this post was submitted on 21 May 2025
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[โ€“] PugJesus@lemmy.world 33 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Explanation: Diogenes was an Ancient Greek philosopher who lived in an empty wine barrel on the streets and passed along unconventional wisdom to passers-by, often unasked for. Such brilliance as "If only it were as easy to banish hunger by rubbing my belly!" when accosted for masturbating in public, and "Behold, a man!" whilst holding a plucked chicken, when Plato's Academy defined a man as a featherless biped.

Unironically, though, his iconoclasm, while eccentric, does show a well-considered and coherent value system, and for that reason, despite everything, was a major influence on later philosophers, especially the Cynic school. Alexander the Great famously said, "If I were not Alexander, I would want to be Diogenes." to which according to some accounts Diogenes replied, "If I were not Diogenes, I too would want to be Diogenes."