When he would get ridiculed for it, he simply responded “I wish it was as easy to relieve myself of hunger by rubbing my belly”. The ultimate way of showing people they should let go of societal rules was by masturbating in public. He believed that everything that people did in private, he should do in public. He responded by lifting one leg up and peeing on them. One day, the Athenian elite insulted Diogenes by comparing him to a dog, while throwing bones at him. He had zero respect for the rich and famous and treated them with the dishonor he thought they deserved. He once spit in someone’s face when he was asked to behave while being in their house. Why would you need a lamp if it’s already bright outside? Why need money and power if nature alone does already provide all we need in order to be happy?Īt certain times, Diogenes went out of his way to insult people. He would never be able to find one, though, as no one was living a truthful life by holding onto conventional rules and ambitions. He used his famous lamp, which he used to lit in broad daylight, to search for an ‘honest man’. The only true way of living a happy life was through true freedom: living with no more than what’s necessary. Through most of his behavior, Diogenes essentially wanted to show people that they were part of a herd, chained by societal norms.
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Diogenes’ strangest actions and the underlying principles It seems like he just wanted to be a live representation of cynicism. He also showed no interest in politics and societal matters. One day, he saw a young boy drinking water with his hands, which made him refuse to use a cup ever since.ĭiogenes did not seek to spread his ideology through active debate, writing, or starting his own school with followers. Throughout his life, Diogenes was constantly seeking ways to simplify the way he was living. Diogenes cared so little about his appearance, that people referred to him as “the dog” (which he took as a compliment since he praised the nature of dogs). He had no possessions, except for a lamp - which he used as a demonstration of his beliefs.
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He begged, foraged, and rummaged the streets to get by, living in a ceramic barrel near the marketplace of Athens. He saw virtue in poverty and became homeless by choice. How Diogenes lived his lifeĭiogenes was a textbook cynic.
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Rather than talking about his ideology, which was the standard way of philosophizing in ancient Greek times, Diogenes showed the world what he believed in through bizarre behavior. While he stood for his beliefs with great passion, he expressed them in a strange way. Cynicism was largely inspired by stoicism. He criticized anyone who wasn’t temperate or honest. Just like all other cynics, Diogenes rejected the things that were widely believed to make people happy: money, power, fame, and possessions. Picture through Wikimedia commons.ĭiogenes of Sinope (404–323 BC) was an active follower of the school of cynicism: the belief that the purpose of life is living in agreement with nature - using only the bare necessities. Diogenes and his dog companions, seated in his tub in Athens, lighting a lamp in daylight, which he used to search for an honest man.