Diogenes of Sinope

Abstract

Diogenes of Sinope is the great exemplar whom later Cynics continually evoke. Yet despite the many vivid anecdotes told of him, he is historically a shadowy figure, and his ideas are difficult to pinpoint with absolute precision. In seeking to locate Diogenes somewhat precisely both in his own time and in the longer durée of Greek ethical thought, “Diogenes of Sinope” first surveys major themes of Cynicism that may be traced back to Diogenes himself: living according to nature, criticism of customs, shamelessness and parrhēsia, ascetic self-sufficiency, cosmopolitanism, and the pursuit of happiness through virtue. While there may be a general consensus on these topics, controversies remain, and perhaps must remain. In its second section, therefore, the chapter explores diverse, even opposite ways in which Diogenes has been construed and categorized. This series of antinomies again highlights the difficulties of precise interpretation, and suggests the deliberately elusive nature of Diogenes’ ethical thinking.