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Author: Yossra Hamouda Publisher: ISBN: Category : Applied philosophy Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
Abstract: The Cynics are an understudied school in the history of philosophy especially, if we compare the amount of literature written on the Cynics to the amount of literature written on Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and other Greek schools like the Epicureans, the Neo-Platonists and even the Stoics. The lack of research interest in the Cynics, both from the side of philosophers and historians, is possibly grounded in a lack of interest in understanding the Cynical conception of philosophy. Unless we take a serious interest in understanding the Cynical conception of philosophy, we risk reducing the Cynics to the historical clowns of philosophy. Indeed, considered from the outside, the Cynics may appear as mere comedians who were affected by Socrates. However, a serious interest in their conception of philosophy may allow us to better understand the Cynics, arrive at a deeper appreciation of their way of life and thus assign higher philosophical value to their thought. Another possible reason for the lack of interest and suitable appreciation towards the cynics, however, is the understanding of philosophy today. Philosophy is viewed as an elitist discipline. The ancient Greek understanding of philosophy as a way of life is thus foreign for many philosophical scholars. The appreciation of the Cynics' school or even the fair judgement about it requires first an understanding of what philosophy as way of life means, how the Cynics view philosophy and what type of life the Cynics choose. This thesis thus studies the Cynics' understanding of philosophy as a way of life. Part I of the thesis studies the Greek and Socratic understanding of philosophy. The Cynics' understanding of philosophy is deeply affected by Socrates. Antisthenes, the founder of Cynicism, was Socrates's student. Diogenes, the most influential and infamous figure in cynicism, described himself as "a Socrates gone Mad." The first part of the thesis gives an overview of the Greek socio-political, religious and philosophical conditions prior to the emergence of the Cynics and during their lives. It also seeks to understand the Cynics' reasons for their conduct and distinctive lifestyle. Part II of the thesis shows a panorama of different philosophical and artistic perspectives on the Cynics. This part thus tries to identify the motives working towards the constitution of the image of the Cynics in the history of philosophy. It presents ancient and modern philosophers' perspective on the Cynics but also French Enlightenment writers' and playwrights' image of the Cynics. Part III of the work is dedicated to the two primary sources used in this thesis:The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophersand Dio Chrysostom'sDiscourses 1-11.Part III presents all the available information about these two primary sources. The core of the thesis is Part IV, which discusses the Cynics' understanding of philosophy as a way of life. Part 4 is divided into three sections. The first section gives a detailed explanation of what philosophy as a way of life means. The second section shows how the Cynics perform philosophy as a way of life. The third section, finally, gives a comprehensive account of the Cynics' way of life from its constitutive aspects.
Author: Yossra Hamouda Publisher: ISBN: Category : Applied philosophy Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
Abstract: The Cynics are an understudied school in the history of philosophy especially, if we compare the amount of literature written on the Cynics to the amount of literature written on Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and other Greek schools like the Epicureans, the Neo-Platonists and even the Stoics. The lack of research interest in the Cynics, both from the side of philosophers and historians, is possibly grounded in a lack of interest in understanding the Cynical conception of philosophy. Unless we take a serious interest in understanding the Cynical conception of philosophy, we risk reducing the Cynics to the historical clowns of philosophy. Indeed, considered from the outside, the Cynics may appear as mere comedians who were affected by Socrates. However, a serious interest in their conception of philosophy may allow us to better understand the Cynics, arrive at a deeper appreciation of their way of life and thus assign higher philosophical value to their thought. Another possible reason for the lack of interest and suitable appreciation towards the cynics, however, is the understanding of philosophy today. Philosophy is viewed as an elitist discipline. The ancient Greek understanding of philosophy as a way of life is thus foreign for many philosophical scholars. The appreciation of the Cynics' school or even the fair judgement about it requires first an understanding of what philosophy as way of life means, how the Cynics view philosophy and what type of life the Cynics choose. This thesis thus studies the Cynics' understanding of philosophy as a way of life. Part I of the thesis studies the Greek and Socratic understanding of philosophy. The Cynics' understanding of philosophy is deeply affected by Socrates. Antisthenes, the founder of Cynicism, was Socrates's student. Diogenes, the most influential and infamous figure in cynicism, described himself as "a Socrates gone Mad." The first part of the thesis gives an overview of the Greek socio-political, religious and philosophical conditions prior to the emergence of the Cynics and during their lives. It also seeks to understand the Cynics' reasons for their conduct and distinctive lifestyle. Part II of the thesis shows a panorama of different philosophical and artistic perspectives on the Cynics. This part thus tries to identify the motives working towards the constitution of the image of the Cynics in the history of philosophy. It presents ancient and modern philosophers' perspective on the Cynics but also French Enlightenment writers' and playwrights' image of the Cynics. Part III of the work is dedicated to the two primary sources used in this thesis:The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophersand Dio Chrysostom'sDiscourses 1-11.Part III presents all the available information about these two primary sources. The core of the thesis is Part IV, which discusses the Cynics' understanding of philosophy as a way of life. Part 4 is divided into three sections. The first section gives a detailed explanation of what philosophy as a way of life means. The second section shows how the Cynics perform philosophy as a way of life. The third section, finally, gives a comprehensive account of the Cynics' way of life from its constitutive aspects.
