Eventually, the master succumbed and let him study under his tutelage. He wanted wisdom and it had to be the wisdom of Antisthenes or nothing. Whatever Antisthenes said or did, Diogenes was unwavering. Perhaps he was concerned that the young man was the son of a disreputable money-lender. Simply, Antisthenes could not take to Diogenes. Russell recounts that he tried to send Diogenes away, even beating him with a stick. However, when Diogenes first came into Antisthenes’s life, the master was not impressed. He was an inspiration to his disciple, Diogenes. He eschewed government, marriage, property and the established religious order. He preached in the open air in order to reach all those less fortunate and less educated than he was. He consorted with, and dressed like, working men. After the death of Socrates, Antisthenes was no longer a young man, but, in an instant, he did a tremendous about-turn, professing to despise all the trappings of power and affluence he formerly valued.Īntisthenes decided he wanted to be good. Until Socrates died, Antisthenes lived comfortably within an aristocratic circle without ever attempting to portray any unorthodox behaviour or theories. Just put your preference in the “I Would Like to Support” Box after you Click to Donate Below: Support This Expert’s Articles, This Category of Articles, or the Site in General Here. Would you like to see more articles like this? Antisthenes was instructed by Socrates and he was fascinated by the great master’s extreme frugality. It all started with a philosopher called Antisthenes, who lived in Athens around 400B.C. In “Cynics and Sceptics” in his History of Western Philosophy, Bertrand Russell explains that four Schools of Philosophy were founded around the time of Alexander the Great, and these were the Cynics, the Sceptics, the Stoics and the Epicureans. The Cynics – First of Four Important Schools of Philosophy In the times of the Ancient Greeks, it was more complicated. Today, if we describe someone as “cynical,” we mean that they are scornful of human sincerity or sentimentality and may be insensitive to the distress of others. Philosophy is not a discipline without its eccentrics, and surely the most famous Cynic of all, Diogenes, must be the prime example. Nevertheless, Diogenes lived in harmony with his beliefs and remained true to himself, although his barrel must have been an uncomfortable domain for a human being. Despite this, he was able to pass on his philosophy of Cynicism to Crates.Diogenes claimed he was happy living in his barrel, with his clock, his stick and his breadbag. Diogenes was captured by pirates and sold into slavery. According to some sources, he was likely a student of the philosopher Antisthenes, who himself studied with Socrates. He carried out several political stunts, the best known of which is the incident when he went around carrying a lamp during the day, claiming to look for an “honest man.” He also gained much notoriety for publicly mocking Alexander the Great. He declared himself to be a citizen of the world and refused to claim allegiance to just one place. He also disregarded the laws and customs of the land, owing to which he became a controversial figure. He lived a life of extreme austerity and was known to beg for a living and sleep in the marketplace without any proper bedding.
Diogenes believed that virtue was revealed more in action than in theory.
He was one of the philosophers who originated the Cynic philosophy, a way of thinking that advocated the rejection of luxury and promoted “living in virtue”. Diogenes, also known as Diogenes the Cynic, was a Greek philosopher.
0 kommentar(er)
