Who needs cups when you've got hands?
September 26th 2006 08:17
"I threw my cup away when I saw a child drinking from his hands at the trough"
- Diogenes
Diogenes, also known as Diogenes the Cynic or Diogenes of Sinope, is one of my favourite philosophers in history, even though I've never read any of his works, understandable given that he doesn't have any. None that survive anyway. But a lot of people quote him to this day, in fact I first found the above quote in The Little Zen Book, and as with a lot of other anecdotes and sayings of the man, it was love at first sight.
The first reason I love it is that it is so typical of Diogenes, the patriarch of the school of Cynicism. I'm not sure if the term "cynic" would still apply to him, however, even though the etymology of the word traces back to him. These days, the word carries negative connotations; a cynical person is also bitter. Diogenes was not bitter, although he did reject mainstream society, as modern cynics do. It is fair to say that he was a minimalist, as exmplified by his lifestyle: Diogenes lived in a cave, wearing only a loincloth, and living on bread alone. Once he met Alexander the Great, who was extremely excited to meet him, and asked if there was anything he could do for him. Diogenes replied "Yes, stasnd out of my sunlight." The great warrior allegedly said "if I were not Alexander, then I should wish to be Diogenes".
The second reason I love the quote, related to the first, is for the wisdom I believe it contains. I connect with Diogenes's minimalism, because it provides welcome relief from today's highly materialistic world by contrasting it so starkly. There is a perception that immature people, such as teenagers, always want the latest gadgets and clothes to keep up with their peer, because they have a strong need for acceptance and group membership. It is assumed that as they get older, they will grow out of this, and be less dependent on such things. I don't believe, though, that this is what happens at all. Judging from my observations, people have a strong need to conform from the day they are born to the day they cark it. Marketers take advantage of this, so when we are told inadvertently by tv ads and whatnot that hip people carry ipods, or that classy people drive Mercedes Benz, or that blokey guys drink VB, we believe it. most of us, anyway. And the poor souls who form their own opinion on such things are ostracised, unless they are strong enough to overcome petty (and largely unconscious) judgements from their peers, and most people aren't. Most people are insecure about their identities. The comfort and acceptance they receive for conforming provides genuine rewards.
Anyway, I don't want to make moral judgements on such people, one reason being that I am one of them, we all are. It's a fairly complicated issue that requires a lot of wisdom, and the answer certainly isn't to merely "not conform". As I learnt in psychology 1001, everybody conforms to norms. "Non-conformists" merely conform to different norms.
But I must admit, I have a certain respect for someone like Diogenes who doesn't need a cup to have a drink. I'm sure that there are plenty of people out there who invest quite a lot of time, money and energy into choosing just the right set of chalices for their dinner parties. From that perspective, I can see how reducing dependence on external things may indeed make one happier, as there's less to worry about. In saying that, I've often thought that having difficulties to worry about, as long as they are not too severe, enable our minds to be active, hence making us happier, even if those difficulties are petty thigns such as choice of colour for your lounge room wall.
I will end with this: often I go to my brother's house, which is inhabited by a bunch of young stoner dudes. This being the case, there are rarely clean cups to drink from, and I was spared of the grief of trawling through the kitchen looking for a clean cup, or God forbid, cleaning my own, when I realised I could drink straight out of the tap
- Diogenes
Diogenes, also known as Diogenes the Cynic or Diogenes of Sinope, is one of my favourite philosophers in history, even though I've never read any of his works, understandable given that he doesn't have any. None that survive anyway. But a lot of people quote him to this day, in fact I first found the above quote in The Little Zen Book, and as with a lot of other anecdotes and sayings of the man, it was love at first sight.
The first reason I love it is that it is so typical of Diogenes, the patriarch of the school of Cynicism. I'm not sure if the term "cynic" would still apply to him, however, even though the etymology of the word traces back to him. These days, the word carries negative connotations; a cynical person is also bitter. Diogenes was not bitter, although he did reject mainstream society, as modern cynics do. It is fair to say that he was a minimalist, as exmplified by his lifestyle: Diogenes lived in a cave, wearing only a loincloth, and living on bread alone. Once he met Alexander the Great, who was extremely excited to meet him, and asked if there was anything he could do for him. Diogenes replied "Yes, stasnd out of my sunlight." The great warrior allegedly said "if I were not Alexander, then I should wish to be Diogenes".
The second reason I love the quote, related to the first, is for the wisdom I believe it contains. I connect with Diogenes's minimalism, because it provides welcome relief from today's highly materialistic world by contrasting it so starkly. There is a perception that immature people, such as teenagers, always want the latest gadgets and clothes to keep up with their peer, because they have a strong need for acceptance and group membership. It is assumed that as they get older, they will grow out of this, and be less dependent on such things. I don't believe, though, that this is what happens at all. Judging from my observations, people have a strong need to conform from the day they are born to the day they cark it. Marketers take advantage of this, so when we are told inadvertently by tv ads and whatnot that hip people carry ipods, or that classy people drive Mercedes Benz, or that blokey guys drink VB, we believe it. most of us, anyway. And the poor souls who form their own opinion on such things are ostracised, unless they are strong enough to overcome petty (and largely unconscious) judgements from their peers, and most people aren't. Most people are insecure about their identities. The comfort and acceptance they receive for conforming provides genuine rewards.
Anyway, I don't want to make moral judgements on such people, one reason being that I am one of them, we all are. It's a fairly complicated issue that requires a lot of wisdom, and the answer certainly isn't to merely "not conform". As I learnt in psychology 1001, everybody conforms to norms. "Non-conformists" merely conform to different norms.
But I must admit, I have a certain respect for someone like Diogenes who doesn't need a cup to have a drink. I'm sure that there are plenty of people out there who invest quite a lot of time, money and energy into choosing just the right set of chalices for their dinner parties. From that perspective, I can see how reducing dependence on external things may indeed make one happier, as there's less to worry about. In saying that, I've often thought that having difficulties to worry about, as long as they are not too severe, enable our minds to be active, hence making us happier, even if those difficulties are petty thigns such as choice of colour for your lounge room wall.
I will end with this: often I go to my brother's house, which is inhabited by a bunch of young stoner dudes. This being the case, there are rarely clean cups to drink from, and I was spared of the grief of trawling through the kitchen looking for a clean cup, or God forbid, cleaning my own, when I realised I could drink straight out of the tap
| 132 |
| Vote |
Shared on
Subscribe to this blog
