4/30/2023 0 Comments Diogenes pronunciation english![]() ![]() ![]() Xeniades, for example, placed Diogenes in charge of tutoring his young sons and, in time, the philosopher became part of the family. When asked what talent he had he replied, “That of governing men” and then demanded to be sold to Xeniades saying, “Sell me to that man for he wants a master.” Even though he was a slave at this point, and in no position to demand anything, he believed so completely in himself that others felt compelled to listen to him and do what he said. Whether true or another fable, the tale of Diogenes' capture by pirates and his being sold into slavery in Corinth bears testimony to the strength of his convictions. To be true to oneself, then, no matter how `mad' one may appear, was to pursue a life worth living. Laws and rules, like manners, were artificial constructs to him which only separated one from reality and a clear understanding of one's self and the world.įor Diogenes, a reasonable life is one lived in accordance with nature and with one's natural inclinations. This was in reference to the prohibition on eating in the agora (the public market and communal space of the city) which, like all such prohibitions, Diogenes ignored. But it is not absurd to dine, therefore it is not absurd to dine in the market-place'. On one occasion he was asked, what was the most excellent thing among men and he said, `Freedom of speech.' He was in the habit of doing everything in public, whether in respect of Venus or Ceres and he used to put his conclusions in this way to people: `If there is nothing absurd in dining, then it is not absurd to dine in the market-place. To be truly free, and live a virtuous life of complete awareness, was the ultimate meaning of one's existence. It is unlikely, however, that Diogenes cared very much for the cask or what state it was in to him, possessions were a trap. In spite of, or because of, his outrageous behavior, the Athenians loved him and, Laertius relates, when a boy broke Diogenes' cask, the people had the boy beaten and replaced the broken cask. On another occasion, when some people were discussing a man named Callisthenes and the fine treatment he received from Alexander, Diogenes said, "The man then is wretched, for he is forced to breakfast and dine whenever Alexander chooses." Another time, at a banquet for some Athenian elites, some of the guests threw Diogenes some bones and referred to him as a dog so he lifted his leg and urinated on them. Although it seems many people thought he was simply mentally ill, Diogenes would have claimed he was living a completely honest life and others should have the courage to do the same. ![]() Diogenes, however, confronted the citizens of Athens daily with their lifelessness and shallow values, emulating his hero Socrates whom he never met but would have learned of from Antisthenes. Plato's famous Allegory of the Cave is devoted to this very theme. He was not the first philosopher to make this claim Heraclitus, Xenophanes, and, most famously, Socrates all pointed out the need for human beings to wake from their dream state to full awareness of themselves and the world. Everyone, he claimed, was trapped in this make-believe world which they insisted was reality and, because of this, people were living in a kind of dream state. He was known for brutal honesty in conversation, paid no attention to any kind of etiquette regarding social class, and seems to have had no problem urinating or even masturbating in public and, when criticized, pointed out that such activities were normal and that everyone engaged in them but hid in private what he did openly.Īccording to Diogenes, society was an artificial contrivance set up by human beings which did not accord well with truth or virtue and could not in any way make someone a good and decent human being and so follows the famous story of Diogenes holding the light up to the faces of passers-by in the market place looking for an honest man or a true human being. ![]()
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