Author: Helen Small Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA ISBN: 0198861931 Category : Languages : en Pages : 281
Book Description
Cynicism is usually seen as a provocative mode of dissent from conventional moral thought, casting doubt on the motives that guide right conduct. When critics today complain that it is ubiquitous but lacks the serious bite of classical Cynicism, they express concern that it can now only be corrosively negative. The Function of Cynicism at the Present Time takes a more balanced view. Re-evaluating the role of cynicism in literature, cultural criticism, and philosophy from 1840 to the present, it treats cynic confrontationalism as a widely-employed credibility-check on the promotion of moral ideals--with roots in human psychology. Helen Small investigates how writers have engaged with Cynic traditions of thought, and later more gestural styles of cynicism, to re-calibrate dominant moral values, judgements of taste, and political agreements. The argument develops through a series of cynic challenges to accepted moral thinking: Friedrich Nietzsche on morality; Thomas Carlyle v. J. S. Mill on the permissible limits of moral provocation; Arnold on the freedom of criticism; George Eliot and Ford Madox Ford on cosmopolitanism; Bertrand Russell, John Dewey, and Laura Kipnis on the conditions of work in the university. The Function of Cynicism treats topics of present-day public concern: abrasive styles of public argument; debasing challenges to conventional morality; free speech, moral controversialism; the authority of reason and the limits of that authority; nationalism and resistance to nationalism; and liberty of expression as a core principle of the university.
Author: Luis Navia Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA ISBN: 0313029709 Category : Literary Criticism Languages : en Pages : 241
Book Description
More than a school of philosophy with a defined set of beliefs and convictions, classical Cynicism represents an unconventional sect of philosophers and a way of life. This is a complete account of classical Cynicism from its beginnings in the Socratic circle to its extinction in late Roman times. In this thoroughly documented study, Navia explores various issues related to the sources of information about the Cynics, the development of Cynicism, and the principal representatives of classical Cynicism. Exploring the relationship between classical Cynicism and cynicism as understood in its ordinary modern sense, the author argues that despite their common designation, they represent significantly different philosophical attitudes. This book explicates the main ideas associated with classical Cynicism and argues that, its shortcomings notwithstanding, classical Cynicism furnishes us with a wealthy source of philosophical enlightenment. Individual chapters are devoted to Antisthenes, Diogenes, and Crates, the three principal classical Cynics. Attention is given to the development and application of certain fundamental Cynic ideas and to the transformation of these ideas throughout the eight centuries during which Cynicism was an influential philosophical movement. The book provides abundant references to primary and secondary sources and includes a bibliography of over five hundred entries.
Author: William Desmond Publisher: Routledge ISBN: 1317492862 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 297
Book Description
Once regarded as a minor Socratic school, Cynicism is now admired as one of the more creative and influential philosophical movements in antiquity. First arising in the city-states of late classical Greece, Cynicism thrived through the Hellenistic and Roman periods, until the triumph of Christianity and the very end of pagan antiquity. In every age down to the present, its ideals of radical simplicity and freedom have alternately inspired and disturbed onlookers. This book offers a survey of Cynicism, its varied representatives and ideas, and the many contexts in which it operated. William Desmond introduces important ancient Cynics and their times, from Diogenes 'the Dog' in the fourth century BC to Sallustius in the fifth century AD. He details the Cynics' rejection of various traditional customs and the rebellious life-style for which they are notorious.The central chapters locate major Cynic themes (nature and the natural life, Fortune, self-sufficiency, cosmopolitanism) within the rich matrix of ideas debated by the ancient schools. The final chapter reviews some moments in the diverse legacy of Cynicism, from Jesus to Nietzsche.
