Cynic history.

He is said to have been a pupil of Diogenes (?)

2 origins of the Cynic

1. In ancient times, the first Cynic Antisthenes, taught in the Cynosarges gymnasium(古希腊运动场) at Athens.

2. Cynosarges means the place of the white dog

3. Dog was thrown at the Cynics as an insult for their rejection of conventional manners.

4. Diogenes, states "other dogs bite their enemies, I bite my friends to save them."

4 reasons for why the Cynics are so named

1 The indifference of their way of life, like dogs, eat and go barefoot in public.

2

The dog is a shameless animal, and they make a cult(膜拜,崇拜) of

shamelessness

3The dog is a good guard, and they guard the tenets(宗旨,原则) of their

philosophy

4

The dog is a discriminating animal which can distinguish between its friends and

enemies

Fundamental principles

1The goal of life is happiness which is to live in agreement with Nature

2Happiness depends on being self-sufficient, and a master of mental attitude

3Self-sufficiency is achieved by living a life of virtue

4 The road to virtue is to free oneself from

any influence like wealth, fame, or power

5 Suffering is caused by false judgments of value

Cynicism in the Roman World

There is little record of Cynicism in the 2nd or 1st centuries BCE(公元前)

By the 1st century CE, Cynicism reappeared with full rise of Imperial Rome

may have led to a sense of powerlessness and frustration among many people, which

allowed a philosophy which emphasized self-sufficiency and inner-happiness to

flourish once again.

Cynicism and Christianity

Some scholars have argued that the Q document, the hypothetical(假设的) common

source for the gospels(福音) of Matthew(马太) and Luke(路可),has strong

similarities with the teachings of the Cynics.

Other scholars doubt that Jesus was deeply influenced by the Cynics, and see the

Jewish prophetic(预言的) tradition as of much greater importance

1. Many of the ascetic (苦行的)practices of Cynicism may have been adopted by

early Christians.

1. The ascetic orders of Christianity also had direct connection with the Cynics,

and in many of their practices were little different from the Cynics of an

earlier age

contemporary

By the 19th century, emphasis on the negative aspects of Cynic philosophy led to the

modern understanding of cynicism to mean——

An attitude of scornful negativity, especially a general distrust of the sincerity or

goodness of human motives and actions

It can manifest itself as a result of frustration, disillusionment, and distrust perceived

as due to organizations, authorities and other aspects of society

Social Effects of Cynicism

The cynicism of Diogenes

 artificial growths of society were incompatible with happiness

 morality implies a return to the simplicity of nature

 "Humans have complicated every simple gift of the gods.“

 "cosmopolitan”

 Scorned family; political social organization; property rights; reputation.

The ideal Cynic would evangelise:

 hound people about the error of their ways (watchdog of humanity)

 expose the pretensions which lay at the root of everyday conventions

Positive effects

Traditional cynicism is a worthy and even noble world-view -- up to a point.

 rare opportunity to live in harmony with your values

 freedom from self-deception

 immunity against faddish "groupthink"

 development of an independent, contrarian mind and spirit

 introspect the pursuit of fame and fortune

Negative effects

• First, cynicism points to the unintended consequences of actions and derides our

belief in our ability to rationally assess those consequences or plan for them.

• Second, it attacks the stability of institutions

• Third, it recasts valued political concepts

Ensemble effect

• Different types of cynicism that interact in an "ensemble effect," composed of

master-cynic, insiders, and powerless public.

• master-cynic

• Insiders

• powerless public

Modern attitude

• First,see it critically

• Second,make full use of Positive Cynicism: keep our integrity without being

miserable

• Reject what you can tolerate,Reward yourself by loving something with a passion.

fundamental principles of Cynicism

 goal of life is happiness which is to live in agreement with Nature.

 ess depends on being self-sufficient, and a master of mental attitude.

 road to virtue is to free oneself from any influence such as wealth, fame, or power,

which have no value in Nature.

2. History of Cynicism

1. Origin of the Cynic name---doggishness

• from Ancient Greek κυνικός (kynikos), meaning "dog-like

• the first Cynic, Antisthenes, taught in the Cynosarges gymnasium at Athens. The word

Cynosarges means the place of the white dog。

• the indifference of their way of life.

ancient Cynicism: Cynicism is a distrust of the apparent motives of others. It is sometimes

seen as a form of jaded negativity, and other times merely as realistic criticism or skepticism. The

term originally derives from a group of philosophers in ancient Greece called the Cynics who

rejected all conventions, whether of religion, manners, housing, dress, advocating the pursuit of

virtue in a simple and unmaterialistic lifestyle.

3. Cynicism

modern definition of cynicism is in marked contrast to the ancient philosophy, which

emphasized "virtue and moral freedom in liberation from desire."It even distrusts sincerity or

goodness of human motives and actions.

Cynicism --- Antisthenes(安提西尼)

• He is regarded as the founder of Cynicism

• A pupil of Socrates.

• Lose faith in philosophy in his old ages and give up the rich life to live in poverty.

Diogenes

 A Greek philosopher

 One of the founders of Cynic philosophy

 Also known as Diogenes of Sinope, Diogenes the Cynic, or Diogenes the Dog.

 He was born in Sinope (modern-day Sinop in Turkey), a colony on the Black Sea, in 412

BC or 404 BC and died at Corinth in 323 BC.

Diogenes------in Sinope

• Nothing is known about his early life except that his father was a banker.

• It seems likely that Diogenes was also enrolled into the banking business aiding his

father.

• involved in a scandal about the adulteration or defacement of the currency货币掺假或污损

• he was kicked out of Sinope

Diogenes------in Athens

 He moved to Athens

 Diogenes became Antisthenes' pupil.

 He used his lifestyle and behavior to expound his doctrine:living in a jar,strolling about in

full daylight with a lamp,destroying the single wooden bowl he possessed .

Diogenes------in Corinth

 After being captured by pirates and sold into slavery, Diogenes eventually settled in

Corinth. There he passed his philosophy of Cynicism

Diogenes------death

There are conflicting accounts of Diogenes' death.

 have held his breath;

 become ill from eating raw octopus;

 suffered an infected dog bite.

of Diogenes

• The Corinthians build a pillar on which rested a dog of marble to memorize him.


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