Can someone tells me what this means in easy terms?

Question

Diogenes was chief among the school known as the cynics, though possibly not representative of it [Diogenes "carried the principles of the sect to an extreme of asceticism." (OED.)]. It was said of Diogenes that throughout his life he "searched with a lantern in the daylight for an honest man." And though Diogenes apparently did not find an honest man, he had, in the process, "exposed the vanity and selfishness of man." (Chambers.)

The sect, known as the cynics, was founded by Antisthenes (444-370 BC), a pupil of Socrates; it was "marked by an ostentatious contempt for ease, wealth, and the enjoyments of life." Diogenes was a pupil of Antisthenes. Diogenes, on coming to Athens from his native lands, Sinope, came as "a rake and spendthrift." After following under the spell of Antisthenes, Diogenes "became at once an austere ascetic, his clothing of the coarsest, his food the plainest, and his bed the bare ground. At length he found himself a permanent residence in a tub."

(The meaning of cynicism today is to be found in the OED. "A person disposed to rail or find fault; now usually: One who shows a disposition to disbelieve in the sincerity or goodness of human motives and actions, and is wont to express this by sneers and sarcasms; a sneering fault-finder." The image of a cynic that has come to us is that of a dog.)

An interesting story is the one where the young Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) met Diogenes, then a very old man. The powerful young conqueror, being solicitous of the old philosopher, asked what, if anything he could do for him. Diogenes replied, "Stand out of my sunshine"; to which he added, as Alexander took his leave, "If I were not Alexander, I would be Diogenes."

Answer 1

Diogenes was the most cynical person, but he wasn't the best representation of the cynics. He tried as hard at he could to find an honest man (and even though he didn't) along the way he uncovered how evil most men are.



Antisthenes (a pupil of socrates) founded the cynics as a group which was opposed to enjoying the enjoyable things in life. Diogenes joined the cynics and trained under Antishenes. Eventually he rejected all luxuries of life (good clothing/food/furniture)



(what cynisim means to day is: somebody who looks more for bad than for good. And when he finds the bad, makes fun of it)



When Alexander the Great met Diogenes, Diogenes told him to go away and said that being himself was the best alternative to being Alexander the Great.

Answer 2

This is an overly dense piece of writing. It must be old. Basically, it is a discussion of the philosopher Diogenes and his relationship with the philosophical area of thought called cynicism (they were called cynics).



The cynics were founded by a man named Antisthenes, who was a student of Socrates. The cynics were against people living in overly comfortable ways. When Diogenes came to Athens he spent a lot of money on stuff and slept around. But then he became a student of Antisthenes. But he took cynicism to an extreme. He became an ascetic, that is a person who lives a life without comforts on purpose. He would not eat much food, would wear uncomfortable clothes and do other harsh and uncomfortable things to himself.



When he met Alexander the Great, a person who basically was ruler of the world at the time, Alexander asked if he could do anything for Diogenes. This would have been like a genie giving you a wish, because Alexander was the richest most powerful man in the world. Diogenes said, don't stand in my sunlight. Alexander was impressed by him and said, "If I were not Alexander I would be Diogenes."



The part in the middle just says that a cynic in today's language is just someone who is very critical of others and difficult to please, which is different than the philosophy of cynicism. FYI, the OED that it refers to is an abbreviation for the Oxford English Dictionary.



Does that help?

Answer 3

Diogenes was tops among people who did not believe in the sincerity of others, although not completely closed-minded. He searched and searched to find a truly honest , sincere person worthy of his praise, but only succeeded in finding more fault in his eyes. He came to a foreign land corrupt, immoral & lead astray in this belief. He joined a cult, school or group of people who had a hatred for wealthy, successful, happy people(I'm sure feeling they didn't deserve or earn it). Under the guidance of this group, he adopted a morally strict, plain, self-denying, Quaker stance. I think in the end his misguided vision had not changed and when Alexander showed an interest in him because of this philosophy and he said to "Stand out of my sunshine", I believe he was proud of his self-denial and full of himself(if you know what I mean) and still not believing in the sincerity or conviction of others. Alexander admires this and sees some sort of strength in that and sees himself the same way. Some sort of comradery. Hey, did I just write your thesis?

Answer 4

I'm not much of a philosopher, but it seems to me that he was using extra light to expose lies and only an honest man would pass such a test. The fact that he searched this way his whole life implies that he never met someone who never told a lie. It seems to be an ancient way of saying anyone who claims to have never told a lie just lied.

Answer 5

No...I can't understand a word of it!