Antisthenes

Definition: Antisthenes (mid-fifth to mid-fourth century) was a Greek philosopher and contemporary of Socrates. Following Diogenes Laertius, Antisthenes has been treated as the founder of the Cynic way of life -- Cynicism being a philosophical tradition.

Like his friend Socrates, Antisthenes believed virtue (1) could be taught and (2) was all one needed for happiness. Another Diogenes, Diogenes of Sinope, was a pupil of Antisthenes. Diogenes was the philosopher who historically earned the label "cynic" from the Greek for "dog".

Sources:

• _{Christopher C. W. Taylor "Antisthenes" Who's Who in the Classical World. Ed. Simon Hornblower and Tony Spawforth. Oxford University Press, 2000.}
• _{"Cynics" The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy. Simon Blackburn. Oxford University Press, 2008}
• _{A History of Cynicism - From Diogenes to the 6th Century A.D., by Donald R. Dudley; 2007.}

Timeline of the Greek and Roman Philosophers