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Since childhood, I have heard about the ancient eccentric philosopher Diogenes of Sinop, who “lived in a barrel.” I imagined a dried-up wooden vessel, like the one I saw with my grandmother in the village. And I could never understand why an old man (all philosophers seemed to me old men then) needed to settle in such a specific container. Subsequently, it turned out that the barrel was clay and rather large, but this did not lessen my bewilderment. It grew even more when I found out how this strange man lived.
Enemies called him “dog” (in Greek – “kinos”, hence the word “cynicism”) for his shameless lifestyle and constant sarcastic remarks, which he did not skimp even for close friends. In the light of day, he wandered with a lit lantern and said that he was looking for a person. He threw away the cup and bowl when he saw a boy drinking from a handful and eating from a hole in the crumb of bread, declaring: the child has surpassed me in the simplicity of life. Diogenes ridiculed high birth, called wealth “decoration of depravity” and said that poverty is the only way to harmony and nature. Only many years later did I realize that the essence of his philosophy was not in deliberate eccentricities and the glorification of poverty, but in the desire for freedom. The paradox, however, is that such freedom is achieved at the cost of giving up all attachments, the benefits of culture, and enjoying life. And it turns into a new slavery. The cynic (in the Greek pronunciation – “cynic”) lives as if he is afraid of the desire-producing benefits of civilization and runs away from them, instead of freely and rationally disposing of them.
His dates
- OK. 413 BC e.: Diogenes was born in Sinope (then a Greek colony); his father was a money changer. According to legend, the Delphic oracle foretold him the fate of a counterfeiter. Diogenes is expelled from Sinop – allegedly for counterfeiting alloys used to make coins. In Athens, he becomes a follower of Antisthenes, a student of Socrates and the founder of the philosophical school of cynics, begging, “living in a barrel.” A contemporary of Diogenes, Plato, called him “the mad Socrates.”
- Between 360 and 340 BC e .: Diogenes wanders, preaching his philosophy, then is captured by robbers who sell him into slavery on the island of Crete. The philosopher becomes the spiritual “master” of his master Xeniad, teaches his sons. By the way, he coped with his duties so well that Xeniades said: “A kind genius settled in my house.”
- Between 327 and 321 BC e .: Diogenes died, according to some sources, in Athens from typhus.
Five keys to understanding
Live what you believe
Philosophy is not a game of the mind, but a way of life in the full sense of the word, Diogenes believed. Food, clothing, housing, daily activities, money, relationships with authorities and other people – all this must be subordinated to your beliefs if you do not want to waste your life. This desire – to live as one thinks – is common to all philosophical schools of antiquity, but among the cynics it was expressed most radically. For Diogenes and his followers, this primarily meant rejecting the social conventions and demands of society.
follow nature
The main thing, Diogenes argued, is to live in harmony with one’s own nature. What civilization demands of man is artificial, contrary to his nature, and therefore the cynic philosopher must disregard any conventions of social life. Work, property, religion, chastity, etiquette only complicate existence, distract from the main thing. When once, under Diogenes, they praised a certain philosopher who lived at the court of Alexander the Great and, being a favorite, dined with him, Diogenes only sympathized: “Unfortunate, he eats when it pleases Alexander.”
Practice at your worst
In the summer heat, Diogenes sat in the sun or rolled on hot sand, in winter he hugged statues covered with snow. He learned to endure hunger and thirst, deliberately hurt himself, trying to overcome it. This was not masochism, the philosopher simply wanted to be ready for any surprise. He believed that by accustoming himself to the worst, he would no longer suffer when the worst happened. He sought to temper himself not only physically, but also spiritually. One day, Diogenes, who often happened to beg, began to beg … from a stone statue. When asked why he does this, he replied, “I get used to being rejected.”
provoke everyone
In the skill of public provocation, Diogenes knew no equal. Despising authority, laws and social signs of prestige, he rejected any authorities, including religious ones: he more than once happened to appropriate gifts donated to the gods in temples. Science and art are not needed, because the main virtues are dignity and strength. Marrying is also not necessary: women and children should be common, and incest should not worry anyone. You can send your natural needs in front of everyone – after all, other animals are not shy about this! Such, according to Diogenes, is the price of complete and true freedom.
Repel from barbarism
Where is the limit to the passionate desire of a person to return back to his nature? In his denunciation of civilization, Diogenes went to the extreme. But radicalism is dangerous: such a striving for a “natural”, read – animal, way of life leads to barbarism, a complete denial of the law and, as a result, to anti-humanism. Diogenes teaches us “by the contrary”: after all, it is to society with its norms of human coexistence that we owe our humanity. Denying culture, he proves its necessity.