Diogenes; “A Socrates gone mad”

While many of you will not know exactly what the infamous Diogenes of Sinope actually said, you may recognise him as the melodramatic figure in blue who is sprawled over the steps in Raphael’s The School of Athens. I have to commend Raphael, because when I first saw this painting I could not tell which was Heraclitus, Anaximander or Aeschines, but I knew immediately who Diogenes was. This is because, much like this portrayal, Diogenes is loud, provocative and does not leave room for anyone else, including perhaps the most famous Greek, Alexander the Great.

Diogenes is considered one of the founders of Cynicism, which is essentially a no-nonsense attitude to avarice that builds on the selfsufficiency pioneered by the Stoics and a repudiation of physical luxuries in the aim of creating a primitive utopia outside of contrived social conventions. The ideal life is free from all of these unnecessary possessions. Regarded now as the first anarchists, they viewed the dissolution of the state as necessary for human progress, calling for a devaluation of materialism and social status in an essential return to nature. After all, as Diogenes said, "humans have complicated every simple gift of the gods”. This is an attitude he likely developed under the guidance of his teacher Antisthenes, an ascetic philosopher who championed the pursuit of virtue over pleasure, but who reportedly tried to beat him with a staff when the persistent Cynic refused to leave him alone. Nevertheless, Diogenes regarded him as the true successor to Socrates, filled with disdain for Plato’s abstract metaphysics, and expanded on the importance of distinguishing physis (nature) from nomos (custom). This he continued to pursue until his death, despite being captured by pirates on the way to Aegina and being sold to the famous sophist Xeniades, who apparently admired his occupation with self-control and hired him to tutor his children.

So you may be thinking that none of that sounds particularly provocative, but it is important to note that Diogenes was a man who led by example, and much of what we know about his principles comes from anecdotes for a number of classical sources. The most famous of these is probably his living situation; he is said to have occupied a clay wine jar belonging to the Temple of Cybele, a home intended purely to protect him from the weather. While once in possession of a single wooden bowl with which to drink, this was soon discarded as he saw a young boy use his hands as a vessel, and was horrified at his own superfluous possession. As part of his rebellious attitude to society, he refused the custom of abstaining from food in the marketplace and proclaimed that he must eat three because that was where he felt hungry. His more vulgar activities, such as urinating on those who insulted him and defecating in the theatre are symptoms of this active disregard for the current state of humanity, and while he went on long searches with a lamp in broad daylight for “a man”, he reputably found nothing but rascals and scoundrels. Not even Alexander the Great was of any real significance to him, and when Alexander asked him if there was any favour he may do for him, Diogenes simply asked him to stand out of his sunlight. Supposedly the conqueror, while being shocked by this entitlement, was rather impressed and proclaimed "But truly, if I were not Alexander, I wish I were Diogenes”. Diogenes’ inelegant response was that he too would wish to be himself.

While no man seemed to satisfy Diogenes’ ideal behaviour, there was another creature who he used as an exemplar embodiment of the correct way to live. The Cynic admired the virtues of the dog, and seemed quite pleased when he was called as such. While humans have become artificial beings, dogs have not a care for social restrictions, and have an instinctive knowledge of those that can be trusted, and those who cannot. It seems that the canine way was the one that Diogenes saw as allowing him to speak out despite the controversy of his habits. However, this is likely the root of his rather scandalous bathroom habits.

Potentially offensive public acts aside, perhaps we all have something to learn from this incredible philosopher, whose determination to change what he saw as harmful in society drove him to lead a life that continues to be marvelled at to this day.

After all, “of what use is a philosopher who doesn't hurt anybody's feelings?”.