Diogenes
Greek philosopher from 400bc - school of cynics virtue thru simplcitcy , defy social norms
Diogenes', "the Cynic," Greek philosopher, was born at Sinope about 412 BC, and died in 323 BC at Corinth, on the day on which Alexander the Great died at Babylon.
Some Credit him as the first green Anarcho-primitivist individualist thinker who proclaimed virtue thru simplicity while defying societal norms.
Diogenes of Sinope, who lived between 412 or 403 B.C. and 324 or 321 B.C., was infamous. Wearing only a shabby robe, he wandered the streets of Athens and then Sinope after he was exiled for defacing the Athenian curÂrency. He engaged powerful people in playful debate, often exposing their hypocrisy. Asked which city-state he claimed as his own, he responded, "I am a citizen of the Kosmos, or universe." He coined the word kosmopolites, from which we derive the notion of cosmopolitanism. Diogenes was a master of satire and parody. He was playful and critical. He loved humanÂity but refused to grant it the slightest authority over him. Shameless, he knew no manners and lived by his own moral code. He expressed his freeÂdom by masturbating in the marketplace.' If Diogenes wrote anything, it was lost. His legend and teachings lived on through such thinkers as Crates, Seneca, Diogenes Laertius, and Marcus Aurelius. Diogenes was the founder and role model of Greek Cynicism and influenced the Stoics, who provided philosophical guidance to the Roman Republic. The Cynics had no canon, no schools, no academic lineage, but their teachings flowed through the cultures of Greece, Egypt, Asia Minor, and Rome. Those influenced by the Cynics include Christian monastics and Friedrich Nietzsche What could be a more ideal environment for a cynic than cyberspace—the ethereal realization of cynical politics? Diogenes was a hacker. The Internet is a cynical cosmos. It was designed along cynical principles and serves cynical ends better than any others. And nothing represents the overall nature and substance of the Internet better than masturbating in the marketplace. Where else but the Internet can you purchase, write and wank off—all at the same time?
Diogenes of Sinope, d. c.320 BC, was a Greek philosopher, perhaps the most noted of the CYNICS. He pursued the Cynic ideal of self-sufficiency, a life that was natural and not dependent upon the nonessential luxuries of civilization. A student of ANTISTHENES, he is credited with the development of the chreia (moral epigram), with a scandalous attack of convention entitled Republic (which influenced ZENO OF CITIUM), and with tragedies illustrative of the human predicament. Because Diogenes believed that virtue was better revealed in action than in theory, he made his life a protest against what he thought of as a corrupt society. He is said to have lived in a large tub, rather than house, and to have gone about Athens with a lantern in the daytime, claiming to be looking for an honest man--but never finding one. In later art, Diogenes is often depicted in a torn cloak, with a dog, carrying a lantern.
Alexander, thrilled at coming face to face with the famousphilosopher (in his tub), asked if there was any favour he might do for him. Diogenes asked him not to stand between him and thesun, to which Alexander replied "If I were not Alexander, I would be Diogenes."
"If Manes can live without Diogenes, why not Diogenes without Manes?"
"I am a citizen of the whole world," rather than of any particularcity or state.
Antisthenes Quotes (teacher of Diogenes)
"The investigation of the meaning of words is the beginning of education" "It is better to fall among crows than flatterers; for those devour only the dead - these the living" "Pay attention to your enemies, for they are the first to discover your mistakes." "The most necessary learning is that which unlearns evil" "There are only two people who can tell you the truth about yourself - an enemy who has lost his temper and a friend who loves you dearly." "The most useful piece of learning for the uses of life is to unlearn what is untrue." "Quarrels often arise in marriages when the bridal gifts are excessive."
Civilization has not yet arrived at the point where one can go stark naked, as ancient Diogenes wished.
His views of human nature were the views of Diogenes, tempered by Rochefoucauld; his personal habits were slovenly in the last degree; and his favorite boast was that he had outlived all human prejudices.
"Of what use is a philosopher who doesn't hurt anybody's feelings?" "Why not whip the teacher when the pupil misbehaves?" "In a rich man's house there is no place to spit but his face." "The art of being a slave is to rule one's master." "Discourse on virtue and they pass by in droves, whistle and dance the shimmy, and you've got an audience."
" Strike, for you will find no wood hard enough to keep me away from you, so long as I think you've something to say."
http://www.molloy.edu/academic/philosophy/sophia/ancient_lit/diogenes_life.htm