Author: Julian Publisher: DigiCat ISBN: Category : Nature Languages : en Pages : 34
Book Description
A classic history book originally written by Julian (A Roman Emperor) and translated by Emily Wilmer Cave Wright. Julian's aim here, as in the Seventh Oration, is not to convert the New Cynics, but to demonstrate the fundamental unity of philosophy. He equated Diogenes with Socrates as a moral authority and had deep sympathy for cynical ideals. He emphasized to the Cynics that there is no convention that has not been examined and accepted by individual reason, for the Delphic teaching of "Know Yourself" warns all philosophers not to accept traditional authority. The allusion to the opening paragraph for the summer solstice seems to suggest that Julian wrote the Oration before leaving Constantinople to prepare for the Persian expedition.
Author: David Mazella Publisher: University of Virginia Press ISBN: 9780813926155 Category : Literary Criticism Languages : en Pages : 326
Book Description
Asks: how did ancient Cynic philosophy come to provide a name for its modern, unphilosophical counterpart, and what events caused such a dramatic reversal of cynicism's former meanings? This work traces the concept of cynicism from its origins as a philosophical way of life in Greek antiquity.
Author: William D. Desmond Publisher: ISBN: Category : History Languages : en Pages : 264
Book Description
William Desmond, taking issue with common popular and scholarlyviews of the ancient Greek Cynics, contends that early Cynics likeAntisthenes and Diogenes were not cultural outcasts or marginal voicesin classical culture; rather, the Cynic movement through the fourthcentury B.C. had deep and significant roots in what Desmond calls theGreek praise of poverty. Desmond demonstrates that classical views ofwealth were complex and allowed for the admiration of poverty and thevirtues it could inspire. He explains Cynicism's rise in popularity in theancient world by exploring the set of attitudes that collectively formedthe Greek praise of poverty. Desmond argues that in the fifth and fourthcenturies B.C., economic, political, military, and philosophical thoughtcontained explicit criticisms of wealth and praise of poverty.
Author: Ansgar Allen Publisher: MIT Press ISBN: 0262537885 Category : Philosophy Languages : en Pages : 282
Book Description
A short history of cynicism, from the fearless speech of the ancient Greeks to the jaded negativity of the present. Everyone's a cynic, yet few will admit it. Today's cynics excuse themselves half-heartedly—“I hate to be a cynic, but..."—before making their pronouncements. Narrowly opportunistic, always on the take, contemporary cynicism has nothing positive to contribute. The Cynicism of the ancient Greeks, however, was very different. This Cynicism was a marginal philosophy practiced by a small band of eccentrics. Bold and shameless, it was committed to transforming the values on which civilization depends. In this volume of the MIT Press Essential Knowledge series, Ansgar Allen charts the long history of cynicism, from the “fearless speech” of Greek Cynics in the fourth century BCE to the contemporary cynic's lack of social and political convictions. Allen describes ancient Cynicism as an improvised philosophy and a way of life disposed to scandalize contemporaries, subjecting their cultural commitments to derision. He chronicles the subsequent “purification” of Cynicism by the Stoics; Renaissance and Enlightenment appropriations of Cynicism, drawing on the writings of Shakespeare, Rabelais, Rousseau, de Sade, and others; and the transition from Cynicism (the philosophy) to cynicism (the modern attitude), exploring contemporary cynicism from the perspectives of its leftist, liberal, and conservative critics. Finally, he considers the possibility of a radical cynicism that admits and affirms the danger it poses to contemporary society.
Author: R. Bracht Branham Publisher: Univ of California Press ISBN: 0520921984 Category : Philosophy Languages : en Pages : 474
Book Description
This collection of essays—the first of its kind in English—brings together the work of an international group of scholars examining the entire tradition associated with the ancient Cynics. The essays give a history of the movement as well as a state-of-the-art account of the literary, philosophical and cultural significance of Cynicism from antiquity to the present. Arguably the most original and influential branch of the Socratic tradition, Cynicism has become the focus of renewed scholarly interest in recent years, thanks to the work of Sloterdijk, Foucault, and Bakhtin, among others. The contributors to this volume—classicists, comparatists, and philosophers—draw on a variety of methodologies to explore the ethical, social and cultural practices inspired by the Cynics. The volume also includes an introduction, appendices, and an annotated bibliography, making it a valuable resource for a broad audience.
Author: Yossra Hamouda
Author: Yossra Hamouda
Author: Helen Small
Author: Luis Navia
Author: William Desmond
Author: Julian
Author: David Mazella
Author: William D. Desmond
Author: Ansgar Allen
Author: R. Bracht Branham
Author: Megan Mustain