Cynicism (Greek: κυνισμός), in its original form, refers to the beliefs of an ancient school of Greek philosophers known as the Cynics (Greek: Κυνικοί, Latin: Cynici). Their philosophy was that the purpose of life was to live a life of Virtue in agreement with Nature. This meant rejecting all conventional desires for wealth, power, health, and fame, and by living a simple life free from all possessions. As reasoning creatures, people could gain happiness by rigorous training and by living in a way which was natural for humans. They believed that the world belonged equally to everyone, and that suffering was caused by false judgments of what was valuable and by the worthless customs and conventions which surrounded society. Many of these thoughts were later absorbed into Stoicism.

The first philosopher to outline these themes was Antisthenes, who had been a pupil of Socrates in the late 5th century BCE. He was followed by Diogenes of Sinope, who lived in a tub on the streets of Athens. Diogenes took Cynicism to its logical extremes, and came to be seen as the archetypal Cynic philosopher. He was followed by Crates of Thebes who gave away a large fortune so he could live a life of Cynic poverty in Athens. Cynicism spread with the rise of Imperial Rome in the 1st century, and Cynics could be found begging and preaching throughout the cities of the Empire. It finally disappeared in the late 5th century, although many of its ascetic and rhetorical ideas were adopted by early Christians.

The name Cynic derives from the Greek word κυνικός, kynikos, "dog-like" and that from κύων, kyôn, "dog" (genitive: kynos).[2] One explanation offered in ancient times for why the Cynics were called dogs was because the first Cynic, Antisthenes, taught in the Cynosarges gymnasium at Athens.[3] The word Cynosarges means the place of the white dog. It seems certain, however, that the word dog was also thrown at the first Cynics as an insult for their shameless rejection of conventional manners, and their decision to live on the streets. Diogenes, in particular, was referred to as the Dog,[4] a distinction he seems to have revelled in, stating that "other dogs bite their enemies, I bite my friends to save them."[5] Later Cynics also sought to turn the word to their advantage, as a later commentator explained:

There are four reasons why the Cynics are so named. First because of the indifference of their way of life, for they make a cult of indifference and, like dogs, eat and make love in public, go barefoot, and sleep in tubs and at crossroads. The second reason is that the dog is a shameless animal, and they make a cult of shamelessness, not as being beneath modesty, but as superior to it. The third reason is that the dog is a good guard, and they guard the tenets of their philosophy. The fourth reason is that the dog is a discriminating animal which can distinguish between its friends and enemies. So do they recognize as friends those who are suited to philosophy, and receive them kindly, while those unfitted they drive away, like dogs, by barking at them.[6]

Arf, Arf.

dogs have all the fun

I'm with Bastet126 on this one, they do have all the fun. I sometimes wonder if some of us were born in the wrong era lol.

I love my dog and I am not ashamed to say it. She kissed the cat and I am not jealous. I saw them rubbing noses afterwards. She is a lot larger than the cat but it doesn't seem to affect to him. The cat has discovered that her bark is a lot worse than her bite. At first when the cat came here the dog was suspicious and the cat was curious. But some how they seem to have made friends. They seem to be compatible. The dog makes friends easily and is very trusting because it never has been abused. But the cat has been abused before and doesn't make friends easily so its not very trusting. The dog has been spoiled and drags up bones left by hunters. The cat hasn't been spoiled and demands food and attention. The dog doesn't demand attention but whines for attention. This is interesting to me because I have always been told that beggars shouldn't be choosy. The dog adheres to this form of reasoning but the cat seems to rebel against this form of reasoning by letting me know in no uncertain terms that the cat should be choosy. I have been trying to learn from them both but at times they confuse me.

I really have been trying to get along with this uppity cat but I guess I am just a true dog at heart. Some times I just want to bark at it.