Cynic school

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The Cynic school was an ancient Greek philosophical movement that advocated for a life of virtue in accordance with nature, rejecting conventional desires for wealth, power, and social status.


Statements (50)

Predicate Object
instanceOf ancient Greek philosophical movement
philosophical school
attitudeTowardInstitutions critique of marriage and family conventions
critique of political institutions
attitudeTowardPossessions embrace of poverty
attitudeTowardReligion skepticism toward traditional religious practices
corePrinciple anaideia (shamelessness) in defiance of convention
askēsis (ascetic training)
autarkeia (self-sufficiency)
living in accordance with nature
parrhesia (frank speech)
rejection of conventional desires for power
rejection of conventional desires for social status
rejection of conventional desires for wealth
virtue is the only good
countryOfOrigin Greek Antiquity
surface form: Ancient Greece
ethicalFocus freedom from passion and possession
simplicity of life
virtue
etymology name derived from Greek "kynikos" meaning dog-like
founder Antisthenes
historicalPeriod Classical Greece
Hellenistic period
inception 4th century BCE
influenced Hellenistic philosophy
Stoicism
surface form: Stoic school

Zeno of Citium
influencedBy Antisthenes
Socrates
Socratic philosophy
languageOfExpression Ancient Greek
legacy model for later radical social criticism
precursor to Stoic ethics
notablePhilosopher Crates of Thebes
Diogenes of Sinope
Hipparchia of Maroneia
Metrocles of Maroneia
Monimus of Syracuse
philosophicalTradition Cynicism
placeOfOrigin Athens
relatedConcept asceticism
cosmopolitanism
minimalism in lifestyle
symbol dog
teachingMethod dialogue and satire
public example and performance
viewOnConvention social conventions are often contrary to nature
viewOnSociety civilization corrupts natural virtue
viewOnVirtue virtue is sufficient for happiness
viewOnWealth wealth is indifferent or harmful to virtue

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Antisthenes associatedWith Cynic school
School of Socrates influenced Cynic school
Megarian school relatedSchool Cynic school