Explanation: Diogenes of Sinope was an ancient Greek philosopher known for his radical iconoclasm, living in an upturned wine barrel with stray dogs and violating and mocking social norms at every turn. He was sometimes referred to as a dog or dog-like (from which we get the term ‘Cynic’), a comparison that he embraced, as he believed that man generally benefitted from living in a state close to nature, as free from superfluous comforts and ideas (like ‘manners’) as possible.

Supposedly, once at a banquet he was taunted and thrown a bone, to which he responded by urinating on his taunters, as a dog might.

Despite the humor of such stories, Diogenes was hugely influential on both the Cynic and Stoic schools of Greek philosophy. His iconoclasm and wit bely a then-radical and robust worldview depicting a happy life possible without excessive luxury - a novel idea in aristocratic Ancient Greece!

I have been doing a study into Diogenes as being a original (modern) anarchist and wether some of his teachings survived to inspire it.

What I found is that stoics included a concept of fate “all is as it should be”

This idea attracted Roman aristocracy who wrote about virtue and simple life while owning multiple villas.

What bothers me the most about this. What/How do “we from the present” know about stoicism/cynicism and other potential branches… because of ancient writings that survived.

Writing was expensive, even the little We know about other branches, its almost all viewed from the perception of the stoic Roman elite.

Even Diogenes writings are gone, what we know about him comes from a gossip collector, a satirist and from rich stoics implementing some sanitised actual cynicism.

Treat a man like a man, and he’ll just punch you. Treat a man like a dog, and you’re up for a mauling.

And that’s why he’s my hero.