Source: Law & Liberty
by Thomas M Ward
“Plato once called Diogenes ‘a raving Socrates’ and a dog. The latter insult stuck. The word ‘Cynic’ is a transliteration of the Greek Kynikos, which means dog-like. Diogenes owned the insult because the life of a dog so much resembled his own ideal of how human life should be lived. Human beings organize themselves into families and cities, and these institutions are upheld through strict customs and laws. We are animals but have deeply ingrained convictions about when and where to eat, to relieve ourselves, and to express and satisfy sexual desire. Diogenes thought these institutions and convictions, these nomismata, were ‘absurd’ and ‘ridiculous.'” (03/20/26)