Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
Part Two
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Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
Background Information
I.
Author
II. Diogenes
III.Cynicism
IV. Alexander the Great
V. Aristotle & Plato
VI. Hercules
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Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
I.
Author
Gilbert Highet (1906—1978) was
US “educator, author, and critic”.
“He is noted for popularizing
intellectual topics; wrote ‘Anatomy
of Satire,’ 1962.”
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The end of Author.
Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
II.
Diogenes
Diogenes: (412 B.C. — 324 B.C.), Greek
philosopher who founded the Cynic
school of philosophy, stressing selfcontrol and the pursuit of virtue. He
was the son of Hicesias, who was
exiled from his home town of
Sinope, allegedly for defacing its
debased currency. Thereafter, he
lived in streets of Corinth and
Athens where he is said to have
lived in a barrel. He became the
prototype of Cynicism.
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Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
II.
Diogenes
Diogenes has been described as a Socrates gone
mad. Like Socrates, he saw himself
encouraging men to examine their own
behaviour, and to live a virtuous life. By this,
he meant a life of total self sufficiency free
from social restraint, and distracting desires.
Living life according to nature was interpreted by
Diogenes to mean a back to the basic existence.
Virtue lay in requiring the bare minimum for
existence. He lived the life of a true ascetic.
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Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
II.
Diogenes
Diogenes deemed man the most intelligent and the
most foolish of the animals. For the proper
conduct of human life, he claimed, we need
"right reason or a halter". Most needed the
halter. He is said to have wandered through the
market place bearing a lamp in broad daylight
proclaiming: "I am looking for a man." It was a
matter of self mastery.
Slavery was a matter of attitude. Diogenes himself
had once been captured and sold as a slave.
When asked by the slave master what he could
do, he replied: "Govern men", and asked for a
buyer who wanted a master. The purchaser
made him tutor to his sons who did indeed
obey and revere him.
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Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
II.
Diogenes
Cynic Diogenes: Diogenes became a disciple of
Antisthenes, who was at the head of the Cynics.
Antisthenes at first refused to admit him and
even struck Diogenes with a stick. Diogenes
calmly said, "Strike me all you want but I will
not leave your presence, while you speak
anything worth hearing." Antisthenes was so
impressed with this reply that he admitted him
into the Cynics. Diogenes fully adopted the
principles and character of his master.
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How did he
become a
Cynic
philosopher?
Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
II.
Diogenes
comparison:
DIOGENES AND ALEXANDER
During his lifetime, Diogenes encountered the most
powerful of individuals and treated them with scorn.
They in turn responded with admiration. When
Alexander announced: "I am Alexander, the great
king." Diogenes replied: "I am Diogenes the dog",
using his nickname to show his contempt for the
titles others valued. Alexander is quoted as saying
that had he not been Alexander, he would have liked
to have been Diogenes.
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The end of Diogenes.
Find out the
similarities
and
differences.
Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
III. Cynicism
Origin of cynicism
Cynicism derives its name from the Greek
word for Dog. Aristotle refers to Diogenes
as "The Dog" and Diogenes had no problem
with the nickname. Cynicism was not a
school of philosophy, but rather an erratic
succession of individuals which began with
the philosopher Antisthenes.
Cynicism emphasized moral self-mastery,
rejection
of
government,
property,
marriage and religion. However, Diogenes
was not above stealing, claiming all things
are the property of the wise.
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Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
III. Cynicism
Cynicism:
A
philosophy,
first
expounded
by
Diogenes,
that
encourages indifference to social
convention and material comforts in
order
to
concentrate
on
selfknowledge. The aim of the Cynic was
to become self-determining, hence
free, by living in accordance with
nature.
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What is
cynicism?
Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
III. Cynicism
Cynics were a small but influential
school of ancient philisophers. Their
name is thought to be derived either
from the building in Athens called
Cynosarges, the earliest home of
the school, or from the Greek word
for a dog (kuon), in contemptuous
allusion
to
the
uncouth
and
aggressive manners adopted by the
members of the school. The Cynics
agreed in taking a dog as their
common badge or symbol.
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What is a
cynic?
Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
III. Cynicism
From a popular conception of
the intellectual characteristics
of the school comes the
modern sense of “cynic”,
implying a sneering disposition,
a disbelief in the goodness of
human
motives
and
a
contemptuous
feeling
of
superiority.
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The end of Cynicism.
What is a
modern
sense of
“cynic”?
Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
IV.
Alexander the Great
Alexander III was the King of Macedonia
(336—323BC) and conqueror of Asia
Minor, Syria, Egypt, Babylonia, and
Persia. His reign marked the beginning
of the Hellenistic Age.
Alexander's conquests and the
administrative needs of his Greekspeaking successors promoted the
spread of the Greek language and
Greek culture across the eastern
Mediterranean and into Mesopotamia.
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The end of Alexander the Great.
Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
V. Plato & Aristotle
Plato (427?—347 B.C.?) was a Greek
philosopher, a follower of Socrates. He
founded the Academy (386 B.C.), where
he taught and wrote for much of the rest
of his life. Plato presented his ideas in the
form of dramatic dialogues, as in The
Republic.
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Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
V. Plato & Aristotle
Quotations from Plato
Either death is a state of nothingness and utter
unconsciousness, or, as men say, there is a change
or migration of the soul from this world to
another… Now if death be of such nature, I say that
to die is to gain; for eternity is then only a single
night.
He who is of a calm and happy nature will hardly
feel the pressure of age, but to him who is of an
opposite disposition youth and age are equally a
burden.
The direction in which education starts a man will
determine his future life.
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Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
V. Plato & Aristotle
Aristotle (385—323 B.C.) was the
greatest of heathen philosophers.
A pupil of Plato, the tutor of
Alexander the Great, and the
author of works on logic, ethics,
metaphysics, natural sciences,
politics, and poetics, he
profoundly influenced Western
thought. In his philosophical
system, theory follows empirical
observation, and logic, based on
the syllogism, is the essential
method of rational inquiry.
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Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
V. Plato & Aristotle
His father was court physician to the King of
Macedonia. From the age of 17 to 37 he remained as
pupil of Plato and was distinguished among those
who gathered for instruction. The relations between
the renowned teacher and his illustrious pupil have
formed the subject of various legends. There were
divergencies of opinion between the master, who
took his stand on sublime, idealistic principles, and
the scholar, who, even at that time, showed a
preference for the investigation of the facts and laws
of the physical world.
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The end of Plato & Aristotle.
Lesson 4 - Wisdom of Bear Wood
Hercules
VI.
Hercules was the son of
Zeus and Alcmene, a
hero of extraordinary
strength who won
immortality by
performing 12 labors
demanded by Hera.
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The end of Hercules.
Lesson 10 – Diogenes and Alexander
Part Two
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