How to live like a Cynic | Psyche Guides

Ansgar Allenis lecturer in education at the University of Sheffield, UK, editor-in-chief at Erratum Press and co-founder of the imprint Risking Education. His books include the short history Cynicism (2020) and five novels. Edited by Sam Dresser Save Share Tweet Email The Cynics of ancient Greece were an extraordinarily odd and unpleasant group of individuals. They were hostile to outsiders, and between themselves were hardly pleasant. Antisthenes, who might be regarded as the first Cynic, raised his stick at Diogenes for wishing to study with him. Diogenes placed his head under the stick, so the story goes, and asked his elder to strike as hard as he could. By the time of Crates of Thebes, who was Diogenes’ student, things had softened a bit. His brother-in-law Metrocles apparently disgraced himself by farting during a lecture on philosophy. Poor Metrocles locked himself up in his house and decided to starve himself to death for the shame of it. Fortunately, Crates arrived, ate an eno

Ansgar Allenis lecturer in education at the University of Sheffield, UK, editor-in-chief at Erratum Press and co-founder of the imprint Risking Education. His books include the short history Cynicism (2020) and five novels. Edited by Sam Dresser Save Share Tweet Email The Cynics of ancient Greece were an extraordinarily odd and unpleasant group of individuals. They were hostile to outsiders, and between themselves were hardly pleasant. Antisthenes, who might be regarded as the first Cynic, raised his stick at Diogenes for wishing to study with him. Diogenes placed his head under the stick, so