![Aristippus](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/Aristippus.jpg)
The Cyrenaics or Kyrenaics ( grc, Κυρηναϊκοί, Kyrēnaïkoí), were a sensual
hedonist
Hedonism refers to a family of theories, all of which have in common that pleasure plays a central role in them. ''Psychological'' or ''motivational hedonism'' claims that human behavior is determined by desires to increase pleasure and to decre ...
Greek school of philosophy founded in the 4th century
BCE
Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the or ...
, supposedly by
Aristippus of Cyrene
Aristippus of Cyrene (; grc, Ἀρίστιππος ὁ Κυρηναῖος; c. 435 – c. 356 BCE) was a hedonistic Greek philosopher and the founder of the Cyrenaic school of philosophy. He was a pupil of Socrates, but adopted a very differen ...
, although many of the principles of the school are believed to have been formalized by his grandson of the same name,
Aristippus the Younger. The school was so called after
Cyrene, the birthplace of Aristippus. It was one of the earliest
Socratic schools. The Cyrenaics taught that the only intrinsic good is pleasure, which meant not just the absence of pain (as it did for
Epicurus
Epicurus (; grc-gre, Ἐπίκουρος ; 341–270 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher and sage who founded Epicureanism, a highly influential school of philosophy. He was born on the Greek island of Samos to Athenian parents. Influenced ...
), but positively enjoyable sensations. Of these, momentary pleasures, especially physical ones, are stronger than those of anticipation or memory. They did, however, recognize the value of social obligation and that pleasure could be gained from
altruistic
Altruism is the principle and moral practice of concern for the welfare and/or happiness of other human beings or animals, resulting in a quality of life both material and spiritual. It is a traditional virtue in many cultures and a core asp ...
behaviour. The school died out within a century and was replaced by the philosophy of
Epicureanism
Epicureanism is a system of philosophy founded around 307 BC based upon the teachings of the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus. Epicureanism was originally a challenge to Platonism. Later its main opponent became Stoicism.
Few writings by Epi ...
.
History of the school
The history of the Cyrenaic school begins with
Aristippus of Cyrene, who was born around 435 BCE. He came to
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
as a young man and became a pupil of
Socrates
Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no te ...
. We have only limited knowledge of his movements after the
execution of Socrates in 399 BCE, although he is said to have lived for a time in the court of
Dionysius of Syracuse.
It is uncertain precisely which doctrines ascribed to the Cyrenaic school were formulated by Aristippus.
Diogenes Laërtius
Diogenes Laërtius ( ; grc-gre, Διογένης Λαέρτιος, ; ) was a biographer of the Ancient Greece, Greek philosophers. Nothing is definitively known about his life, but his surviving ''Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers'' is a ...
, based on the authority of
Sotion
Sotion of Alexandria ( grc-gre, Σωτίων, ''gen''.: Σωτίωνος; fl. c. 200 – 170 BC) was a Greek doxographer and biographer, and an important source for Diogenes Laërtius. None of his works survive; they are known only indirectly ...
and
Panaetius
Panaetius (; grc-gre, Παναίτιος, Panaítios; – ) of Rhodes was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek Stoicism, Stoic philosopher. He was a pupil of Diogenes of Babylon and Antipater of Tarsus in Athens, before moving to Rome where he did m ...
, provided a long list of books said to have been written by Aristippus. However, Diogenes also wrote that
Sosicrates Sosicrates of Rhodes ( el, Σωσικράτης ὁ Ῥόδιος; ''floruit'' ''c.'' 180 BC) was a Greek historical writer. He was born on the island Rhodes and is noted, chiefly, for his frequent mention by Diogenes Laërtius in his ''Lives and O ...
had stated that Aristippus had written nothing. Among Aristippus' pupils was his daughter,
Arete of Cyrene, and among her pupils was her son
Aristippus the Younger. It was he, according to
Aristocles, who created a comprehensive system. At the least, however, it can be said that the foundations of Cyrenaic philosophy were ideas originated by the elder Aristippus,
refined by Arete, and then further refined by Aristippus the Younger.
After the time of the younger Aristippus, the school broke up into different factions, represented by
Anniceris
Anniceris ( grc-gre, Ἀννίκερις; fl. 300 BC) was a Cyrenaic philosopher. He argued that pleasure is achieved through individual acts of gratification which are sought for the pleasure that they produce, but he also laid great emphasis on t ...
