Kinikų Etika: Maištas Prieš Antikinę Moralę
Ethics of Cynical School: the Uprising against Antique Morality

Summary/Abstract: This article analyses the so called ethical uprising - one of the fundamental principles of ethics of antique Greek cynics. Namely, the cynical rebellion against moral values of ancient Greek civilization - nobility, richness, power, renown, loyalty to traditional customs and religion, observance of state laws etc. is investigated. The author of the article focuses on general prospect of above mentioned uprising and its links with ethical intellectualism - the second fundamental principle of cynical ethics. The analysis comes to conclusion that the main reason for ethical uprising of cynics was their deep belief that moral values of ancient Greek civilization were absolutely artificial and conventional ones. That is, all of them infringe the main principle of human nature - temperance, bringing, establishing and legitimizing the surplus of pleasures, so pernicious to that nature. The possibility of human happiness herewith is annihilated, for, according to cynics, such happiness consists in living by nature. Therefore cynical ethical rebellion required above mentioned artificial moral values to be substituted by true and natural values (namely temperance, poverty, anonymity, asceticism, virtuous life according to nature etc.) - the guarantees of human happiness.

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