A philosopher nicknamed ‘the dog’

We have such a high regard for philosophers in the East and West that we hardly make a disparaging remark about them. Almost all the philosophers are eccentric, away from the centre. You find only ordinary people who cannot think for themselves at the centre of society. With all the vicissitudes in life, a few people have been elevated to the status of philosophers. We admire and virtually venerate them as they have shown us the right way to live.

Diogenes of Sinope (400 - 325 BC) was an itinerant philosopher who eschewed the comforts of civic life in favour of what he called “self-sufficiency.” The term as we understand today does not connote any derogatory meaning. In fact, it is a virtue to achieve self-sufficiency in food, clothes and whatever we need for living. However, Diogenes went beyond the ordinary meaning of “self-sufficiency” and interpreted it in a different way.

Diogenes was a contemporary of the celebrated Greek philosopher Aristotle who lived in Greece from 384 to 322 BC. Diogenes was a charismatic and an enigmatic philosopher who inspired the Cynics, a school of thought that rejected complications and machinations of civic life.

Evidence

There is no historical evidence to show that Diogenes put down his philosophy in writing. Even if he did so, all that appeared to be lost. On the other hand, we can surmise that he never did any writing as far as his philosophy was concerned because he was out of step with modern ideas.

Diogenes: Mastery of the self leads to happiness and freedom

Diogenes’ ideal was a simplistic lifestyle. He did not like the commitments, trappings and distractions of civic life. He wanted everybody to master their self. While other philosophers professed high ideals beyond the comprehension of ordinary people, Diogenes dismissed metaphysics and intellectual humbug of the so-called free thinkers. Although there may be different ways to achieve happiness, he claimed that it could only be gained by living “according to nature.” What he meant was that human beings should satisfy their needs of the body through the simplest means possible.

Diogenes practised what he preached. He followed a vagrant lifestyle and soon earned the nickname “the dog.” Plato, another leading Greek philosopher referred to Diogenes as “a Socrates gone mad.” Unperturbed by such caustic remarks, Diogenes lived by begging for his basic requirements such as food and clothes. He was satisfied with what others gave him and never demanded anything more.

Happiness

According to him, “self-sufficiency” or “mastery of the self” led to happiness and freedom. But he warned that to achieve self-sufficiency, you have to train yourself in the face of adversity.

Sometimes, his philosophy came close to Buddhism. The Buddha asked his followers to give up everything to achieve eternal happiness or Nibbana. Diogenes too wanted people to abandon their property, loved ones and family ties. By doing so, he said, they could minimise the distractions of emotional attachments.

Quite contrary to Buddhism, Diogenes wanted the people to attack society to liberate others. He wanted everybody to open themselves for ridicule to remain emotionally detached. On the other hand, his philosophy appears to be more radical and uncompromising than Buddhism and Taoism that flourished in the East.

Generosity

A criticism levelled against Diogenes was that he depended on the generosity of others to lead a vagrant lifestyle. From a practical standpoint, if everybody followed his lifestyle, society would collapse and Diogenes himself would not survive. So, most philosophers dismiss Diogenes’ philosophy being elitist and having no universal appeal.

The Cynics who followed Diogenes were not perturbed by such criticism. Cynicism flourished in ancient Greece and Rome around 1 AD. Cynicism had a different meaning from the modern context. Today it comes very close to asceticism. Therefore, we should not totally dismiss Diogenes’ philosophy or Cynicism.

Their ideas still remain valid as giving up everything is the cornerstone of real happiness. If we keep on amassing wealth and fattening our bank balances, we will never enjoy happiness. To that extent, Diogenes’ philosophy remains valid even in the Digital Age.