Introduction to Diogenes the Cynic

in this lecture we are going to investigate the life and ideas of the ancient Greek philosopher Diogenes the cynic Diogenes was one of the founders of the philosophical movement known as cynicism cynicism as a philosophical movement saw its prominence last approximately 900 years commencing in the fifth century BC with Diogenes the word cynic comes from the Greek word for dog and Diogenes is a name which means the man from God hence Diogenes was also called Diogenes the dog which means the man from God who acted like a dog the ancient cynic movement influenced many schools of thought most notably stoicism the doctrines put forth by Zeno the founder of stoicism were said to be written on the dog's tail a clear reference to Diogenes influence other more modern-day philosophers were also influenced by Diogenes Frederick Nietzsche among them who claimed that the highest one can reach on earth is cynicism the modern meaning of the word cynicism is very different from the classical or ancient meaning of the word and to differentiate the two scholars capitalize the word cynic or cynicism when referring to ancient cynicism a modern cynic is generally an individual who thinks negatively about human beings and existence in general life for the monitored cynic would have been better if it never happened at all the ancient cynic as exemplified by Diogenes differed significantly from the modern-day cynic as we will see shortly however one view that is common among both the ancient and modern cynic is a low opinion of the masses most people according to Diogenes are vain lazy ignorant and blindly obedient yet even in maintaining such of you the ancient cynic unlike the modern-day cynic was not pessimistic about life itself rather ancient cynics believed that each individual had the power to transform their life so as to achieve freedom self-sufficiency and happiness for example a man once said to Diogenes that life was evil but Diogenes did not agree and corrected him by saying not life itself but living an evil life but while seeing this Diogenes believed that practically all individuals were immersed in the evil life enslaved by their own ignorance and conforming blindly to the herd that is mankind Diogenes on the other hand proclaimed to have escaped such a life he alone he boasted was free self-sufficient and happy he was an autonomous individual that is an individual who had shaken off the social constraints norms and expectations and lived according to his own laws and ideals because of his selfish Eve's freedom happiness and self-sufficiency Diogenes considered himself a king among men an interesting claim given that he begged for his daily sustenance lived in a pith os-- which is essentially a storage jar or tub and owned nothing except for a worn and tattered cloak and a staff Diogenes belief that he was a king among men is exemplified in a tale which tells how once a ship which Diogenes was on was captured by pirates and he was sold as a slave in the marketplace during this ordeal Diogenes was asked what his occupation was to which he responded to govern men and he followed this statement up by proclaiming that if anyone was in need of a master they should purchase him although Diogenes claimed to have attained knowledge as to how to live the proverbial good life he didn't express this knowledge by writing a philosophical treatise or developing an expansive ethical system although it is thought that he did write a number of essays Diogenes primarily expressed his ideas through his actions and in the conversations he had with his fellow citizens he perhaps more than any other philosopher in history Socrates included epitomized the Greek ideal of philosophy as a way of life a great example of the way in which Diogenes actions expressed his ideals is found in a story which describes him being surrounded by a number of philosophers who were arguing that motion does not exist a position most famously held by the pre-socratic philosopher Parmenides Diogenes upon hearing their carefully thought-out and detailed arguments simply got up and walked away thereby proving without saying a word that motion does indeed exist central to Diogenes philosophy was the conviction that it is pointless to concern oneself with abstract contemplation or metaphysical speculation instead the sole concern of one's attention should be with the concrete here and now for it is only in the here-and-now that one can attain happiness and thus philosophy should be concerned only with the present any abstract speculation divorced from the here and now about whether motion exists for example only distracts one from this all-important concern Diogenes thought that when one turned their attention away from abstract speculation to the concrete here and now they would soon observe that most human beings are to put it in the nicest way possible quite pitiful creatures in one of the more famous anecdotes about Diogenes it is said that one day he went into the marketplace in broad daylight with a lantern saying I am looking for a man he never found what he was looking for that is self-sufficient free and happy individuals but instead found only ignorant obedient and worthless creatures Diogenes treated others with the disrespect he thought they deserved one day when a few people were throwing bones at Diogenes as they would to a dog he got up and urinated on them he thought that if the human species should go extinct there should be as much cause for regret as there should be a flies and wasps should pass away he even went so far as to try to quicken the rate of the extinction of mankind when Diogenes was begging on the street a man started to mock him and said I will give you but only if you can persuade me to which Diogenes responded if I could have persuaded you of anything I would have persuaded you to hang yourself while Diogenes was certainly a misanthrope who ridiculed and condemned human beings he did not think human nature was corrupt and to blame