Cyrenaic

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The Cyrenaics were followers and descendants of an ancient philosophical school in Greece in the 4th and 3rd centuries BC. The school was founded by Aristippus of Cyrene .

The writings produced by this school of thought are all lost. Only numerous testimonies have survived (ancient reports on life and teaching).

The Cyrenaists are united by a common theoretical basic concept. Some ancient philosophers have differentiated the "actual Cyrenaic" (Aristippus of Cyrene, Arete of Cyrene and Aristippus the Younger ) from their later successors ( Hegesias , Annikeris and Theodoros of Cyrene ), to whom they each assigned their own groupings (the Hegesiak, the Annikereer and the Theodorees).

Representative

Representatives were:

Other Cyrenaists, about whom almost nothing is known, were Antipater of Cyrene , Paraibates (only mentioned in two places in Diogenes Laertios and in the article Annikeris in the Suda ) and Aristotle of Cyrene .

Teaching

This section deals with the teaching of the Cyrenaics as a whole. In some cases it is difficult and often impossible to distinguish between the contributions of the various representatives to this doctrine, since the ancient reports often refer to "the Cyrenaicans" as a whole. This particularly applies to Aristippus, Arete and Aristippus the Younger. As far as their successors are concerned, a number of passages have survived in which it is reported to what extent they had different views on the teaching of their predecessors. Such passages are dealt with separately in the articles on Hegesias, Annikeris, and Theodoros of Cyrene.

Occupation with ethics, epistemology, physics and logic

There are various reports on which parts of philosophy the Cyrenaicists have dealt with. They are said to have refused to deal with the problems of ancient physics , since knowledge in this area would, if at all possible, be of no use to humans. The reports are contradicting whether the Cyrenaists also renounced the preoccupation with dialectical (today one would say: logical ) questions. In any case, the central area of ​​their occupation was ethics , which they supposedly divided into five sub-areas:

  • Of that which is to be striven for ( airet undn ) and to be avoided ( pheuktṓn )
  • From the sensations ( pathṓn )
  • From the actions ( práxeōn )
  • From the causes ( aitíōn ) (this was probably also about physical questions)
  • From the evidence ( píseōn ) (this was probably also about logical questions)

Based on this list, it is assumed that physics and logic were also dealt with by the Cyrenaists, however mainly insofar as they were ethically relevant questions. So in the ethical sub-area “From the causes” it was probably also about physics, in the sub-area “From the evidence” probably also about logic. A number of testimonies deal with the epistemology of the Cyrenaics.

Epistemology

A detailed report from Sextus Empiricus has been received on the Cyrenaic epistemology . The following thesis is central: "Only the sensations ( páthē ) are recognized and are unmistakable, but none of the things that caused the sensations are recognizable and unmistakable." That different people make the same statement about the nature of a thing and that they refer to things with "common words" ( koinà onómata ) does not change this fact. According to the Cyrenaists, reliable statements about the nature of things are impossible and things are unrecognizable.

The creation of sensations is, according to the Kyrenean view, a physical and mental process. Through the influence of external objects or events, movements ( kinḗseis ) are triggered in the body of the person concerned , which are transmitted to the soul via the sense organs and registered there as sensations. For example, instead of sentences such as “I see something white”, the Cyrenaists are said to have preferred sentences such as “I will be whitewashed” in order to make it clear that a certain object cannot be assigned the property “white”. Or in general: "I am moved by something in a certain way."

ethics

According to the Cyrenaists, the qualities good and bad can only be found in sensations - their epistemological views already rule out that things can be described as good or bad. But good sensations are synonymous with pleasurable (pleasurable: hēdú ) and bad with painful (painful: lypērón ). For the Cyrenaic people, therefore, the good is the pleasurable sensation, the bad the painful sensation. A confirmation of this is that “pleasure is desired by all living beings, whereas pain is rejected.” The highest good and the “goal of all our actions” ( télos ) is therefore pleasure, the greatest evil is pain.

From a physical point of view - as Diogenes Laertios and Sextus Empiricus say - pleasure and pain are movements. Gentle movements would be felt as pleasurable, rough movements as painful. Sextus Empiricus reports of a third state in which neither of the two movements, i.e. neither pleasure nor pain, is felt.

In contrast to other contemporary philosophical currents, the Cyrenaists did not equate the state of bliss ( eùdaimonía ) with the goal of all action. Eudaimonia would be a permanent state of perpetually strung together sensations of pleasure, a state which, according to the Cyrenaicans, is extremely difficult to achieve. The achievable goal, however, are individual, time-limited sensations of pleasure. Incidentally, the Cyrenaics did not care what arousing sensations of pleasure - for example, through actions that are socially recognized or not accepted by society. They did not differentiate between indecent and decent lust.

The perception of physical pleasure, which is regarded as the highest good, was viewed by the Cyrenaics as a physical and mental process. An impulse coming from outside causes a movement in the body, which is passed on to the soul and felt by it as pleasurable. According to Diogenes Laertios, they also recognized a lesser, purely emotional form of pleasure (they called emotional pleasures: chará ), such as enjoying the well-being of the fatherland and enjoying art.

Since for the Cyrenaic pleasure was the highest good, they only ascribed a value to other things insofar as they contribute to the gain of pleasure. Examples are wealth, friendship, and insight. For example, insight ( phrónēsis ) reveals how a situation can be shaped with relish. In some cases, for example, it can be seen that it is better to adhere to social conventions, even though they are arbitrary.

