Diogenes of Sinop: a mad genius

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:41

This philosopher was called Socrates gone mad. He was smart and sharp-tongued, subtly noticed all the shortcomings of the individual and society. Diogenes of Sinop, whose works have come down to us only in the form of retellings of later authors, is considered a mystery. He is both a seeker of truth and a sage to whom it was revealed, a skeptic and a critic, a unifying link. In a word, a Man with a capital letter, from whom you can learn a lot from modern people who are accustomed to the benefits of civilization and technology.

Diogenes of Sinop and his way of life

Many people remember from school that Diogenes was the name of a man who lived in a barrel in the middle of an Athenian square. A philosopher and an eccentric, he, nevertheless, glorified his name through the centuries thanks to his own teachings, later called cosmopolitan. He severely criticized Plato, pointing out to this ancient Greek scientist the shortcomings of his philosophy. He despised fame and luxury, laughed at those who sing of the mighty of the world in order to be held in high esteem. He preferred to lead an ascetic life: a clay barrel served as his home, which could often be seen in the agora. Diogenes of Sinop traveled extensively in the Greekpolicies, and considered himself a citizen of the whole world, that is, space.

The path to truth

Diogenes, whose philosophy may seem contradictory and strange (and all because of the fact that his works did not reach us in their original form), was a student of Antisthenes. History says that the teacher at first greatly disliked the young man who was looking for the truth. All because he was the son of a money changer, who not only was in prison (for transactions with money), but also had a not the best reputation. The respectful Antisthenes tried to drive the new student away, and even beat him with a stick, but Diogenes did not budge. He craved knowledge, and Antisthenes had to reveal it to him. Diogenes of Sinop considered his credo that he should continue the work of his father, but on a different scale. If his dad spoiled the coin in the literal sense, then the philosopher decided to spoil all the established stamps, destroy traditions and prejudices. He wanted, as it were, to erase from the minds of people those false values that were implanted by him. Honor, glory, we alth - he considered all this to be a fake inscription on coins made of base metal.

Citizen of the world and friend of dogs

The philosophy of Diogenes of Sinop is special and brilliant in its simplicity. Despising all material goods and values as such, he settled in a barrel. True, some researchers believe that it was not quite an ordinary barrel in which water or wine was stored. Most likely, it was a large jug, which had a ritual meaning: in primitive society they were used for burial. The philosopher ridiculed the established norms of dress,rules of conduct, religion, lifestyle of citizens. He lived like a dog - on alms, and often called himself a four-legged animal. For this he was called a cynic (from the Greek word for dog). His life is entangled not only with many secrets, but also with comical situations, he is the hero of many jokes.

Common features with other teachings

The whole point of Diogenes' teaching can be summed up in one sentence: live content with what you have and be grateful for it. Diogenes of Sinop negatively treated art as a manifestation of unnecessary benefits. After all, a person should not study ghostly matters (music, painting, sculpture, poetry), but himself. Prometheus, who brought fire to people and taught how to create various necessary and unnecessary objects, was considered justly punished. After all, titanium helped man create complexity and artificiality in modern life, without which life would be much easier. In this, the philosophy of Diogenes is similar to Taoism, the teachings of Rousseau and Tolstoy, but is more stable in views.

Fearless to the point of recklessness, he calmly asked Alexander the Great (who conquered his country and came to meet the famous eccentric) to move away and not block the sun for him. The teachings of Diogenes help to get rid of fear and all who study his works. After all, on the path of striving for virtue, he got rid of worthless earthly goods, acquired moral freedom. In particular, it was this thesis that was accepted by the Stoics, who developed it into a separate concept. But the Stoics themselves were unable to abandon allbenefits of a civilized society.

Like his contemporary Aristotle, Diogenes was cheerful. He did not preach a departure from life, but only called for detachment from external, fragile goods, thereby laying the foundations of optimism and a positive outlook on all occasions in life. Being a very energetic person, the philosopher from the barrel was the exact opposite of the boring and respectable sages with their teachings intended for weary people.

The meaning of the philosophy of the sage from Sinop

The lit lantern (or torch, according to other sources), with which the ancient Greek philosopher searched for a person during the day, even in ancient times became an example of contempt for the norms of society. This particular outlook on life and values attracted other people who became followers of the madman. And the teaching of the Cynics itself was recognized as the shortest road to virtue.