he ridicules people on the streets
disrespected Authority broke with all
forms of etiquette and didn't care about
personal hygiene on top of that he
defecated urinated and even sexually
gratified himself in public when you
think of philosophy the shameless
behavior of Diogenes the cynic probably
isn't the first thing that comes to mind
Diogenes strongly opposed social values
and institutions because according to
him these are at odds with human nature
he believed that human society infused
us with all kinds of unnatural desires
that are not only obsolete but also
prevent us from being happy therefore we
should strip ourselves of this
corrupting man-made construct so we're
able to live how we're supposed to live
in agreement with nature Diogenes stands
to what everything cultured was very
obvious he practiced what he preached
behaving obscenely with no regard for
convention it's no surprise that people
called in doggish doglike or simply the
dog this video explores Diogenes
philosophy and what we can learn from
his ideas
[Music]
a pupil of Socrates named and Tessa the
knees laid out of first ideas of what
would later become the philosophical
school called cynicism the word cynicism
comes from the ancient Greek word
kuniko's which means doggish referring
to anticipating follower Diogenes who
was born in a Greek colony named shinobi
it's not certain if auntie Senate and
Diogenes have ever met but he and the
doggish philosopher definitely shared
their preference for living a life of
poverty both would have agreed that
wealth isn't a matter of possessions I
quote wealth and poverty do not lie in a
person's estate but in their souls and
quote there's a difference between
modern-day cynicism and cynicism as a
philosophy cynicism as it's used today
refers to a negative stance towards
human nature or as the Cambridge
dictionary defines it the belief that
people are only interested in themselves
and are not sincere
the ancient cynics however weren't
negative at all towards human nature
they just fiercely opposed the societies
that humans create for themselves which
in their opinion prevented them from
living in agreement with their true
nature thus they criticize human
behavior but do believe that we can be
cured Diogenes was the embodiment of
poverty
he lived in a barrel near the
marketplace in the city-state of Corinth
he owned nothing except for some old
rags and a bowl to eat and drink from
when he saw a child drinking water using
his hands he threw away the ball as well
even though he was poor and rejected
social norms and customs he wasn't cut
off from society in fact as the odd man
out he challenged people by striking
conversations and confronting them with
their faults the famous philosopher
Plato was a contemporary of Diogenes who
believed that ideas are the basis of
reality Diogenes however criticized him
for being too theoretical he often
mocked
Ledo by disturbing his lectures on one
occasion plato was given praise because
of his definition of a human being
namely a featherless chicken as a
response
Diogenes plucked a chicken entered
Plato's Academy and said behold I've
brought you a man in a way we could see
Diogenes as an anti philosopher he
rejected the necessity of an expansive
ethical system and all kinds of other
academic fuzz his philosophy was shown
through his actions and this method was
the key to his success his down-to-earth
philosophy was easily accessible by the
masses and cynicism as a philosophical
school would later flourish in Greece
and Rome Plato
despite acknowledging Diogenes
brilliance and width disapproved of his
obscene behavior and called him
Socrates gone mad Plato certainly wasn't
the only one he mocked one day he
visited a marketplace in broad daylight
with a lantern examining random people
saying I'm looking for a human being I
haven't found any of course he meant to
say that everyone he encountered in a
marketplace had already lost touch with
their humanity he tried to convey the
same message by walking backward through
the porch when people laughed at him he
challenged them by asking aren't you
ashamed you walk backwards along the
whole path of existence and blame me for
walking backward along the path of the
promenade and quote it was probably
amusing and frustrating at the same time
for Diogenes to see people's blindness
to the predicament they had built for
themselves and the ridiculous standards
they expected each other to conform to
thus Diogenes wasn't living just for
himself he also attempted to enlighten
the people around him many anecdotes
describe Diogenes as doglike or doggish
when he was asked why people described
him that way
he replied I fawn on those who give me
anything I Yelp at those who refuse and
I set my teeth in Rascals however one
day he took his aspirations to be
doglike too
a whole new level when a group of
wealthy Athenians had a bank it
disrespectfully through bones at him his
response lifting his leg and urinating
on that
[Music]
Diogenes himself wasn't married he
satisfied his sexual desires by
masturbating which he did unsurprisingly
in public when he was ridiculed because
of this he answered I wish it were as
easy to banish hunger by rubbing my
belly probably the most famous anecdote
about Diogenes is the one in which he
mocked Alexander the Great Alexander the
Great was a king of Macedon and one of
the most successful military commanders
in history during his rule he was able
