5 things to learn from cynical philosophers

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Radical minimalism, tempering and emancipation in the ancient Greek way.

In Ancient Greece, there were enough teachings that remain relevant today. However, the cynics stood out against the background of noble Stoics and life-loving Epicureans in that they questioned social foundations. The meaning of this was not in simple hooliganism, but in gaining inner freedom and, due to this, getting closer to understanding things.

The word "cynic" comes from the name of the Kinosarg gymnasium, which means "White dog". The teaching really suggests that you need to live "like a dog." But not just sleeping anywhere, eating scraps and snarling (although all the cynics sometimes did this too), but be brave and faithful to principles.

The cynics were more interested in the ethics of everyday life and the place of man in the world than in high theory. Therefore, students, in order to comprehend the cynical ideas, needed to confirm them by the very way of life - through various practices that liberate the soul. Not all withstood. Too humble and not sufficiently tempered fled.

This is what the cynical teachers had to offer to those who wanted to adopt their philosophy.

1. Do not get attached to places

The idea of buying a home on a mortgage would seem ridiculous to the cynics. They themselves traveled a lot and stayed overnight in different places. The ideal of extreme self-sufficiency was called autarchy - that is, a situation in which dependence on external circumstances is minimal. At the same time, we are not talking about an escape from reality and not about an "ivory castle". Continuing the tradition of Socrates, who also rarely appeared “washed and in sandals,” the Cynics believed that a thinker, moving away from society, could better see and understand it.

The first of the Cynics, Antisthenes, popularized the cloak, staff and knapsack among his followers. These items made it possible to wander the roads in any weather, fend off enemies and store food. And the most famous cynic, Diogenes of Sinop, realized the charm of the nomadic lifestyle when he saw a mouse running past, which did not care about the bed, was not afraid of the dark and did not worry about where he would eat tomorrow. Since then, Diogenes also wandered and slept on a cloak folded in half.

Today's millennials are reluctant to buy real estate and new cars (from car dealers, this is alarming). Many rented housing is much nicer, because if necessary, you can simply move to another place. And a taxi or a bicycle are more environmentally friendly alternatives to your own car. True, when traveling, a car may be necessary, but for this purpose it can always be rented.

If before owning your own home and “moving out” was a prerequisite for success and wealth, today this is no longer the case, but mobility is appreciated. Quite in the ideals of the Cynics.

2. Do not depend on material values

Over time, Diogenes nevertheless found a more or less permanent home in Metroon (the temple of Cybele). Contrary to popular belief, it was not a barrel. The ancient Greeks did not make wooden barrels fastened with rims, and they preferred to store wine, grain and oil in earthen vessels. It was in such a large vessel - pithos - that Diogenes settled, who had a minimum of personal belongings all his life.

Diogenes said that when he sees rulers, doctors or philosophers, it seems to him that man is the most intelligent of living beings, but when he meets dream interpreters, soothsayers or people who believe them, as well as those who boast of fame or wealth, then it seems to him that nothing can be more stupid than a person.

Diogenes Laertius "On the life of the teachings and sayings of famous philosophers"

Kinik Cratet, who was supposedly a student of Diogenes, put together the following lines about material wealth: “Everything that I learned good, thinking and obeying the Muse, became mine; and it is in vain to accumulate other wealth."

If living in pithos is too much for you, you can take a closer look at the principles of minimalism. Try to start with decluttering and conscious shopping. It is likely that many things that seem necessary are in fact a dead weight, and what you buy spontaneously just joins it.

3. Strengthen body and spirit

To become autonomous and to lead a nomadic lifestyle, it was necessary to have a certain temper. The Cynics believed that self-restraint strengthens the spirit, making a person stronger. Therefore, they not only gave up comfort, but also constantly looked for new difficulties. And they were sincerely happy when they realized that one could come to even greater simplicity. The cynics called such a harsh attitude towards themselves asceticism.

Once, seeing a child drinking water from his palm, Diogenes threw away his bowl. To accustom himself to rejection, he asked the statues for alms. And in order to temper the body, he walked barefoot, including in the snow.

