The Proposal of ancient Greek cynics to global society: the universal virtue of temperance

ENThe philosophical school of Cynicism founded in Athens at the end of the 5th century BC1 by Antisthenes and Diogenes of Synope is one of the most original and interesting phenomena of Ancient Greek philosophy. This school earned fame mostly because of the uprising against the whole Ancient Civilization, which was the first total uprising against civilization in the history of western thought. According to the Cynics, civilization annihilates radical temperance – the essential feature and universal virtue of human nature, leading to a healthy, tranquil and happy life, or in modern words, a high-quality of life. Moreover, civilization replaces natural temperance with surplus of pleasures, which is especially pernicious to human nature. The cult of pleasures and tools for hunting them is also an evident vice and disease of contemporary civilization sunk in consumption. As Ecclesiast once said, “nothing under the sun is new, neither is any man able to say: Behold this is new: for it has already gone before in the ages that were before us. Therefore, it is highly plausible that diagnosis of antique variant of the perpetual malady of civilization and the proposed medicine may be also beneficial to contemporary global society. The article attempts to grasp these benefits.