to establish an empire stretching from
Greece to India
when Alexander stayed in Corinth the
Eugenie's took not the slightest notice
of him as opposed to many other
philosophers and statesmen
who hurried to congratulate their
monarch with his accomplishments
Alexander wished to meet this doggish
man he had heard about so he decided to
look for him and found him lying in the
Sun as recorded by ancient Greek
philosopher Plutarch I quote Diogenes
raised himself up a little when he saw
so many people coming towards him and
fixed his eyes upon Alexander and when
that monarch addressed him with
greetings and asked if we wanted
anything yes said Diogenes
stand a little out of my Sun and quote
according to Plutarch Alexander was
struck by this treatment showing great
admiration for Diogenes he told his
followers if I were not Alexander I wish
I were Diogenes there's no consensus
about how Diogenes died some say he died
because of rabies as he was always
surrounded by his best friends dogs
others believed he died of food
poisoning and some say he ended his own
life by holding his breath now after
sharing a few of his anecdotes let's
explore why he did what he did and what
Diogenes philosophy entails the cynics
pointed to the meaninglessness of
civilized life showing that human beings
aren't bad creatures in themselves but
have created a society that estranges
them from their true nature similar to
Socratic thought the cynics believed
that virtue and happiness
are in our own hands and thus external
things that are irrelevant when it comes
to achieving them like Socrates Diogenes
believed that a good life was a life of
self-sufficiency because he owned
nothing and wished for nothing more than
he satisfaction of his basic needs it
was easy for him to be content he didn't
need things like material wealth and
status to be happy and couldn't care
less about what people thought about him
Diogenes enjoyed the small pleasures of
life which are much easier to get by as
opposed to the goodies that society
wants us to chase which often take a lot
of effort to obtain philosopher Epicurus
shared this view and also rejected the
chase of pleasures that cost us more
than we actually receive take the chase
of material wealth for example Diogenes
thought of money as the mother of all
evil and let's face it society expects
us to stretch ourselves beyond our means
to achieve the superficial goals it lays
upon us some people are even willing to
commit immoral acts including violence
and murder just to obtain money and for
what most of the time for buying stuff
they don't need to impress people they
don't even like thus when we take social
pressure out of the equation what's the
point of chasing material wealth
Diogenes spirit all those people that
are stuck on the hamster wheel running
in the hope of getting what they never
will unless they free themselves from
the societal rat race live a simple life
that's natural for our species and enjoy
the present moment this he considered a
shortcut to virtue a much easier and
convenient way to be happy from the our
genies point of view dogs are great
teachers on how to live an agreement
with nature they relieve themselves
whenever they want eat when they're
hungry and whatever they can find
copulate in public without shame and
live in the present moment without
anxiety in regards to the last
characteristic we could say that what
many spiritual seekers are looking for
dogs already have even though a life of
poverty may see
very disempowering position to be in
Diogenes way of life made him extremely
powerful after all he was independent of
external factors and therefore no one
could do anything to him he himself and
not the outside world was in control of
his happiness
moreover Diogenes sought to live a life
of toil
because by deliberately living a hard
life we do not only become stronger but
also more capable of enjoying the little
things an example of this was that he
frequently backed from statues which he
saw as a practice of being rejected to
summarise Diogenes the cynic was
infamous for behaving like a dog living
in a barrel owning nothing more than
some old rags he was a man of simplicity
his philosophy cynicism is not based on
complicated systems of ethics and vast
academic works rather it's based on
actions Diogenes criticized modern
society and how it separates people from
their true nature his philosophy is
meant as a cure for the pitiful human
condition it encourages us to live a
life of toil break with convention
renounce externals and enjoy the here
and now
Diogenes practiced what he preached his
anecdotes portrays unconventional
behavior he didn't really care about the
things that society tells us to care
about status money social norms Diogenes
ignored them all there are quite some
similarities between stoicism and
cynicism thus it's no surprise that
stoicism descends directly from cynicism
biographer Diogenes life's use wrote
that Zeno the founder of stoicism had
written his philosophy on the dogs till
as he was instructed by the Oh Chinese
sexually exhibitionist pupil create ease
stoicism is clearly a philosophy for
those who seek to participate in society
and to work together with their fellow
human beings cynicism on the other hand
is a philosophy for outsiders both
however support the idea that the
attainment of happiness
virtue and inner peace is entirely
within our control thank you for
watching
[Music]