Diogenes

Diogenes of Sinope (in Greek Διογένης or Diogenes or Sinopeus), also called Diogenes the Cynic, was a Greek philosopher belonging to the Cynic school. He was born in Sinope, an Ionian Black Sea colony, around 412 BC. C. and died in Corinth in 323 a. C. he did not bequeath to posterity any writing; the most complete source that is available about his life is the extensive section that Diogenes Laertius devoted to him in his Lives, Opinions, and Sentences of the Most Illustrious Philosophers.

Diogenes was exiled from his hometown and moved to Athens, where he became a disciple of Antisthenes, the oldest pupil of Socrates. Diogenes lived as a vagabond on the streets of Athens, making a virtue of extreme material poverty. It is said that he lived in a jar, instead of a house, and that by day he walked the streets with a lighted lamp saying that he was "looking for (honest) men". His only belongings were: a mantle, a bag, a staff and a bowl (until one day he saw that a child was drinking the water he was collecting with his hands and he got rid of it). He occasionally went to Corinth where he continued the cynical idea of ​​self-sufficiency: a natural life independent of the luxuries of society. According to him, virtue is the sovereign good. Honors and riches are false goods to be despised. The principle of his philosophy is to renounce the conventional everywhere and oppose his nature to it. The sage should tend to free himself from his desires and minimize his needs.

Life

Diogenes was born in the Ionian colony of Sinope, located on the southern coast of the Black Sea, in 412 BC. C. Nothing is known about his childhood except that he was the son of a banker named Hicesias. Both were exiled for having made counterfeit currency. Diogenes gloried in having been an accomplice of his father, and this event prefigured, in a way, his philosophical life. Apparently, these facts have been corroborated by archaeologists. A large number of counterfeit coins (minted with a large chisel) have been discovered in Sinope, dating from the middle of the 4th century BC. C. and other coins of the time that bear the name of Hicesias as the official who minted them. The reasons why the coin was counterfeited are not clear, although Sinope was being disputed between Prosperous and Pro-Greek factions in the 4th century BC. C., and perhaps there were more political than financial interests.

In athens

In his new residence, Athens, Diogenes' mission was to metaphorically falsify/disfigure the “currency” of customs. Custom, he said, was the false coin of morality. Instead of questioning what was really wrong, people worried only about what was conventionally wrong. This distinction between nature (physis) and the conventional (nomos) is a main theme of Greek philosophy and one of the themes dealt with by Plato in The Republic, specifically in the legend of the Ring of Gyges.

It is claimed that Diogenes went to Athens with a slave named Manes, who abandoned him shortly after. With characteristic humour, Diogenes confronted his bad luck by saying: "If Manes can live without Diogenes, why can't Diogenes without Manes?" Diogenes will be consistent in laughing at the relationship of extreme dependence between people. He found a teacher, who did nothing for himself, but refused help from him. His attention was drawn to the ascetic teacher Antisthenes, a disciple of Socrates, who, according to Plato, had witnessed his death. Diogenes soon surpassed his teacher in both reputation and austerity of way of life. Unlike the other citizens of Athens, he lived avoiding earthly pleasures. With this attitude he intended to expose what he perceived as madness, pretense, vanity, social advancement,

