Cynicism

Cynicism was an ancient Greek philosophical movement that rejected social convention and advocated living according to nature through radical simplicity and self-sufficiency.

Socratic philosophy: A method and tradition of philosophical inquiry associated with Socrates, emphasizing questioning and examined virtue. Cynicism treated Socrates’ independence and endurance as models for philosophical life.
Antisthenes: A Socratic philosopher in Athens, traditionally regarded as an early influence on Cynicism. Ancient accounts connect his austere ethics and teaching with the movement’s beginnings.
Parrhesia: Frank, fearless speech that openly states uncomfortable truths. Cynics used blunt speech to expose hypocrisy and challenge powerful conventions.
Stoicism: A Hellenistic philosophy that locates virtue in rational agreement with nature and distinguishes it from external goods. Stoicism inherited Cynic themes but developed a more systematic ethics and civic engagement.
Roman Cynicism: The continuation and adaptation of Cynic philosophy in the Roman world. Roman Cynics carried its public criticism and austere way of life into imperial cities.
Arete: The Greek concept of excellence or virtue, understood as fulfilling a thing’s distinctive capacities. Cynics made virtue the sole good and prized character over wealth or status.
Diogenes of Sinope: A Greek philosopher famed for rejecting convention and living with extreme simplicity. His public defiance became the best-known embodiment of Cynic ideals.
Anaideia: A shameless disregard for conventional standards of propriety. Cynic public behavior deliberately crossed boundaries that convention treated as inviolable.
Cyrenaicism: A Greek philosophical school that treated immediate bodily pleasure as the chief good. Its pursuit of pleasure contrasts with Cynic discipline and suspicion of desire.
Demonax: A second-century Greek philosopher remembered for a witty, publicly enacted form of Cynicism. His life illustrates the movement’s survival in the Roman imperial period.

Linked from 13 pages