,
Hegesias, and
Theodorus, who all developed rival interpretations of Cyrenaic doctrines, many of which were responses to the new system of
hedonistic philosophy laid down by
Epicurus
Epicurus (; grc-gre, Ἐπίκουρος ; 341–270 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher and sage who founded Epicureanism, a highly influential school of philosophy. He was born on the Greek island of Samos to Athenian parents. Influenced ...
. By the middle of the 3rd century BC, the Cyrenaic school was obsolete;
Epicureanism
Epicureanism is a system of philosophy founded around 307 BC based upon the teachings of the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus. Epicureanism was originally a challenge to Platonism. Later its main opponent became Stoicism.
Few writings by Epi ...
had successfully beaten its Cyrenaic rivals by offering a system which was more sophisticated.
Philosophy
The Cyrenaics were
hedonists
Hedonism refers to a family of theories, all of which have in common that pleasure plays a central role in them. ''Psychological'' or ''motivational hedonism'' claims that human behavior is determined by desires to increase pleasure and to decre ...
and held that pleasure was the supreme good in life, especially physical pleasure, which they thought more intense and more desirable than mental pleasures.
Pleasure is the only good in life and pain is the only evil.
Socrates
Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no te ...
had held that
virtue
Virtue ( la, virtus) is moral excellence. A virtue is a trait or quality that is deemed to be morally good and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being. In other words, it is a behavior that shows high moral standard ...
was the only human good, but he had also accepted a limited role for its utilitarian side, allowing pleasure to be a secondary goal of moral action.
Aristippus and his followers seized upon this, and made pleasure the sole final goal of life, denying that virtue had any intrinsic value.
Epistemology
The Cyrenaics were known for their
skeptical
Skepticism, also spelled scepticism, is a questioning attitude or doubt toward knowledge claims that are seen as mere belief or dogma. For example, if a person is skeptical about claims made by their government about an ongoing war then the p ...
theory of knowledge
Epistemology (; ), or the theory of knowledge, is the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge. Epistemology is considered a major subfield of philosophy, along with other major subfields such as ethics, logic, and metaphysics.
Ep ...
. They reduced logic to a basic doctrine concerning the
criterion of truth
In epistemology, criteria of truth (or tests of truth) are standards and rules used to judge the accuracy of statements and claims. They are tools of verification, and as in the problem of the criterion, the reliability of these tools is disputed ...
. They thought that we can know with certainty our immediate
sense-experiences (for instance, that I am having a sweet sensation now) but can know nothing about the nature of the objects that cause these sensations (for instance, that the honey is sweet).
They also denied that we can have knowledge of what the experiences of other people are like.
All knowledge is of one's own immediate sensation. These sensations are motions which are purely subjective, and are painful, indifferent or pleasant, according as they are violent, tranquil or gentle.
Further they are entirely individual, and can in no way be described as being of the world objectively. Feeling, therefore, is the only possible criterion of knowledge and of conduct.
Our ways of being affected are alone knowable. Thus the sole aim for everyone should be pleasure.
Ethics
Cyrenaicism deduces a single, universal aim for all people which is pleasure. Furthermore, all feeling is momentary and homogeneous. It follows that past and future pleasure have no real existence for us, and that among present pleasures there is no distinction of kind.
Socrates had spoken of the higher pleasures of the intellect; the Cyrenaics denied the validity of this distinction and said that bodily pleasures, being more simple and more intense, were preferable.
Momentary pleasure, preferably of a physical kind, is the only good for humans. When it comes to pain the Cyrenaics held the opinion that pain which occurs suddenly is more difficult to endure than pain that can be foreseen.
However some actions which give immediate pleasure can create more than their equivalent of pain. The wise person should be in control of pleasures rather than be enslaved to them, otherwise pain will result, and this requires judgement to evaluate the different pleasures of life.
Regard should be paid to law and custom, because even though these things have no intrinsic value on their own, violating them will lead to unpleasant penalties being imposed by others.
Likewise, friendship and justice are useful because of the pleasure they provide.
Thus the Cyrenaics believed in the hedonistic value of social obligation and altruistic behavior. Like many of the leading modern
utilitarians
In ethical philosophy, utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for all affected individuals.
