I have a soft spot for Diogenes and his life as a philosophical figure, but even though I have a degree in philosophy I hadn’t really learned much about him. I feel as though he has also had a bit of a resurgence recently, with a lot of people gravitating to his hatred of the rich and advice to keep life simple. So when I found this book at a beloved bookstore, I snatched it up.
The book covers quite a lot as its aims are both historical and philosophical. Diogenes didn’t write any books, he lived his philosophy out. So the book covers his life as a man, and the various myths surrounding him, as well as his philosophy. That covers about three quarters of the content, the rest is his legacy and how he influenced other philosophers and thinkers throughout history.
There is a lot in the book, and my only real complaint is that it sometimes feels like there are a lot of names and groups and places thrown around that I don’t recognize. Tragically there’s just a lot of history and politics of Diogenes’ life that I really don’t know that well. This does go away once you start getting more into Diogenes’ philosophy and thinkings and less strictly biography stuff. But this is an ambitious project so it’s no wonder that there’s a lot packed in here.
And I honestly really love the project of the book, I think the most interesting parts of the text are when Kuin is dissecting whether an anecdote about Diogenes is historically accurate or not. Kuin does this by corroborating multiple sources, looking at where writers got different stories, and if it is consistent with Diogenes’ teachings. The result is a very thorough look at Diogenes’ life and work, and a deeper understanding than if the book focused on either his life or his teachings.
This was a really interesting read, I’m so glad that I
picked it up. It really is a shame that Diogenes isn’t taught more in
philosophical courses and I appreciated getting a crash course on him here.
No comments:
Post a Comment