I've always had a soft spot for outcasts and true individualists. I was drawn early in life to writer/philosopher EM Cioran, the vagabond-writer GorkyI've always had a soft spot for outcasts and true individualists. I was drawn early in life to writer/philosopher EM Cioran, the vagabond-writer Gorky and of course, Hermann Hesse (who isn't?). Diogenes comes across as one of the first modern sociologist who attempts to invert norms in societies by actively practicing a different lifestyle. He - alledgedly - began his life as a bankers son but was but had to flee his home city once his father was tried for counterfeiting (if only they could do that with today's central bankers!).
He proceeds to live a life as a mendicant philosopher, famously portrayed as living in a jar. His purpose was to show how societal norms are artificial and the dire need for people to return to some sort of state of nature. Although he lived an ascetic lifestyle, he was not against pleasure (unlike his teacher Anthisthenes). The chief goal of the cynic is to be psychologically free from detachment, ergo the life of a begger. To be completely free of the need for possessions is to be virtuous, which is the highest good according to the cynics.
I often found myself comparing Diogenes lifestyle to that of the Buddha and of the stoics but found that there is a greater deal of conceit here. Diogenes is more like a modern day standup comedian with an eccentric Weltanschuung which he proceeds to point out to other people at every time possible. Anecdotes from his life almost always contain a strong punchline. One of his disciples, Crates, used to open peoples door in order to pontificate on the virtues of the cynic life. This is perhaps also which I found the biography so funny. I was also drawn to the fact that Diogenes philosophy is all about living life and he therefore has a disdain for those thinkers who approach philosophy from a more academic perspective. How can you not love a person who Plato called "Socrates gone mad"?
The biography also manages to capture some of the culture of ancient Greece. This period in history really marks a turning point which one can see with the advent of philosophers such as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle as well as the founding of different schools of thought. The citizens of Athens must have liked Diogenes (or at least thought he was funny) given the fact that they paid to rebuild his jar once some kid broke it. I oftened wondered whether it would make an interesting film given how many of the anecdotes are almost zen-like. I mean: who manages to keep their equanimity while being captured by pirates to be sold as a slave and then have the audacity to point a person at the market and say: this man needs a master!
There are many, many anecdotes about his life which seem apocraphyl but which this author claims to be true. Given how long ago he lived it is hard to tell. It was certainly a entertaining read (as well as a short one)....more
Very entertaining. This is the only complete latin novel which has survived. It is basically a juvenalen/picaresque satire which follow its protagonisVery entertaining. This is the only complete latin novel which has survived. It is basically a juvenalen/picaresque satire which follow its protagonist as he gets turned into a donkey and has to perservere through tremendous suffering. The work remains very modern as it satirizes all echelons of society and also has a metanarrative tone which keeps the storytelling fresh....more
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