2/9/11 Class Synopsis

We began the instructional portion of class on Wednesday by offering a couple of definitions to several Greek words associated with Diogenes. The stories of Diogenes’ various activities exhibit the conceptions: Parrhesia, Anaidrea, Pono, and Askesis. The stories of Diogenes’ life are meant to be entertaining because through these elaborate gestures he gains the attention of his audience and may impart certain conceptions essential to cynicism. One such essential concept is Parrhesia, which translates to free speech. Unlike the modern definition of free speech, Parrhesia translates as the ability of all human beings to say whatever they like and to be frank in their speech. Any hesitation to be frank is not natural to humankind. Rather, Diogenes would argue that it is society and its morality that keeps us from speaking frankly and honestly. But how does society control our speech and action? The answer to this question brings us to the second concept we discussed: Anaidrea, with which Diogenes is well acquainted. Anaidrea translates to shameless or without shame. Diogenes argues that by creating a false morality, which maintains the power structures of a community, societies determine what is shameful and what is not. Shame normalizes individuals and pressures them to follow a standard social morality, which inhibits the free or natural actions of individuals. Virtue, however does not have to be instilled by society because it is the natural behavior of human beings. Diogenes argues that a mastery of self is the genesis of true virtue. Therefore, any inhibition of the mastery of one’s truest self is without virtue. Society establishes a false morality and discourages the development of actual virtue by inflicting shame on the individual. Diogenes argues that through free speech and shamelessness an individual moves closer to mastering one’s self and therefore becoming virtuous.

If becoming virtuous requires rejecting social mores, how are creatures of society supposed to achieve this task? Diogenes argues that one may master one’s body through Askesis and Pono. Askesis translates to physical training. Diogenes argues that through denying the body of pleasure, mastering bodily pain, and denying miscellaneous creature comforts, one trains to overcome the desires of one’s body, and therefore is the master of it. Because virtue requires this kind of physical self- training, Ponos, or work, is required to accomplish this. By working and training oneself in self-control, shamelessness, and freedom of speech an individual becomes virtuous.