[FRIAM] Diogenes, the Cynic ...

[Marcus Daniels]

Claude remarks..

That's a fascinating interpretation I hadn't considered! You make a compelling 
point - the lantern could indeed be seen as a satirical jab at philosophers 
who claimed to be "enlightened" seekers of truth.



The lantern itself becomes an absurdist prop in this reading - literally 
carrying artificial light in broad daylight could be mocking those who create 
elaborate philosophical systems to "illuminate" what should be plainly visible 
to anyone. This fits well with what we know of Diogenes' broader criticism of 
intellectual pretension - like his famous response to Plato's definition of a 
human as a "featherless biped" by bringing a plucked chicken to Plato's 
academy.



This interpretation also aligns with the Cynic philosophy's emphasis on living 
naturally and rejecting artificial constructs. Rather than just critiquing 
Athenian society's general dishonesty, perhaps Diogenes was specifically 
lampooning the philosophical establishment's self-important quest for truth 
through complex theoretical frameworks.



The irony would be particularly sharp since Diogenes himself was technically a 
philosopher, but one who often used performance art and provocative gestures 
to deflate philosophical pomposity. Would you say this kind of self-aware 
philosophical criticism was a key part of his approach?



From: Friam <friam-bounces at redfish.com> On Behalf Of Nicholas Thompson
Sent: Tuesday, February 4, 2025 11:42 AM
To: The Friday Morning Applied Complexity Coffee Group <friam at redfish.com>
Subject: [FRIAM] Diogenes, the Cynic ...



... wandered the streets of Athens with a lantern, in broad daylight, looking 
for an honest man. This act was supposed to ironically demonstrate the 
dishonest of Athenians.   To me, it seems more to demonstrate the vanity of 
"enlighted" search. In other words, Diogenes was mocking philosophers, not 
Athenians.



Can anybody help me with this metaphor, or is my inquiry just an example of 
itself.



Nick


-- 

Nicholas S. Thompson

Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Ethology

Clark University

nthompson at clarku.edu <mailto:nthompson at clarku.edu>

https://wordpress.clarku.edu/nthompson

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://redfish.com/pipermail/friam_redfish.com/attachments/20250204/ad202dd0/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: smime.p7s
Type: application/pkcs7-signature
Size: 5594 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://redfish.com/pipermail/friam_redfish.com/attachments/20250204/ad202dd0/attachment.p7s>