Practice question · Multiple choice
Both Cynics and Cyrenaics claimed Socrates as their sole authority, yet developed opposing ethical systems. What core premise allowed such divergent conclusions to emerge from the same teacher?
Hints
- What did the Cynics claim was entirely sufficient for human flourishing?
- How did Aristippus define the supreme good when reflecting on Socratic ethics?
Show the answer
A. They disagreed over whether virtue alone is sufficient for happiness
Why
Both schools accepted Socratic priority of the good, but Cynics equated virtue entirely with happiness, stripping away worldly needs, whilst Cyrenaics identified the good with immediate sensation. The split concerns the sufficiency of virtue versus bodily pleasure, not formal epistemological criteria.
Practise The Minor Socratics and Plato
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