The Cynics' denunciation of custom might strike one as often cynical and pessimistic with regard to human goodness. But while a modern cynic might remain content with carping, the ancient Cynics did not merely say no to custom. On the contrary, they criticized in order to clear the way for a better alternative: the “life according to nature” (kata physin) (DL 6.71). For them, the natural life is one of complete simplicity, free of all unnecessary, all-too-human contrivances. It is unburdened by needless cogitation and mental distraction. Living fully in the moment, without great hopes or fears, is for the Cynic the only way to become virtuous and happy: natural living brings the greatest pleasures, and the right pleasures. If contemporary people have forgotten elemental happiness, it is no matter: one can regain it by training oneself with much ascetic “work” (ponos), and Cynics could find inspiration in the thought that they were not alone, for there were many “primitive” peoples who shared citizenship with them in nature's elemental kingdom.

Images of nature

This is a summary of what is perhaps the Cynics' most important idea. But let us unravel its constituent strands in more detail. The Cynic renounces customs in order to live in accordance with nature, but what, one may ask, is nature? The question is a large one and this single word, “nature”, has been a battleground of rival worldviews.