![diogenes scp diogenes scp](https://64.media.tumblr.com/22c1c868705fd04790957d02d6937d3a/31173e4991250859-c7/s2048x3072/72140955105c449935ac780d2353702591a31f1d.png)
Diogenes, upon hearing their carefully thought out and detailed arguments, simply got up and walked away, thereby proving without saying a word that motion does indeed exist.Ĭentral to Diogenes’ philosophy was the conviction that it is pointless to concern one’s self with abstract contemplation or metaphysical speculation, and instead that the sole concern of one’s attention should be with the concrete here and now, for it is only in the here and now that we can attain happiness. He, perhaps more than any other philosopher in history, epitomized the Greek ideal of philosophy as a “way of life”.Ī great example of the way in which Diogenes’ actions expressed his ideas and ideals is found in a tale which describes him being surrounded by a number of philosophers who were arguing that motion does not exist, a position most famously held by the Presocratic philosopher Parmenides. Instead, Diogenes expressed his ideas through his actions and in the conversations he had with his fellow citizens.
#Diogenes scp how to
When asked what his occupation was he responded: “To govern men”, and said that if anyone was in need of a master, they should purchase him.Īlthough Diogenes claimed to have attained knowledge as to how to live the proverbial “good life”, he didn’t express this knowledge by writing a philosophical treatise or an expansive ethical system. Diogenes’ belief that he was a king among men is exemplified in a tale which tells how once a ship which Diogenes was on was captured by pirates and he was sold as a slave in the marketplace. He was an autonomous individual, that is, an individual who has shaken off all social constraints, norms, and expectations, and lives according to his own internal laws and ideals.īecause of his self achieved freedom, happiness, and self sufficiency, Diogenes considered himself a king among men, an interesting claim given that he begged for his daily sustenance, lived in a pithos, which is a storage jar or tub, and owned nothing except for a worn and tattered cloak and staff. He alone, he boasted, was free, self sufficient, and happy. While he saw practically all individuals as immersed in an evil life, enslaved by their own ignorance and conforming blindly to the herd that is mankind, Diogenes proclaimed to have escaped such a life. Once, when someone mentioned to Diogenes that life itself was evil, Diogenes corrected him by saying: “Not life itself, but living an evil life.” Yet contrary to the modern cynic, the Ancient Cynic was not pessimistic about life itself, and believed that each individual had the power to transform their life so as to achieve freedom, self sufficiency, and happiness. Most people are vain, lazy, ignorant, and blindly obedient, or at least this was Diogenes’ opinion. Like the modern cynic, the Ancient Cynic, as exemplified by Diogenes, did not think very highly of the general run of mankind. Life, for the modern cynic, would have been better if it never happened at all. The modern meaning of the word cynicism is very different from the classical or ancient meaning of the word, and to differentiate the two scholars capitalize the word Cynic or Cynicism when referring to Ancient Cynicism.Ī modern cynic is generally an individual who thinks negatively about human beings and existence in general.
![diogenes scp diogenes scp](https://66.media.tumblr.com/d18c928a8527b553d6813a12636438fd/6b1d65806a115994-34/s640x960/5d5ecba9c492c1250bdd9b4e451cacbd94b7723b.png)
The Ancient Cynic movement influenced many schools of thought, most notably Stoicism whose doctrines were said to be “written on the tail of the dog”, and many individual philosophers such as Friedrich Nietzsche, who claimed that “the highest one can reach on earth is Cynicism”. Cynicism as a philosophical movement lasted approximately 900 years, commencing in the 5th century BC with Diogenes. Hence, Diogenes was also called Diogenes the Dog which means “the man from God who acted like a dog”.ĭiogenes was one of the founders and most famous members of the philosophical movement known as Cynicism. The word cynic comes from the Greek word for dog (kyon) and Diogenes is a name which means “the man from God”. In this lecture we are going to investigate the life and ideas of Diogenes the Cynic.
![diogenes scp diogenes scp](https://66.media.tumblr.com/23d202a0a40818b04da3711ee276ef32/4eb5c39009e2ad6b-2c/s640x960/167546d470e9c2b18b7250c263716586f344b456.jpg)
The following is a transcript of this video.