Cynicism Is Difficult to Define

Cynicism is difficult to define as a philosophical school, both due to some details of the cynics' philosophy and a lack of sources (Piering, par. 3). The cynics were primarily concerned with ethics, but saw their philosophy and ethical system more as a way to live than as a system that could be codified and explained. They also believed that their way was the simplest way to lead a virtuous or ethical) life, but also admitted the harshness of the cynical way. This is due in large part to the idea that material possessions led to un-virtuous behavior, and that therefore all possessions should be abandoned in favor of a more ascetic way of life.

This also meant that, for the cynics, practice of philosophy was of much greater importance than theory. The way of life, rather than the reasoning behind that way of life, was the important feature of the cynical school. This was of life was supposed to be in harmony with nature, which included a rejection of societal mores and conventions and a basic shamelessness, most explicitly exemplified by Diogenes of Sinope's public acts in the Athenian marketplace (Piering, par. 13). Diogenes of Sinope was one of the first major practitioners of the cynical school. The tradition claims a Socratic background; Diogenes of Sinope was a pupil of Xenophon, who in turn studied with those who studied with Socrates, and even studied with him himself at a young age. The cynical tradition also had a major influence in the later school of Stoicism, which is more often associated with the idea of living in accordance with nature's laws. For the cynics, this meant living with the virtues of self-sufficiency, reason, and freedom. It can easily be seen that this runs counter to many aspects of an organized society; the cynics saw the temples and many other religious and political centers and figures as means of reducing freedom fro no point other than the gain of a few individuals.

Diogenes of Sinope is considered one of the most major philosophers of the cynical school, but there were also others. Dio Chrysostomos is not always associated with the cynics, but his Euboean speech outlines the basics of cynical virtue in poverty and simplicity. In it, Dio Chrysostomos describes the dwelling and way of life of a hunter he has met, who lives in complete simplicity along with an extended family -- they hunt, and till the land a little, not concerning themselves with wealth but merely with obtaining enough to survive (Atchity & McKenna, 315). The man Dio Chrysostomos describes meeting in this speech also tells him how their fathers used to keep herds for a rich man, and how on this man's death the herds and lands were taken by other rich men, leaving them without their mode of survival until they realized that the complexities of working for another were totally unnecessary, and they went back to the simple way of life that nature had intended and became entirely self-sufficient. In this speech, Dio Chrysostomos describes not only the quintessential virtuous life that the cynics were proponents of -- the simpler one could meet the demands and needs of nature, the more virtuous they were in their mode of life -- but also illustrates, through the story of the hunter's past, the irrationality of the modern system of subsistence (Atchity & MCKenna, 316).