The anecdotes told about Diogenes illustrate the logical consistency of his character. This "delirious Socrates", as Plato called him, walked barefoot during all seasons of the year, slept in the porches of the temples wrapped only in his cloak and had a jar as his home. He once thought that he had too many things among all his belongings: he had his cane, which he needed to walk; he had his cloak, which covered him, and his bag, which contained a bowl and a bowl for eating and drinking, respectively. One day, on one of his walks through the city, he saw how a boy ate lentils in a piece of bread and when he finished his lentils he drank water with his hands from a fountain and Diogenes thought: "This boy, he said, has taught me that I still have superfluous things.Another account said that a certain wealthy man invited him to a banquet in his luxurious mansion, emphasizing that spitting was prohibited there. Diogenes gargled a few times to clear his throat and spat directly into his face, claiming that he hadn't found a dirtier place to blow off steam. Diogenes criticized Plato's theory of ideas by saying that he saw tables and cups but not the ideas of "mesity" and "bowl", opting to oppose the materiality of particular entities.When Plato gave him Socrates' definition of man as "featherless biped", for which he had been highly praised, Diogenes plucked a rooster and to the astonishment of the disciples and Plato himself released it in the Academy saying: "I love you!" I have brought a man!” and departed between laughter and bending over himself. Between the surprise and laughter of his disciples Plato came forward responding: "don't worry, we will add something to the definition" and shouted to Diogenes: "Man is the featherless biped with wide nails.Diogenes then stopped laughing, realizing that Plato also knew how to answer. Hearing a person (probably a disciple of Zeno of Elea) deny the move, Diogenes got up and started walking. On another occasion, an Athenian was discussing meteors and Diogenes said to him: how long ago did you come from heaven?When Diogenes attended the baths he always met a zither who everyone despised and criticized, but Diogenes greeted him with respect, even with some admiration, to which some curious questioned him about the reason why he greeted the zither with how badly he played, Diogenes responding to this: "Because as he is he plays and sings, but he does not steal from anyone". So it went on day after day and the sitar player despised by all Diogenes always greeted him, even creating the phrase "God keep you, rooster" to greet him. The sitarist always returned the salute. One time the zither asked Diogenes the reason why he called him that, to which Diogenes replied: "Because you are like roosters, when you sing you make everyone get up on your side." On one occasion,royal dog, and he said to him: "If you had learned to prepare this food, you would not request the palaces of tyrants". To which Aristippus replied: "And if you knew how to deal with men, you wouldn't be washing herbs.

In Corinth

According to legend, which seems to be created with Menippus of Gadara, Diogenes, on a voyage to Aegina, was captured by pirates and sold into slavery. When he was put up for sale as a slave, he was asked what he knew how to do, and replied: “Send. Check if anyone wants to buy a master.” He was bought by a certain Xeniades of Corinth, who restored his freedom and made him guardian of his two sons. He spent the rest of his life in Corinth, where he devoted himself entirely to preaching the doctrines of the virtue of self-control.

During the Isthmian Games, he expounded his philosophy before a large audience. He may have been there that he met Alexander the Great. It is said that one morning, while Diogenes was lost in his thoughts and sunbathing outside the gymnasium outside Corinth, he was very busy. The king, Alexander the Great, was said to have arrived. Such was the fame that Diogenes had, that Alexander himself was interested in meeting the famous philosopher. Before Diogenes could know what was happening, he was surrounded by a bunch of Corinthian citizens and the meeting took place. Alejandro arrived accompanied by his escort and many other men. Alexander the Great stood in front of him and said, "I am Alexander," to which Diogenes replied, "And I Diogenes the dog." There were murmurs of astonishment at the sage's surprising response, for no one dared speak to the king in this way. Alexander asked: "Why do they call you Diogenes, the dog?", to which Diogenes replied: "Because I praise those who hit me, I bark at those who don't hit me, and I bite the bad ones." Again, more murmurs, but Alejandro was undeterred by those responses and said: "Ask me whatever you want." So Diogenes without flinching replied: "Get away from where you are that covers my sun." There was a general exclamation of all those present at such a poor request to a man who could give everything. Alexander, surprised, asked: "Aren't you afraid of me?", to which Diogenes replied with great aplomb with another question: "Great Alexander, do you consider yourself a good or a bad man?" Alexander replied: "I consider myself a good man", so Diogenes said: "Then... why should I fear you?". All the people were shocked. Alexander asked for silence and said: "Silence... Do you know what I tell you all? That if I wasn't Alexander, I would like to be Diogenes". On another occasion, Alexander found the philosopher staring intently at a pile of human bones. Diogenes said: "I am looking for the bones of your father, but I cannot distinguish them from those of a slave." Near the end of his life, once upon a time, a person approached Diogenes about the fact that he walked so much, because "now that you are already reaching the goal, shouldn't you go more slowly, even rest?", to which Diogenes He replied: "If you were at the end of a race and the finish line was already very close, what would you do? Would you go slower or maybe speed up the pace? Well, that's what I do."

