What is the CIRENAICA school – summary + videos!

In a Teacher we are going to tell you what is cyrenaic school, one of the most important philosophical schools of the Hellenism and which was founded by Aristippus of Cyrene. In addition, he had followers such as: areta (his daughter from him), Aristippus (his grandson of him), hegesias either Theodore the Atheist (the first supporter of suicide).

Likewise, this school stood out for promulgating a whole series of ideas, among which stood out: The defense of the ataraxia, the sensualist theory of knowledge (which comes from the senses), the autarchy and the good as something linked to physical and spiritual pleasure.

If you want to know what is cyrenaic school, keep reading this lesson from a PROFESSOR. Pay attention because the class begins!

Index

1. Where was the Cyrenaic school born?
2. What does the Cyrenaic school propose?
3. What differed the Cyrenaic ethics from the ethics of Epicurus?

Before studying what the Cyrenaic school is, it is first necessary for us to delve into and learn about the historical context in which it developed.

In this way, we must bear in mind that this school is founded by the philosopher Aristippus of Cyrene (IV a. C.), disciple of Socrates, during the hellenistic period. A historical period (since the death of Alexander the Great until the conquest of Egypt by Rome) that is characterized by the diffusion of Greek culture due to the expansion of Alexander the Great.

In this context, there will be numerous streams and philosophical schools such as epicureism, asceticism, cynicism and the Cyrenaics themselves. Which will be characterized by:

• It was a time of great instability in all areas, which generated doubts and concerns in an increasingly confused population. Thus, the concerns of philosophers would be, mainly, the safety and happiness of individuals.
• From the study of the laws of Nature and the Universe, a new concept of physics, and also a new, more natural and universal Ethics.
• Philosophy is divided, from this moment, into logic, physics and ethics, always integrated into the field of morality, which would be its purpose.
• Different Hellenistic schools appear: Cynical, Cyrenaic, Epicurean, Stoic, Skeptical, with different points of view but a common center of interest: Nature and the Human Being.

He philosophical thought and ethics from school cyrenaica/hedonistic are characterized by defending that the purpose and end of life of the human being is pursuit of pleasure from the physical and spiritual perspective. Therefore, for this doctrine the concept of good is directly related to the satisfaction of said pleasure and the evil with the pain, leaving aside concepts such as The virtue of the human being

However, the Cyrenaics will defend that the search for the pleasure should not be carried out randomly but under the norms and customs imposed in society, since, obtaining pleasure outside the social laws it implies its violation and sanctions that lead the individual to suffering.

Ideas of the Cyrenaic school

On the other hand, in the Cyrenaic school they will also highlight the following philosophical ideas or postulates:

• solidarity behavior, justice, friendship and compliance with social norms are also a form of pleasure, since it leads to the achievement of individual and social pleasure.
• Pleasure is a present and momentary feeling. Past and future pleasure do not exist, and for this reason, the human being focuses on the pleasure that he obtains and feels at the moment.
• Ataraxia (absence of pain) or imperturbabilityof the mood as the means to achieve happiness. Therefore, the ideal state is to maintain tranquility or balance and discard anxiety and fear. To reach ataraxia it is necessary to have reached autarky before.
• The government of oneself through autarky, autonomy, self-sufficiency and personal freedom.
• The sensualist and subjectivist theory of knowledge. Sensations constitute knowledge and are a reflection of objective reality.

The philosophical postulates of the Cyrenaics and the epicureans they are very similar. In fact, the Epicureanism is inspired by Cyrenaic hedonism, defending that life has to be focused on the search for the happiness of pleasure

In this way, the Epicurean ethics is characterized for making a defense of moderate pursuit of pleasure, betting on the pleasures of the soul, against those of the body. For this, it is necessary, says Epicurus, to free oneself from everything that is superfluous, in order to live one's own existence, because that is where true happiness resides.

"…The limit of the greatness of pleasures is the elimination of all pain. Where there is pleasure, for as long as it lasts, there is neither pain nor sorrow, nor the mixture of both..." Epicurus of Samos.

However, despite the similarities, we can find the following differences between these two Hellenistic schools:

1. The Cyrenaic school identifies pleasure with the satisfaction of bodily and immediate desire, while Epicurus defends that pleasure must be rationalized in time.
2. Cyrenaics and Epicureans defend the existence of bodily and spiritual pleasuresHowever, the former prefer the corporal and the latter the intellectual or those of the soul.
3. For the epicures pleasures of the body, they have a more immediate effect and are important, but they do not last. Instead, the pleasures of the soul they are more durable and can be used to heal bodily diseases.
4. Cyrenaics prefer present and momentary pleasures Because you never know about the future. However, for epicures pleasure can be something momentary and something future, preferring the lasting pleasures.
5. Epicureanism defends the search for happiness from a rational administration of pleasures and bets more on the ataraxia (balance/absence of disturbance) than the Cyrenaics.
6. The Cyrenaic school defends the bodily pleasure as supreme goodNot the Epicureans.
7. epicureanism constitutes a doctrine more individualistic than the Cyrenaic school. For the Cyrenaics pleasure is also in the social, in what can be good and pleasant for the group.

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Laercio, d. Life of the Illustrious Philosophers. Ed. Omega. 2002