It also recommends the insight to avoid certain feelings such as envy, falling in love and superstition, as they are associated with pain and prevent sensations of pleasure. The feelings mentioned arise as a result of empty imaginations. One can free oneself from these empty imaginations through insight. For example, when you see that envy is the imagination that you have to have something that someone else has; or that being in love is the imagination that one cannot do without a person's presence and affection; or that superstition is the imagination that one is subordinate to more powerful and punishing beings. Other types of feelings, on the other hand, are grief ( lýpē ) and fear ( phóbos ). Such feelings are not empty imaginations, but come about “naturally” ( physikṓs ). According to Cicero, however, the Cyrenaists believed that grief could often be foreseen and preventive measures taken. So they spoke of a certain premeditation ( praemeditatio ). Elsewhere it is said that they recommended not only such mental training, but also physical training ( áskēsis ).

Aristippus of Cyrene is said to have been the first to introduce the concept of humanity ( anthropismós ) into philosophy and, according to Xenophon , Teles von Megara and Plutarch, represented a cosmopolitanism .

reception

The Cyrenaics are seen as early representatives of hedonism and as the predecessors of later Epicureanism .

Source collections

  • Gabriele Giannantoni (Ed.): Socratis et Socraticorum Reliquiae , Volume 2, Bibliopolis, Naples 1990, Section IV ( online )
  • Erich Mannebach (Ed.): Aristippi et Cyrenaicorum fragmenta , EJ Brill, Leiden / Cologne 1961

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ For example Diogenes Laertios, On the life and teachings of famous philosophers 1:19.
  2. ↑ Klaus Döring: Aristippus from Kyrene and the Kyrenaïker . In: Hellmut Flashar (ed.): Outline of the history of philosophy. The philosophy of antiquity . Volume 2/1, Schwabe, Basel 1998, pp. 246–266, here: p. 246.
  3. ↑ Diogenes Laertios, On the Lives and Teachings of Famous Philosophers, 2, 86; 2.134.
  4. ↑ Klaus Döring: Aristipp the Elder. and his grandson of the same name . In: Hellmut Flashar (ed.): Outline of the history of philosophy. The philosophy of antiquity . Volume 2/1, Schwabe, Basel 1998, pp. 246-257, here: pp. 246 and 250-252.
  5. ↑ Eusebius of Caesarea, Praeparatio evangelica 15,62,7; Seneca, Epistulae morales ad Lucilium 89.12; Sextus Empiricus, Adversus mathematicos 7.11; Diogenes Laertios 2.92.
  6. ↑ The section follows Klaus Döring: Aristippus from Cyrene and the Kyrenaïker . In: Hellmut Flashar (ed.): Outline of the history of philosophy. The philosophy of antiquity . Volume 2/1, Schwabe, Basel 1998, pp. 246–266, here: pp. 251–252.
  7. ↑ Sextus Empiricus, Adversus mathematicos 7,191-7,199.
  8. ↑ The section on epistemology follows Klaus Döring: Aristipp from Kyrene and the Kyrenaïker . In: Hellmut Flashar (ed.): Outline of the history of philosophy. The philosophy of antiquity . Volume 2/1, Schwabe, Basel 1998, pp. 246–266, here: pp. 252–254.
  9. ↑ Plutarch, Adversus Colotem 1120e; Sextus Empiricus, Adversus mathematicos 7,191-7,198.
  10. ↑ Diogenes Laertios, On the Lives and Teachings of Famous Philosophers 2.87 and 2.88.
  11. ↑ The section on ethics follows Klaus Döring: Aristipp from Kyrene and the Kyrenaïker . In: Hellmut Flashar (ed.): Outline of the history of philosophy. The philosophy of antiquity . Volume 2/1, Schwabe, Basel 1998, pp. 246–266, here: pp. 254–256.
  12. ↑ Diogenes Laertios, On the Lives and Teachings of Famous Philosophers 2, 85; 2,, 86.
  13. ^ Sextus Empiricus, Fundamentals of the Pyrrhonic Skepticism 1,215.
  14. ^ Sextus Empiricus, Adversus mathematicos 7.99.
  15. ↑ Diogenes Laertios, On the Life and Teachings of Famous Philosophers 2.87-2.88 and 2.90.
  16. ↑ Diogenes Laertios, On the Lives and Teachings of Famous Philosophers 2.88.
  17. ↑ Diogenes Laertios, On the Lives and Teachings of Famous Philosophers, 2.87; Quintilian , Institutio oratoria 12,2,24; Lactantius , Divinae institutiones 3,7,7; Sextus Empiricus, Fundamentals of Pyrrhonic Skepticism 1,215.
  18. ↑ Diogenes Laertios, On the Lives and Teachings of Famous Philosophers 2.89; 2.90.
  19. ↑ This and the following follows Diogenes Laertios, On the Life and Teachings of Famous Philosophers 2.90–2.93.
  20. ↑ Cicero, Tusculanae disputationes 3,28,31.
  21. ↑ Diogenes Laertios, On the Lives and Teachings of Famous Philosophers 2.91.
  22. ↑ Christian Göbel 2011.
  23. ↑ Xenophon, Memorabilia 2,1,13.
  24. ↑ Teles, 29.14-30.1 (based on the 2nd edition of the collection of sources by Hense).
  25. ↑ Plutarch, at. virt. doc. poss. 439e.