Aristippus of Cyrene ( Cyrene 435 – Cyrene, 350 ) Greek philosopher, disciple of Socrates , founder of the so-called cyrenaic (hedonistic) school (Cyrenaicos). His works have not been preserved. Aristippus combined sensualism in theory of knowledge with hedonism in ethics . He saw the supreme end of life in pleasure, but man, according to Aristippus, does not have to become a slave to jouissance, but must tend to prudent pleasure: in this lies the highest good. [1]
- Ἀρίστιππος ὁ Κυρηναῖος
- Aristippos or Kÿrenaios
Summary
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- 1 Biographical synthesis
- 2 Thought
- 3 Phrases of Aristippus
- 4 Sources
Biographical synthesis
He studied the works of the Sophists and then moved to Athens. After the death of Socrates, he founded a school of Philosophy in his hometown. Unlike his teacher, Aristippus charged considerable sums for his teachings.
Like Plato — but with better luck — he visited Dionysus, tyrant of Syracuse. This distinguished him by giving him a luxurious life and important financial rewards. However, Aristippus did not intend to intervene there in matters of state. He always kept his distance from political activity, even in his hometown. He said that he considered himself a foreigner even in his own land.
Thought
From the sophists he inherited a skeptical gnoseology: “We can only be sure of sensations.” He considered things unknowable as they are in themselves. That is why he could not sustain rationality and Science as the ideal of life. On the contrary, he was in favor of basing life on impressions, the only sure fact. If we stick to what they tell us, we will find that the good is pleasure and that only pleasure can serve as a measure to judge other values. Pleasure is a “smooth movement”, unlike pain which is a “rough movement”. To get pleasure you need wisdom and prudence. They show man what is convenient for him, teaching him to avoid not only pain but also those pleasures that cause pain. So there is no worse evil than ignorance.
However, if pleasure is individual, why do men meet and live in society? Aristippus explains this phenomenon by the pleasure that the individual generates in relating to others.
Aristippus quotes
Talent born without education is like a tree without fruit.
It is better to be a beggar than an ignorant, because a beggar only requires money, whereas an ignorant person requires humanity.
The art of life is to take the pleasures that pass. And the most acute pleasures are not intellectual, nor are they always moral.
The country of a sage is the world.
In response to the question “Does love exist because of sex?”:
Ούτε δια τούτου ούτε άνευ τούτου.
Oúte dia toútou, oúte ánef toútou .
Not for that, not without it.
If you tell lies, don’t complain that no one believes your words.
The vice does not lie in visiting a brothel, but in not leaving it.
The sober man is not the one who avoids the pleasures but the one who, having tried them, does not fall into excesses.
I can’t love any woman because I don’t want the wine I drink either, and instead I enjoy it.
He who studies a particular science but neglects philosophy is like Penelope’s suitors, who wanted to copulate with a woman waiting for her real man.
The past is gone and the future we don’t know if it will come, so only the present belongs to us.
