Diogenes

Diogenes of Sinope, commonly called Diogenes the Cynic, was a Greek philosopher who lived in the 4th century BCE and is a central figure in Cynic philosophy. Born in Sinope on the Black Sea around 412 BCE, he later moved to Athens and became associated with the Cynic school, drawing on the ideas of Antisthenes. Much of what is known about him comes from later biographers, notably Diogenes Laërtius, and many anecdotes reflect a legendary public life.

Diogenes taught that virtue is sufficient for happiness and that freedom comes from self-sufficiency and rejection of conventional desires. He advocated a life in accordance with nature, critiquing wealth, status, and social conventions as distractions from true goods. He lived with little material comfort, often in austere conditions, and is famous for allegedly residing in a tub or barrel in Athens as a demonstration of Cynic ideals. He is also said to have called himself a dog, aligning with the school’s label kynikos.

Several well-known stories illustrate his approach. He reportedly walked the streets with a lantern in daylight, claiming to be searching for an honest man. In another famous encounter, when Alexander the Great asked what he could do for him, Diogenes supposedly replied, “Stand out of my light,” or a variant of that remark, underscoring his disregard for power and attention. Whether factual or embellished, these anecdotes reflect his emphasis on autonomy and the critique of pretension.

Diogenes died in Corinth around 323 BCE. His provocative life and teachings influenced later Cynicism and, by extension, certain strands of Hellenistic philosophy and the development of Stoicism.