A History of Cynicism

A History of Cynicism Synopsis

This is a general introduction to the Hellenistic philosophy of Cynicism. To the student of ancient philosophy Cynicism may seem little more than a debased version of the ethics of Socrates, which exaggerates his austerity to a fanatic asceticism, hardens his irony to sardonic laughter at the follies of mankind, and affords no parallel to his love of knowledge. Diogenes was 'Socrates gone mad' . On the other hand, for the student of ancient social history and thought from the 4th century BC to the close of antiquity, and even beyond, the mind-set of cynicism is still a constant or ever-recurring theme.

Dudley's monograph on ancient Cynicism, although published in 1937, remains a standard work, indeed the only book-length treatment of the subject in English. There has been a considerable amount of recent work on Hellenistic philosophy and on Cynicism in particular - articles and collected essays - but nothing that replaces the overview of Dudley, whose book is described by the editors of the most recent collection as 'the best general introduction in English'.