Although different varieties of utilitarianism admit different charact ...
, they combined with their psychological distrust of popular judgments of right and wrong, and their firm conviction that all such distinctions are based solely on law and convention, the equally unwavering principle that the wise person who would pursue pleasure logically must abstain from that which is usually thought wrong or unjust. This idea, which occupies a prominent position in systems like those of
Jeremy Bentham
Jeremy Bentham (; 15 February 1748 Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._4_February_1747.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. 4 February 1747">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.htm ...
,
Volney, and even
William Paley
William Paley (July 174325 May 1805) was an English clergyman, Christian apologist, philosopher, and utilitarian. He is best known for his natural theology exposition of the teleological argument for the existence of God in his work ''Natural T ...
, was clearly of prime importance to the Cyrenaics.
Later Cyrenaics
The later Cyrenaics,
Anniceris
Anniceris ( grc-gre, Ἀννίκερις; fl. 300 BC) was a Cyrenaic philosopher. He argued that pleasure is achieved through individual acts of gratification which are sought for the pleasure that they produce, but he also laid great emphasis on t ...
,
Hegesias, and
Theodorus, all developed variations on the standard Cyrenaic doctrine. For Anniceris, pleasure is achieved through individual acts of gratification which are sought for the pleasure that they produce,
but Anniceris laid great emphasis on the love of family, country, friendship and gratitude, which provide pleasure even when they demand sacrifice.
Hegesias believed that
eudaimonia
Eudaimonia (Greek: εὐδαιμονία ; sometimes anglicized as eudaemonia or eudemonia, ) is a Greek word literally translating to the state or condition of 'good spirit', and which is commonly translated as 'happiness' or 'welfare'.
In wor ...
is impossible to achieve,
and hence the goal of life becomes the avoidance of pain and sorrow.
Conventional values such as wealth, poverty, freedom, and slavery are all indifferent and produce no more pleasure than pain.
For Hegesias, Cyrenaic hedonism was simply the least irrational strategy for dealing with the pains of life.
For Theodorus, the goal of life is mental pleasure not bodily pleasure,
and he placed greater emphasis on the need for moderation and justice. He was also famous for being an
atheist
Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
.
To some extent these philosophers were all trying to meet the challenge laid down by
Epicureanism
Epicureanism is a system of philosophy founded around 307 BC based upon the teachings of the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus. Epicureanism was originally a challenge to Platonism. Later its main opponent became Stoicism.
Few writings by Epi ...
,
and the success of
Epicurus
Epicurus (; grc-gre, Ἐπίκουρος ; 341–270 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher and sage who founded Epicureanism, a highly influential school of philosophy. He was born on the Greek island of Samos to Athenian parents. Influenced ...
was in developing a system of philosophy which would prove to be more comprehensive and sophisticated than its rivals'.
The philosophy of the Cyrenaics around the time of
Hegesias of Cyrene
Hegesias ( el, Ἡγησίας; fl. 290 BC) of Cyrene was a Cyrenaic philosopher. He argued that eudaimonia (happiness) is impossible to achieve, and that the goal of life should be the avoidance of pain and sorrow. Conventional values suc ...
evolved in a way that has similarities with
Pyrrhonism
Pyrrhonism is a school of philosophical skepticism founded by Pyrrho in the fourth century BCE. It is best known through the surviving works of Sextus Empiricus, writing in the late second century or early third century CE.
History
Pyrrho of E ...
,
Epicurianism
Epicureanism is a system of philosophy founded around 307 BC based upon the teachings of the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus. Epicureanism was originally a challenge to Platonism. Later its main opponent became Stoicism.
Few writings by ...
and also
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
.
[Berenice II and the Golden Age of Ptolemaic Egypt, Dee L. Clayman, Oxford University Press, 2014, p.33](_blank)
/ref> In fact, there are striking similarities with the tenets of Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
, in particular the Four Noble Truths
In Buddhism, the Four Noble Truths (Sanskrit: ; pi, cattāri ariyasaccāni; "The four Arya satyas") are "the truths of the Noble Ones", the truths or realities for the "spiritually worthy ones". _and_the_concept_of_Dukkha">Four_Noble_Truths:_BUDDHIST_PHILOSOPHY_Encycl_...