A hot topic in ancient philosophy was how best to live your life, what it meant to live a good life. One school of thought that attempted to answer this question was the school of cynicism.

First thing to note is the meaning of cynicism in the ancient world does not mean what it means today. The term derives from the ancient Greek to describe someone as dog-like, one who is free and shameless to do as he pleases. This points to the actual philosophy of Cynicism: The good life is to be lived in accordance with nature and in opposition to convention.

To flesh this out further:
- Rebel against social convention such as money, status, fame and honour - Live free, shamelessly - Ascetic life: reduce material aspects of life to the utmost simplicity and to a minimum. This may include minimal, simple clothing, sleeping on a floor or in caves, and eating a simple, minimal amount of food

Key points

• Virtue is sufficient for happiness and both are within your power
• Social status, where your were born, whether you are poor or rich are irrelevant
• Live in nature as rational animals that we are
• Human nature is at odds with human society, society yields unnatural desires and burdens
• We should be able to do what we want, when we want, where we want

What is it that makes the individual Just? And, by extension, what makes a just society? To understand this, we must understand how the individual operates and this lies in the tripartite soul. For Plato, justice extends from the “excellence of the soul”

How does he define the soul? He says it is made of 3 parts:

The Reason: is the part attached to knowledge and truth. This is the part the governs over the other 2 parts and should be the highest power. At best - wisdom

The Spirit: Honour/ambition/drive. It’s best form - Courage

The Appetite: desire (thirst, hunger, sex, pleasure). It’s best form - Temperance

Once we achieve harmony in the soul, adhering to the best possible state of each part, we can then know justice.

Plato applies his outline of the just soul to the just state by defining the parts of the state.

Reason = Knowledgeable rulers, that have wisdom. This encompasses ethics also. The spirit = The guardians (soldiers/police) The appetite = the workers

Key points

• There is a difficulty in pin-pointing an exact definition of spirit and what it actually encompasses
• If disharmony of the state favours spirit - honour and victory, if it favours appetite - wealth and money
• Can we be just if we favour the lesser parts of the soul

In a climate where Reason was the prevailing idea and was often underpinned by religious and spiritual doctrine, Rousseau sought to break away from this idea and placed the happiness of the human first.

His conception of the self is all to do with feeling and empathy; the self is distinctly moral and man is naturally good. None of his natural inclinations are bad - they are not harmful, illusory or contradictory. His desires are all proportioned to his needs and his faculties to his desires. And on a still deeper level, he has within himself a fundamental source of contentment and joy in merely existing.

Although man is free and morally good, he becomes corrupted by society. By living as part of a society, he is no longer a free man, he is a citizen, a participant that must adhere to the rules. Man is governed by laws and rules that takes away what it is to be human… “Man is born free, yet everywhere he is in chains”.

Utilitarianism is a principle where it's criteria for virtue lies in actions that maximise the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. Bentham thinks that social problems can be remedied if we act according to this principle.For example, free universal healthcare is of benefit to everyone and conforms to the utilitarian theory that it is providing great happiness for as many people as possible. Whereas choosing to steal from everyone yields very little happiness for everyone and great happiness for the thief only.

This idea falls into the ancient theory of Epicureanism that says our actions should aim to maximise pleasure whilst reducing pain. Yet Bentham is emphasising that it's not just about pleasure but attaining justice.

Bentham's theory is founded from the most basic of human needs which is to seek pleasure and avoid pain and becomes the criteria for acting virtuously.

The ancient Greek philosopher Plato believed that Democracy was not the ideal system for society. To allow the public to participate in political matters leads to decisions based on self-interest and ignorance. Moreover, those that are in power are also capable of corruption and can manipulate public opinion. So what does the ideal society look-like? Plato’s solution is for society to be ruled by ‘Philosopher Kings’: Those that have the best understanding to lead the people, the greatest understanding of good and bad and show genuine concern for the welfare of the state and it’s citizens.

So how do you become a Philosopher King or Queen? Plato conceives of a system where children are chosen at a young age for their intelligence. They are then trained and carefully raised to become self-less, incorruptible and virtuous rulers.

What about the rest of the people? Plato splits society into 3 classes: The Rulers A.K.A the Philosopher Kings Guardians (Auxillaries): The warriors responsible for defending the state and enforcing the rules The rest: The everyday people, the producers of things, the members of society

With Philosopher Kings and Queens in place, society will experience what it is to be ruled justly and allow individuals to live the best life they can.