Although most legends about him say that he lived in a jar in Athens, there are some sources that claim that he lived in a jar near the Craneum gymnasium in Corinth. Diogenes Laertius said about him in Lives, Opinions, and Sentences of the Most Illustrious Philosophers:

When Philip announced that he was going to attack Corinth, and everyone was dedicated to work and running from one side to the other, he pushed by rolling the jar in which he lived. As one asked him: -Why are you doing it, Diogenes?-, He said: -Because everyone is in such a hurry, it would be absurd for me not to do anything. So I roll my jar, having nothing else to occupy myself.

Diogenes Laertius also commented on this book:

He used to enter the theater bumping into those who were leaving. When asked why she did it herself, she replied: "It's the same thing I try to do throughout my life."

Death

About the death of Diogenes many versions circulated. According to one of them, he died of colic caused by ingesting a live octopus. For his part, the historian César Cantú establishes that he died when he fell from a horse, or after one of the dogs, among whom he was trying to distribute an octopus, had bitten a tendon. According to another version, he died of his own volition, holding his breath, although this would be somewhat metaphorical, since it is impossible to die by voluntarily stopping breathing. dogs. I'm already used to it". Much later, Epictetus remembered him as a model of wisdom. The Corinthians erected in his memory a column in marble from Paros with the figure of a resting dog.

Diogenes and the dogs

Some anecdotes about Diogenes talk about his behavior like that of a dog and his praise of the virtues of dogs. This has its reason for being in the word cynical. The Cynic name has two different origins associated with its founders. The first comes from the place where Antisthenes, his teacher, founded the school and used to teach philosophy, which was the sanctuary and gymnasium of Cynosargo, whose name would mean kyon argos, that is, agile dog or white dog. The second origin has to do with the behavior of Antisthenes and Diogenes, which resembled that of dogs, for which people nicknamed them kynikos, which is the adjective form ofkyon, dog. Therefore, kynikos or cynics would be similar to the dog or dog. This comparison comes from the way of life that these characters had chosen, for their radical idea of ​​freedom, their shamelessness and their continuous attacks on traditions and social ways of life.

