Wednesday Wisdom

WHO?

Diogenes of Sinopes was born around 440 BC and lived most of his life around Athens and Corinth in ancient Greece. Known as "The Dog" which in Greek is the word kynicos, from which the word cynic comes from. The Cynics and followers of Diogene, many of who came from privileged backgrounds, emphasized living in accordance with nature, rejecting material possessions, and living a simple and self-sufficient life. For Diogenes and the Cynics, wisdom was to be found in living a simple and virtuous life, rather than in academic study or intellectual speculation. Aristotle even mentioned Diogenes as "The Dog" in his work Rhetoric which is likely where the name stuck. In ancient Greece, citizens were expected to be active part governance and protection of the City-state. Believing to have no quarrel with another city-state, Cynics declared themselves "cosmos" world and polos" state or cosmopolitan or citizens of the world and refrained from politics and war.

What he produced

Cynics, inspired by Diogenes lived outdoors with only a rough cloak, lived off the land and natural springs, and gained pleasure from walks, discussion among people, and the warmth of the sun. Cynics were the original Stoics and had a direct lineage from Socrates, who believed understanding nature and the human condition was the way to attain wisdom. (METAPHYSICS). They expressed that the ability to live a life of discomfort for is far more virtuous than the trappings of urban life.

When named and compared to the dogs of Athens, Diogenes took the intended insult as a positive from the institutional elite. He admired how dogs show their likes and dislikes with full transparency, a dog's tail never lies. Diognese reasoned that dogs demonstrated in plain sight that living off nature was sufficient for happiness. Perhaps Diognese was the first punk or hippy someone who pushed back against the establishment and wore the term "Dog" with honor. 

The word Cynic changed meaning in the first century in Rome. Philosopher and satirist Lucicias, known to stoics as Seneca the Younger, criticized people who used philosophy like the school of cynics to gain material possessions and prosper, calling them" false cynics". As a result, the word today has a negative connotation, as opposed to its original meaning. from ancient Greece.

2023 why do we care?

The Cynics were the originators of living a life of poverty where finding virtue was living in the moment within nature. This is long before the Christian ideal of poverty and virtue were taken on by the Catholic sects. Diogenes was considered mad by most of the citizens of Corinth and Athens and he was happy to show his disdain for anyone's opinion. His lack of conformity and ability to push back against power may have been his biggest legacy.

Aristotle's famous student and the most powerful man in the western hemisphere Alexander the Great heard of this unique philosopher and sought him out. Finding him enjoying the afternoon sun, Alexander the Great asked Diogenes if he could grant him any wish, to which he responded "Stand out of my sunlight." 

Diogenes and the Cyncis pushed back against social conventions and supported the idea which emphasized the importance of personal experience and the rejection of abstract theories and intellectualism. He embraced the nickname"Dog", claiming "they have greater love and fidelity than people." He also praised dogs for their loyalty, courage, and ability to live in the moment, qualities which he believed were worth emulating.

It's been said that dogs spend a short time in this world because they are born finished spirits. They are inherently good and don't need a long life to learn how to appreciate the moment or all the virtues of a good life.

Thank you, Papi, Ronan, and all those fury philosophers who make life so much better.

And now you know...

Philosophy is the art of thinking, the building block of progress that shapes critical thinking across economics, ethics, religion, and science.

METAPHYSICS: Literally, the term metaphysics means ‘beyond the physical.’ Typically, this is the branch that most people think of when they picture philosophy. In metaphysics, the goal is to answer the what and how questions in life. Who are we, and what are time and space?

LOGIC: The study of reasoning. Much like metaphysics, understanding logic helps to understand and appreciate how we perceive the rest of our world. More than that, it provides a foundation for which to build and interpret arguments and analyses.

ETHICS: The study of morality, right and wrong, good and evil. Ethics tackles difficult conversations by adding weight to actions and decisions. Politics takes ethics to a larger scale, applying it to a group (or groups) of people. Political philosophers study political governments, laws, justice, authority, rights, liberty, ethics, and much more.

AESTHETICS: What is beautiful? Philosophers try to understand, qualify, and quantify what makes art what it is. Aesthetics also takes a deeper look at the artwork itself, trying to understand the meaning behind it, both art as a whole and art on an individual level. A question an aesthetics philosopher would seek to address is whether or not beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder.

EPISTEMOLOGY: This is the study and understanding of knowledge. The main question is how do we know? We can question the limitations of logic, how comprehension works, and the ability (or perception) to be certain.