Focuses on attaining virtue and happiness by living in accordance with nature, rejecting social conventions like wealth, power, and fame.
Advocates for active, radical simplicity, self-sufficiency, and blunt, public critique of social norms.
Cynics believed true happiness (Eudaimonia) is found in virtue and living according to nature, not in social status or possessions.
Core Principles:
- Autarkeia: Absolute self-sufficiency.
- Askēsis: Rigorous training of the mind and body.
- Parrhēsia: Radical honesty and freedom of speech
Stoicism originated from Cynicism but refined its approach, adopting the ethical foundation while rejecting the antisocial, “radical” behavior of the early Cynics.
Asceticism & Cynicism both share a focus on self-denial though Cynicism specifically targeted social norms alongside material comfort.