A CORAGEM DA VERDADE COMO UM MODO DE VIDA CÃO: UMA ANÁLISE SOBRE A LEITURA FOUCAULTIANA DO CINISMO ANTIGO

Abstract

The present work analyzes the last course given by the French philosopher Michel Foucault at the Collège de France, in 1984, The Courage of Truth. In this course, Foucault dives into the history of the ancient Cynic movement. Cynicism was in antiquity a profoundly unique intellectual movement that violently shook the foundations of ancient morality. Cynics had as their main goal the development of an incorruptible life, totally detached from material goods and social conventions, for which they used scandal. They demanded a manipulation between their speeches and their actions. Philosophy was for them a way of life, a complete ethical quandary. Thus, the “dogs” of philosophy barked at all philosophers who did not deal with ethical issues. The research will deal with the concept of parrhesia for ancient cynicism. The objective is to understand in what ways and circumstances, the act of always telling the truth, was for the ancients a way of life and an ethical attitude.