When we throw around the word cynic casually, it usually refers to someone who distrusts the motives of others while looking down on them. This is a modern interpretation of the word – for any speaker of ancient Greek, the meaning would have been clear: cynics are like dogs; the word kyon means dog (where we got the word canine), and kynikos means dog-like.

In a forthcoming post we will focus on the life and thoughts of Diogenes – a Greek
philosopher who was one of the founders of Cynicism. As a precursor, this post asks the
question of why were the cynics dog like? To quote the mid 18th century historian of philosophy and philology, Christian August Brandis:

There are four reasons why the Cynics are so named. First because of the indifference of their way of life, for they make a cult of indifference and, like dogs, eat and make love in public, go barefoot, and sleep in tubs and at crossroads. The second reason is that the dog is a shameless animal, and they make a cult of shamelessness, not as being beneath modesty, but as superior to it. The third reason is that the dog is a good guard, and they guard the tenets of their philosophy. The fourth reason is that the dog is a discriminating animal which can distinguish between its friends and enemies. So do they recognize as friends those who are suited to philosophy, and receive them kindly, while those unfitted they drive away, like dogs, by barking at them.

Christian August Brandis, Scholium on Aristotle’s Rhetoric, quoted in Dudley 1937, p. 5

Or to quote Diogenes himself, via Stobaeus, a 5th century C.E. writer from Macedonia:

Other dogs bite their enemies, I bite my friends to save them.

Diogenes of Sinope, quoted by Stobaeus in Anthology, Book 3, Chapter 13, Paragraph 44.

So, what was the point of a Cynical life?

Primarily, such a life seeks Eudaimonia (good Daimons) here understood as human happiness. Daimons referred to the lesser gods, and attaining eudaimonia was through both emulating the qualities of a benevolent deity and thusly being protected by these good spirits. For the Cynics, the basis for this achievement necessitated mental clarity and the transcending of false, confused, arrogant or decadent beliefs. Eudaimonia requires self-reliance, equanimity, love of our fellow humans, and an indifference to the hardships of life. It also requires the Cynic’s logical reasoning to live in accordance with nature, which in itself compels the open challenging of all of the social norms and cultural pursuits that take humans away from living a natural life.

This last point regarding the challenging of social constructs is what differentiates the Cynics from the Stoics and the Buddhists. The latter two groups were not into proselytizing, let alone condemning people in general. The Cynics, on the other hand, were social beings, poking fun at all societal norms. One of their heroes was the mythical Heracles, who was proudly antisocial, and had an intimate relationship with dogs. Hercules had managed to successfully wrestle, capture, and return Cerberus, the three headed hound of Hades, to his home in the Underworld. To imitate their symbolic hero, they walked with staffs to emulate Hercules club and used them likewise. These staffs were not utilized to help the Cynics move around; they were carried as weapons to be used, especially while insulting the populace at large.

Historically, Cynicism is a bridge between the philosophy of Socrates and the beginning of Stoicism, with three principal thinkers in between. First came Antisthenes, a pupil of Socrates in the late 400s BCE; Diogenes followed him. In turn, Diogene’s student, Crates of Thebes. Crates of Thebes, like Diogenes before him, came from a place of privilege, but gave it all away as part of his renunciation. He would go on to teach Zeno of Citium, who is regarded as the founder of Stoicism.

It is very likely that all three Cynics were influenced by the so-called Gymnosophists, which literally translates to naked seekers of wisdom, various wandering ascetics from India, as asserted by Philo, Lucian, Clement of Alexandria, Philostratus, and Heliodorus of Emesa. As a side note, if you’re looking at the word Gymnsophists, and wondering about the prefix Gym, it does mean naked, as ancient Greek Gymnasiums were filled with entirely naked athletes, doused in olive oil. Etruscan Gymansiums, being more progressive (as Etruscan society generally was), also let women flail around in the nude, doused in oil. But I digress…

A true Cynic has no property or desire for wealth, fame, power or reputation. The cost of freedom, much like it is for both classical Stoics and Buddhists, is renunciation. The Cynics just add layers of snark, making a point of the follies of society, high and low.

As noted above, we will shortly be looking at the Dog-Man himself, Diogenes of Sinope. In the meantime, keep barking.