Cynic's Corner

[LightLizard]

Come join the movement to return the art of cynicism to its rightful
place in the world!
The Cynics were a branch of Greek philosophers in ancient times who believed that the only thing worth attaining in life was virtue, and it could only be attained through self disipline.

I have a feeling the early christians trashed the original cynics, like they did most of the pagan traditions of the time.

I'll start.

People say that I seem to be more tolerant as I have gotten older.

Actually, I just don't give a shit.
 

[st789]

Who care!!!!!!

[MyssAnne]

I'm too tired to care!   

[LightLizard]

I'm too tired to care!   

hey! that's not cynical, that's apathetic!
 

[LightLizard]

This is pretty cool, if ya ask me...

from the MSN 'Encarta' Dictionary;

 
Cyn·ic [ sínnik ]


noun  (plural Cyn·ics)
 
Definition:
 
ancient Greek philosopher: a member of a group of ancient Greek philosophers who believed that virtue is the only good and that the only means of achieving it is self-control. The sect was founded by Antisthenes in the 4th century bc.

 


adjective 
 
Definition:
 
relating to Cynics: belonging to, characteristic of, or relating to the Cynics

 
[Mid-16th century. Via Latin< Greek Kunikos]
 

[jbeany]

We haven't really kept to the original meaning the way we use the word today, have we?

[LightLizard]

no, we haven't jbeany. but, that's pretty common in our post-industrial, left-brain world.
lots of words and traditions have been altered through the centuries to accomodate the agenda of the ruling streams of thought.
christians destroyed many of the temples that pagans performed their rituals in, and holidays such as christmas and easter were essentailly, hijacked to satisfy their ends.
(the tree was originally a pagan symbol. the easter egg, too, was a pagan symbol of new life, and the rabbit a symbol of fertility).
its not surprising that the word 'cynic' would be made to seem a negative term. the christians didn't want any 'competition' to spoil their need to control minds.
even the past few generations have seen alterations in our language both large and small, that show a real drift into entropy.
i remember as a child when 'mooning' -for instance- meant to pine over a lost love.
when i became a teen, 'mooning' meant hanging your butt out of a car window to shock people in other cars...heehee
'gay' used to mean simply; 'happy, carefree'. it doesn't now, does it?
no, now 'cynical' means 'sarcastic, critical' and has taken on a negative connotation, like many of the old ways. mythology itself has been changed to be synonomous with 'lie' - which i think is very unfortunate. mythology used to be a method of passing spiritual truths through story-form. truths that could not be comprehended in any other way.
now, the mythologies of the bible and other holy writings have been delegated to the realm of 'history' - and the fantasies continue...
no wonder we have such a troubled world...

[Mimi]

History of Cynicism
The Cynics believed virtue was the only necessity for happiness, and that it was entirely sufficient for attaining happiness. The Cynics followed this philosophy to the extent of neglecting everything not furthering their perfection of virtue and attainment of happiness, thus, the title 'Cynics', derived from the Greek word 'kuon', 'dog' in English, was assigned them because they lived like dogs - neglecting society, personal hygiene, family obligations, pursuing money - to lead entirely virtuous, and thus happy, lives.[1]

Come on LL how did the Christians get in this?
 
Mimi

[LightLizard]

yo mimi. if you read my post above, you'll see how the christians got into this.
they were determined to obliterate anything that had to do with pagan beliefs, and that included greek philosophy, big time!
the ancient temples of greece still show the destructive force of the christians' determination with their decimated statues and crumbling temples. the destruction is not due to just the passage of time, as historians and archeologists have proven.
as far as i'm concerned, ALL religion is poison.

[oswald]

maybe she was being cynical.   

[LightLizard]

maybe she was being cynical.   

mimi? cynical? you mean we have converted her?

welcome to the fold, mimi!

 

[Zach]

I'm on the side of the Heretics.
 

[LightLizard]

i guess that's better than the Lunatics.
 

[kellyt]

Cynical?     What's the point...




 

[LightLizard]

the problem is, understanding the term has become quite difficult, thanks to generations of misuse. it is not apathy, or even sarcasm, as many seem to think, but a belief that the way to happiness is through aquiring virtue by means of disipline.
the rejection of the rules and methods of societal life was the way of the cynic, originally, so they could be thought of as the first bohemians, or hippies, if you wish.
i find the philosophy of the original Cynics to be admirable and worthy of great respect.

[LightLizard]

hey, maybe we could start a new, reasonable religion.

The Humourists.

We worship the elbow and seek any reason to lean on it.

Life is a joke and death is the punchline.

Then again, maybe not....

[Mimi]

LL I'm sorry to hear that you feel all religion is poison.  The atidote to that poison is Jesus Christ  The first commandment our
Father gave to Moses was "You shall have no other Gods before me."
It appears that Greek Mythology, and that is what it is 'myth', has gotten you confused.  Perhaps that is the reason
you have no purpose.  However, our Father gave us free will to choose and I respect your right to do just that.
I hope you will respect my right to be a Christian.

With alll goood wishes to you,

Mimi

[LightLizard]

christ was myth too, mimi, and if you did the research you would see that. but i don't expect you will. most so-called 'christians' have accepted the lie that is christianity because it makes them feel better about themselves.
from the destruction of the pagan temples, the spanish inquisition, to the burning of the witches in 'salem, chritianity has burned a path of destruction for so many centuries that there is no way to bring the followers of such a sick belief system back to reality.
most religions, if not all, offer rewards that can't be delivered. or, at least, there is no way to verify the rewards they offer.
there is some good done by some christians, i'll grant that, but there is also good done by atheists, buddhists and even muslims.
the point is, religion is, as marx said, 'the opiate of the masses', generally speaking...
that's my take on it, and you are welcome to yours, of course.

[Zach]

hey, maybe we could start a new, reasonable religion.

The Humourists.

ps;

I say, lets hear it for The Renalists!
 

[LightLizard]

yeah zach, lets hear it for the Renalists as we renalize renality...