Nihilism & Philosophy by Gideon Barker
Roger Caldwell scrutinises philosophical revolutions.
Book Review
From wiki:
Cynicism…is a school of thought of ancient Greek philosophy as practiced by the Cynics. For the Cynics, the purpose of life is to live in virtue, in agreement with nature. As reasoning creatures, people can gain happiness by rigorous training and by living in a way which is natural for themselves, rejecting all conventional desires for wealth, power, and fame. Instead, they were to lead a simple life free from all possessions.
Then there’s my own tendency towards a cynical philosophical perspective. It has little or nothing to do with souls or living virtuously or being in agreement with nature or shocking anyone…let alone “embrac[ing] a life of begging and destitution.”
Instead, my own reasons revolve around a philosophical assumption: that all of the paths chosen by all of us in regard to souls and virtues and nature and conventions is rooted largely in dasein. Thus while some may call themselves cynics there does not appear to be an argument they can make that would obligate others to choose it as the most reasonable manner in which to think about human interactions in the world around us. It’s just one of many frames of mind that can seem reasonable to some based on the manner in which they conflate their own personal experiences and their attempts through the study of philosophy to “think through” to a rational understanding of the most meaningful and moral life.
As though in taking this “vision” down out of the clouds the sheer complexity of human interactions in the modern/postmodern world won’t rip it to shreds. In fact, the only antidote that seems to remain is objectivism. In other words, the vision is sustained largely “in your head”. Then others around you may or may not be hammered into it. Or, if the “vision” revolves around ideologies like fascism or Gods that sanction going after the infidels…?
In other words, historically, Cynics weren’t the only ones to have a “vision”.
Thus to what extent could this frame of mind…
…become just another rendition of objectivism?
To speak their truth fearlessly. To expose that which they construed to be lies. All embedded in their own particular world in their own particular historical and cultural context.