Back to Blog
Diogenes pronunciation6/12/2023 ![]() When Plato defined human beings as featherless bipeds and was praised for the brilliance of his definition. Diogenes, however, believed he was living a completely honest life and encouraging others to do the same.ĭiogenes, perhaps unsurprisingly, did not hesitate to insult his social superiors, including Plato and even Alexander the Great. Because of this rather unusual behavior, many labelled him as mentally ill, or a madman. In doing so, he confronted the people of Athens with their lifeless and shallow lives and encouraged them to wake up from the make-believe world they lived in and become fully aware of themselves. Diogenes walked around Athens, holding a lit lantern up to the face of everyone who passed him, claiming he was searching for an honest man or a true human being. If an act was not shameful in private, then it should not be shameful in public.Īnd that brings us to one of the most famous stories about this mad philosopher. These social norms, he believed, were completely artificial and had no real use in making someone a good person. When he was criticized for this, he pointed out that what he was doing was normal, and that everyone engaged in these activities, but hid in private what he did openly. He had no regard for social etiquette whatsoever and was known to frequently urinate and masturbate in public. Given this disdain for manners, Diogenes was known for his brutal honesty in conversation.
0 Comments
Read More
Leave a Reply. |