Hellenistic culture could well be compared to the world of today. The
twentieth century has also been influenced by an increasingly open
civilization. In our own time, too, this opening out has resulted in tremendous
upheavals for religion and philosophy. And just as in Rome around the
beginning of the Christian era one could come across Greek, Egyptian, and
Oriental religions, today, as we approach the end of the twentieth century, we
can find in all European cities of any size religions from all parts of the world.
We also see nowadays how a conglomeration of old and new religions,
philosophies, and sciences can form the basis of new offers on the “view-of-
life” market. Much of this “new knowledge” is actually the flotsam of old
thought, some of whose roots go back to Hellenism.
As I have said, Hellenistic philosophy continued to work with the
problems raised by Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Common to them all was
their desire to discover how mankind should best live and die. They were
concerned with ethics. In the new civilization, this became the central phil-
osophical project. The main emphasis was on finding out what true happiness
was and how it could be achieved. We are going to look at four of these
philosophical trends.
The Cynics
The story goes that one day Socrates stood gazing at a stall that sold all
kinds of wares. Finally he said, “What a lot of things I don’t need!”
This statement could be the motto for the Cynic school of philosophy,
founded by Antisthenes in Athens around 400 B.C.
Antisthenes had been a pupil of Socrates, and had become particularly
interested in his frugality.
The Cynics emphasized that true happiness is not found in external
advantages such as material luxury, political power, or good health. True
happiness lies in not being dependent on such random and fleeting things.
And because happiness does not consist in benefits of this kind, it is within
everyone’s reach. Moreover, having once been attained, it can never be lost.
The best known of the Cynics was Diogenes, a pupil of Antisthenes, who
reputedly lived in a barrel and owned nothing but a cloak, a stick, and a bread
bag. (So it wasn’t easy to steal his happiness from him!) One day while he
was sitting beside his barrel enjoying the sun, he was visited by Alexander the
Great. The emperor stood before him and asked if there was anything he
could do for him. Was there anything he desired? “Yes,” Diogenes replied.
“Stand to one side. You’re blocking the sun.” Thus Diogenes showed that he
was no less happy and rich than the great man before him. He had everything
he desired.
The Cynics believed that people did not need to be concerned about
their own health. Even suffering and death should not disturb them. Nor
should they let themselves be tormented by concern for other people’s woes.
Nowadays the terms “cynical” and “cynicism” have come to mean a sneering
disbelief in human sincerity, and they imply insensitivity to other people’s
suffering.
The Stoics
The Cynics were instrumental in the development of the Stoic school of