Cynicism is the lazy man's philosophy--the belief of the man who has gone up against the world only to find himself giving up.
Grendel
I basicly agree. Marcus Aurelius "Stoicism" comes to mind...
"The Latin writings of Marcus Aurelius, letters to a teacher, Fronto, are not interesting, but the "Writings to Himself", called Meditations, are remarkable. They are personal reflections and aphorisms, written for his own edification during a long career of public service, after marching or battle in the remote Danube. Meditations are valuable primarily as a personal document, what it is to be a Stoic. His opinions in central philosophical questions are very much similar to Epictetus's (c. 55-135 AD) teachings. Epictetus's two basic principles were: Endure and Abstain. He stressed that inner freedom is to be attained through submission to providence, and rigorous detachment from everything not in our power."
www.kirjasto.sci.fi
"He(Epictetus)stressed that inner freedom is to be attained through submission to providence, and rigorous detachment from everything not in our power."
Stocism goes beyond Cynicism as I see it...
Stoics - Moral Philosophy
Epictetus
http://
ancienthistory.about.com/
library/weekly/aa010400a.htm
By N.S. Gill
"Imagine someone's twisting your leg. It hurts. "If you don't stop you'll break it," you warn him. A few moments later you calmly say, "See, I told you you'd break it." It's for just such stoicism that the philosopher Epictetus is remembered.
Epictetus was born a slave in Phrygia but came to Rome. Eventually he won his freedom from his crippling, abusive master and left Rome because of Domitian's edict against philosophers. The date of this edict (89) is the only firm date we have for Epictetus, but it is thought he lived from c.55-c.135 A.D.
As a stoic, Epictetus thought man should be concerned solely with will, which alone he can control. External events are beyond such control.
Some things are in our control and others not. Things in our control are opinion, pursuit, desire, aversion, and, in a word, whatever are our own actions. Things not in our control are body, property, reputation, command, and, in one word, whatever are not our own actions.
(http://www.utm.edu/research/
iep/text/epictet/epicench.htm) Epictetus's "Enchiridion" (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy). In following such principles, the stoic should try not to desire or have aversions because he who fails to obtain the object of his desire is disappointed, and he who incurs the object of his aversion wretched. Thus, hating sickness, death, and poverty will do no good but will lead to disappointment.
Epictetus is full of words of wisdom that, if followed, would lead to a happy and free life. While all but impossible for most of us, they are goals worth considering."
