Cynicism, Ansgar Allen
Cynicism, Ansgar Allen
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Cynicism

Author: Ansgar Allen

Narrator: Nigel Patterson

Unabridged: 5 hr 9 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Ascent Audio

Published: 05/05/2020


Synopsis

Everyone's a cynic, yet few will admit it. Today's cynics excuse themselves half-heartedly—"I hate to be a cynic, but . . ."—before making their pronouncements. Narrowly opportunistic, always on the take, contemporary cynicism has nothing positive to contribute. The Cynicism of the ancient Greeks, however, was very different. Bold and shameless, it was committed to transforming the values on which civilization depends. In this volume of the MIT Press Essential Knowledge series, Ansgar Allen charts the long history of cynicism, from the "fearless speech" of Greek Cynics in the fourth century BCE to the contemporary cynic's lack of social and political convictions.

Allen describes ancient Cynicism as an improvised philosophy and a way of life disposed to scandalize contemporaries, subjecting their cultural commitments to derision. He chronicles the subsequent "purification" of Cynicism by the Stoics; Renaissance and Enlightenment appropriations of Cynicism; and the transition from Cynicism (the philosophy) to cynicism (the modern attitude), exploring contemporary cynicism from the perspectives of its leftist, liberal, and conservative critics. Finally, he considers the possibility of a radical cynicism that admits and affirms the danger it poses to contemporary society.

Reviews

Goodreads review by C. on October 21, 2020

Kinik felsefe tarihine ilişkin en son çıkan eser. Giriş metni olarak okunabilir. Tavsiye ederim. Kitaptan: "The Cynic does not offer a beautiful example for others to emulate. The Cynic life does not adorn humankind. The Cynic existence is committed to a personal and public disfigurement of what is va......more

Goodreads review by Lucí on August 17, 2023

Solid introduction to public masturbation......more

Goodreads review by Tobi on September 02, 2023

highly recommend......more

Goodreads review by Temuulen on April 20, 2021

On my readingspree of MIT essential knowledge series. The book was good, but perhaps for someone with little to no interest in history or philosophy this book might be a hard one to sell for. But well as Diogenes said, "Other dogs bite their enemies, but I my friends, so as to save them."......more

Goodreads review by Dan on February 16, 2024

I found this to be a marvelous overview of the history of cynicism as a philosophical practice. The author both clearly expounds on his mostly positive view of cynicism and relates in generous ways an array of arguments against cynicism, both in terms of classical understandings such as those of Dio......more