for the depravity which permeates mankind instead he believed that human beings are by nature good and virtuous but that they have been corrupted by the artificial social norms customs practices and values which are inculcated into them via the process of socialization these artificial social constraints are conforming forces which turned potentially strong and independent individuals into obedient sheep in fact Diogenes made it his life's mission to debase or destroyed these social norms practices and values which he believed weakened individuals to do this he attempted to display through his actions how ridiculous and arbitrary many of them are once when the city of Corinth heard news that they were soon to be under attack the citizens went into a panic and began preparing for the coming battle Diogenes oblivious as to what all the fuss was about began rolling his piss or tub in which he lived up and down a hill someone asked why he was performing such a pointless task to which he replied just to make myself look as busy as the rest of you according to Diogenes the goals and ends which people devote their lives to and the flurry of pointless activity they engage in to achieve these goals are Sisyphean tasks that are about as meaningful as rolling a tub up and down a hill over and over or in the case of Sisyphus carrying a boulder uphill every day only to have it roll back down at the end of each day so convinced that social norms customs and values corrupt weakened and condemned the mass of mankind to a life of frustration and misery Diogenes did everything he could to ensure that he did not fit in with the norm he would frequently walk backwards through the streets and enter theaters at the end of performances when everyone was leaving clearly such odd behavior garnered the attention of those around him when someone called him mad which must have been a pretty frequent occurrence Diogenes replied I am not mad it is only that my head is different from yours normality and conformity Diogenes believed is no standard for mental health Diogenes ruthless attack against social norms and customs was not an end in itself he did not want to destroy such customs solely for the sake of destroying something instead he viewed such an attack as a means to an end that is he wanted to help individuals break free from the chains of social constraints so as to enable them to live a happy and free life in order to achieve this diogenes thought it was necessary to disregard all social norms and instead live according to nature he thought that happiness could be attained not by satiating the desires driven into one via the process of socialization such as the desire for wealth power social acceptance and fame but instead by living simply in the present moment and embracing the simple pleasures which the natural world has to offer there's a story that Alexander the Great heard about Diogenes and paid him a visit in Corinth where he was resting in the sunlight Alexander proud as can be walked up to him and said Diogenes asked of me whatever you want Diogenes looked up at Alexander the Great annoyed that someone was interrupting his rest and said stand out of my son Alexander the Great had achieved dominion over many kingdoms amassed a great fortune and was revered and feared by every individual across the classical world however Diogenes recognized the worthlessness of all these so-called achievements the best is not to spend one's life in a frantic commotion exhausting oneself each day trying to become rich socially accepted or powerful instead the best is to relax and indulge in the simple pleasures which Nature has to offer each moment the feeling of warm sunlight against one's skin after a long winter the sight of a blossoming tree in the spring or the taste of cool water on a hot summer's day these simple and natural pleasures make one far happier than the artificial desires which rule and chain the masses to a continual state of madness however since most human beings have been so thoroughly corrupted by conforming to the values and norms of society in order to relearn how to live simply that is according to nature one must undergo an intense training regimen this training regiment Diogenes held involves seeking out and enduring pain and suffering in fact it is said that Hercules was an inspiration to Diogenes and other cynics for he willingly sought out trials and tribulations part of Diogenes training regimen involved approaching statues and asking them for money and food when someone asked why he did such a ridiculous thing he replied to get practice in being refused he was also seen rolling around in the scorching hot sand on a blistering day or walking barefoot in the snow paradoxically Diogenes believed that by seeking out and enduring pain and hardship he was actually living the most pleasurable life possible for when one becomes used to pain and suffering the simplest of pleasures such as the Sun against one skin evoke intense feelings of joy and gratitude the scorn of pleasure is the greatest pleasure Diogenes is thought to have said having removed himself from society and all the norms and expectations which chain individuals to a life of conformity misery and frustration Diogenes considered himself a truly self-sufficient individual his happiness was solely in his own hands sickness poverty rejection failure pain suffering none of these things could rob Diogenes of his freedom and joy as the Roman philosopher Seneca explained Diogenes acted in such a way that he could not be robbed of anything for he freed himself from everything that is fortuitous it appears to me as if he had said concern yourself with your own business Oh fate for there is nothing in Diogenes that belongs to you anymore

Channel: Academy of Ideas

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Keywords: academy of ideas, diogenes the cynic, cynicism, cynic, diogenes the dog, alexander the great

Id: o2ctYfy7-Ec

Length: 12min 20sec (740 seconds)

Published: Sun May 26 2013