The disciples did not lag behind him in self-torture. The comic poet Philemon wrote about Cratetus that he is “dressed in sackcloth in winter (coarse linen clothes. - Author's note), and in summer he wanders, wrapped in a thick cloak”.

Many people turn to asceticism even today, and it does not have to be associated with religious practices. For some, this is a way to develop willpower, become stronger and concentrate on the main thing. Apparently, Pavel Durov reasoned something like this. Some time ago, he announced that he had changed from swimming in ice water to temporary refusal of food, because "fasting improves clarity of thought."

Climbing into cold water or stopping eating is not necessary to build willpower. It is enough to develop mindfulness: this will allow you to make informed decisions when you are faced with some kind of temptation. One-time extreme actions can be remembered for a long time, but systematic and regular exercises, even if not too heroic, contribute more to a noticeable strengthening of the body and spirit. Sometimes introducing a good habit is harder than jumping into an ice hole.

4. Do not curry favor with the authorities and authorities

Many people know the story of how Alexander the Great came to visit Diogenes and said that he could ask for anything. The philosopher really asked, without any reverence, answering the commander: "Do not block the sun for me." (This anecdote is most likely of late origin, but it is kept quite in a cynical spirit.)

It got from the Cynics not only to the powers that be, but also to other philosophers. Antisthenes and Diogenes openly mocked the greatest thinker of Greece, Plato, criticizing him for the doctrine of ideas, which was considered too abstract and far from life. In addition, the cynics considered Plato to be arrogant and arrogant, so they did not go past the Platonic school without jokes.

Once Diogenes brought a plucked rooster there to show the inadequacy of Plato's definition of "man is an animal with two legs and without feathers." Another time he offered Plato dried figs with the words "you can take it." When he really took and ate the fig, he was indignant: "You can take it, I said, and not eat it." And at one reception in the house of Plato, Diogenes began to trample the master's carpets with the words: "I trample on the vanity of Plato."

Arguing directly with the authorities is not always possible and not in all situations: sometimes it can be too expensive. But what exactly can be done is to abandon self-censorship - that is, to stop limiting oneself in actions and expressions of will even before it is really banned.

This allows an open public discussion of certain problems instead of hushing them up.

In addition, you should not try to curry favor with the authorities - it does not matter whether it is about the boss or the informal leader in the company. Your real merits and personal dignity will be noticeable in any case, but obsequious behavior does not paint anyone.

5. Reject convention

Kiniks regularly amazed their fellow citizens by doing strange things or behaving inappropriately in public places. The point of these speeches was to show the relativity of the rules, overcome the fear of out of order and shift the focus of attention from external details to the life of the mind and soul.

Mention is made of how the Cynic Cratet forced his student Zeno of Kitis to walk through Athens with a pot of lentil stew, and when he saw that he was embarrassed and tried to hide his load, he completely broke the pot with his staff. Drenched in stew, Zeno rushed to run, and Cratet shouted after him: “Why are you running? After all, nothing terrible has happened to you! Over time, unable to withstand such tests, Zeno, who, as Diogenes Laertes writes, “for all his adherence to philosophy, was too modest,” left the Cynics and founded the Stoic school. Self-restraint was also taught there, but without trials and performances.

Once Diogenes gave out a fish to some man who wanted to study philosophy and ordered him to follow him with it at the ready. When he threw the fish and left, Diogenes laughed: "Our friendship was destroyed by a fish!"

According to Diogenes, most people are separated from madness by only one finger. After all, if someone begins to point at everything with the middle finger, they will think that he has lost his mind, and if with the index finger, then it will be in the order of things. Now in our world there are much less conventions than in the Greek polis, where life was very regulated. At the same time, today there are enough unspoken rules that we are embarrassed to break.

For example, a person who goes out into the courtyard of an office building to smoke a cigarette or talk on the phone is considered normal. And the one who decides to just stand for a few minutes and silently stare at the wall will seem strange. Therefore, many, in order to be alone with their thoughts and unload their heads, have to pretend to be some kind of occupation.

Try not to hide behind anything in such a situation. Adults around are still unlikely to comment on this. But Diogenes would be pleased with you.