Those who began to nickname Diogenes "the dog" had the clear intention of insulting him with a traditionally derogatory epithet. But the paradoxical Diogenes found the epithet quite appropriate and took pride in it. He had made shamelessness one of his hallmarks and the dog emblem must have seemed appropriate to defend his conduct. The reasons why the cynical is related to the canine are: indifference in the way of living, impudence when speaking or acting in public, the qualities of a good guardian to preserve the principles of his philosophy and, finally, the ability to perfectly distinguish friends from enemies. Diogenes ironically said of himself that, in any case, he was "a dog of those who receive praise, but with which none of those who praise him want to go hunting". In the middle of a banquet, some guests began to throw bones at him as if he were a dog. Diogenes stood in front of them and began to urinate on them, as he would have They also shouted “dog” at him while he was eating in the agora and he uttered: “You dogs, you who surround me while I eat!” With the same dignity he responded to Plato himself, who had thrown the same expletive at him: "Yes, I am indeed a dog, for I return again and again to those who sold me." they rejecting the society established up to that moment but without trying to reform or change it. some guests began to throw bones at him as if he were a dog. Diogenes stood in front of them and began to urinate on them, just like a dog would. They also yelled “dog” at him while he ate in the agora and he uttered: “You dogs, who hang around me while I eat!” With the same dignity he responded to Plato himself, who had thrown the same expletive at him: "Yes, I am certainly a dog, because I return again and again to those who sold me." Diogenes held earthly pleasures unnecessary to the point of completely abstaining from them, rejecting the society established up to that time but without attempting to reform or change it. some guests began to throw bones at him as if he were a dog. Diogenes stood in front of them and began to urinate on them, just like a dog would. They also yelled “dog” at him while he ate in the agora and he uttered: “You dogs, who hang around me while I eat!” With the same dignity he responded to Plato himself, who had thrown the same expletive at him: "Yes, I am certainly a dog, because I return again and again to those who sold me." Diogenes held earthly pleasures unnecessary to the point of completely abstaining from them, rejecting the society established up to that time but without attempting to reform or change it. They also yelled “dog” at him while he was eating in the agora and he uttered: “You dogs, who hang around me while I eat!” With the same dignity he responded to Plato himself, who had thrown the same expletive at him: "Yes, I am certainly a dog, because I return again and again to those who sold me." Diogenes held earthly pleasures unnecessary to the point of completely abstaining from them, rejecting the society established up to that time but without attempting to reform or change it. They also yelled “dog” at him while he was eating in the agora and he uttered: “You dogs, who hang around me while I eat!” With the same dignity he responded to Plato himself, who had thrown the same expletive at him: "Yes, I am certainly a dog, because I return again and again to those who sold me." Diogenes held earthly pleasures unnecessary to the point of completely abstaining from them, rejecting the society established up to that time but without attempting to reform or change it.

Doctrine

We know less of Diogenes' doctrine than of his life. Like other Cynics, he was less concerned with forming a school than with leading a straight life, in accordance with the principles of autonomy and contempt for the uses of society.

We can, however, distinguish him from his teacher Antisthenes in several respects. Of this it is said that he considered property as an impediment to life; Diogenes, however, did not value it at all; he is said to have taught that theft was permissible, since "all things are the property of the wise." Other doctrines are common to both: the idea that virtue consists fundamentally in the suppression of needs; the belief that society is the origin of many of these, which can be avoided through a natural and austere life; appreciation for privations, to the point of pain, as a means of moral rectification; contempt for the conventions of social life, and mistrust of refined philosophies, asserting that a rustic can know everything that is knowable.

The cynical rejection of established forms of civilization extended to the ideal of paideia that led young Greeks to practice gymnastics, music, and astronomy, among other disciplines, in order to attain areté.; Diogenes argued that if the same effort were put into practicing the moral virtues, the result would be better. He also despised most worldly pleasures, asserting that men obey their desires as slaves obey their masters; of love he held that it was "the business of the idle," and that lovers took pleasure in their own misfortunes. However, he considered intercourse to be a physical necessity; The anecdote is known that, faced with the scandal he caused by publicly masturbating in the agora, he disdainfully commented that he wished he could satisfy his hunger simply by rubbing his belly. Indifferent to 'public opinion' or to circumstantial criticism... even subversive in the face of modesty.

Diogenes said that the gods had given man an easy life, but that they were constantly in charge of complicating it and making it much more difficult; that wisdom was temperance for men, comfort for the old, wealth for the poor and ornament for the rich.

It is also known that he held that death was not an evil, since we are not aware of it. He is considered the inventor of the idea of ​​cosmopolitanism, because he claimed that he was a citizen of the world and not of a particular city.

His disciples were Monimo, Onesicritus, Philiscus and Crates of Thebes, followed by his wife Hipparchi.

Iconography

Some ancient busts of Diogenes have been preserved (Vatican City, Capitol, Louvre), as well as a bas-relief in the villa Albani (Diogenes and Alexander). He is one of the sages of antiquity most represented by Baroque painting: Diogenes with the Lantern, by Jordaens (Dresden), Ribera (Dresden); Diogenes throwing his bowl From him, Poussin (Louvre), S. Rosa (Saint Petersburg), K. Dujardin (Dresden).