Diogenes the Sophist?

Socratic Cynicism and the Conquest of Wisdom

Introduction In the contemporary philosophical debate, for example Martha Nussbaum, Pierre Hadot, Richard Sorabji,1 a considerable amount of research has already been accomplished on the subject of ancient practice, particularly revolvin around the ability of philosophy to offer a palliative to human passion and sufferin for the often chan in vicissitudes of life and fortune, and hence the concept of philosophy as a !therapy" of the soul has been both examined and further developed# $lthou h for the most part I should li%e to offer my accord &ith these vie&s, considerin the development of such &or% a reat boon to both contemporary philosophy and society, nevertheless I dissent inasmuch as the aims of philosophy are limited to a therapeutic end as such# 'hat is not say that the above(mentioned authors or the research that has been accomplished does in fact impose such limitations, but rather that in li ht of such &or%, broader aims in ancient philosophy in li ht of its practice, re)uires further research# $s such, the aim of this essay is t&o(fold# In the first place, it is my intention to examine the influence of Socrates on the philosophical school of *ynicism, particularly throu h the life of +io enes of Sinope# 'hat influence &ill be considered &ith re ard to the philosophical practice, that is, &e &ill examine the peculiar character of +io enes, his eccentricities, and attempt to sho& ho& Socrates, the ironic ascetic that he &as, stood out as an inspiration not only for +io enes but for the entire *ynic school as a &hole# Secondly, &e &ill attempt to offer a broadenin of the depiction of ancient practice, &hich both includes a sense of therapeutics and yet extends beyond its domains into a more !liberally(minded" vie&, that is, a consideration of the practice of ancient philosophy and philosophy in eneral as a liberal pursuit in and for itself#
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,or example Martha Nussbaum"s The Therapy of Desire: Theory and Practice in Hellenistic Ethics -1../0# Pierre Hadot"s Philosophy as a Way of Life: Spiritual Exercises from Socrates to Foucault -1..10, and, What is Ancient Philosophy? -233/0# Richard Sorabij"s Emotion and Peace of ind: From Stoic A!itation to "hristian Temptation -23330# See also Robert 4arl *ushman"s Therapeia: Plato#s "onception of Philosophy -23320#

The Socratic Legacy 5ften &hen my thou hts turn to ancient $thens, I li%e to conjure up the ima e of Socrates, &al%in throu h the a ora on his daily business, or en a in in heated ar uments &ith Prota oras or 6or ias, &hile a caravan of old and youn roar &ith lau hter &henever a &itty remar% is let forth or it seems one has the upper hand# It is not &ithout reason that Socrates stands out foremost in terms of his influence upon the tradition and history of philosophy# His turn to issues revolvin around the individual as &ell as social virtue, his )uestionin of the his fello& citi7ens and natural %nac% for reasonin , led albeit indirectly, to the study of ethics and dialectics, the development of lo ic and the scientific method# ,or althou h the predecessors of Socrates may be merited by their achievements in layin do&n the foundations of philosophical in)uiry in the &ay in &hich &e see it even today, Socrates may be understood as both the inspiration and impetus not only to his more direct disciples, but also for enerations of philosophers to come, and not only concernin issues of theoretical import, but also those concernin life, death, ethical livin and practice# In that Socrates should leave such a deep mar% upon the history and tradition of both theory and philosophical practice is an indication of both the breadth and depth of his influence# Rememberin Socrates may often be a humorous occasion, as in Plato"s Symposium &hen $lcibiades comes crashin in on the party drun% and is solicited by fello& revelers to participate in offerin a paean to 4ros, &herein he extols upon his love for Socrates and recounts his reat exploits# ,e& after havin read could for et8 he spea%s of Socrates" ability to &ard off the smooth chidin s of +ionysius and desire, and in the opposite extreme of his coura e in &ar, his endurance of both hun er and hardship, and in the bitter cold ho&,
Socrates &ent out in that &eather &earin nothin but his same old li ht cloa%, and even in bare feet he made better pro ress on the ice than the other soldiers did in their boots#2

Plato, Symposium 21.(221# Plato: The "omplete Wor$s# 4d# 9ohn M# *ooper# *ambrid e8 Hac%ett Publishin *ompany# 1..:#

$t the other extreme, Socrates may be recalled &ith a %ind of silent reverence, as in Plato"s Pheado, the memorable moments prior to Socrates" execution# 'here, after discoursin on the existence and immortality of the soul, Socrates sho&s his disdain for death calmly drin%in the poisonous hemloc%# $s he lay do&n to die, he spo%e his last &ords,
*rito, &e o&e a coc% to $sclepius; ma%e this offerin to him and do not for et# <

$ coc% &as sacrificed to $sclepius in the temples by those &ho &ere ill and desired health# Socrates thus implied that death &as a cure to the illnesses of life# Still, &hy the emphasis upon the character of Socrates= >hy the need to recount his endurance of the cold, his disdain for death, and the many other stories &hich spar% the ascetic ideal= $re these merely fanciful stories that capture the ima ination, or is there somethin intrinsically important about a man"s &ay of life and the occupation &hich he avo&s= Indeed, it is evident that a painter should %no& somethin about paintin before ma%in an exhibition, a doctor health, and in all occupations, both one"s %no&led e and ability should be in accord &ith the basic and underlyin necessities of the profession# 5ther&ise one becomes a hypocrite and charlatan# ?et in philosophy, &here one avo&s both truth and &isdom, at least in the ancient times this &as the case, ho& much more important &as it that one"s life should be in accord &ith one"s teachin s= *oncernin this issue as in others, Plutarch spea%s &ith sa acity, he says8
In the first place I re)uire that the consistency of men"s doctrines be observed in their &ay of livin , for it is even more necessary that the philosopher"s life be in accord &ith his theory than that the orator"s lan ua e, as $eschines says, be identical &ith that of the la&# 'he reason is that the philosopher"s theory is a la& freely chosen by his o&n,@ at least it is if they believe philosophy to be not a ame of verbal in enuity played for the sa%e of lory but, as it really is, an activity &orthy of the utmost earnestness# /

It is thus easy to understand &hy the life and character of Socrates &as so important to his predecessors, especially ta%in into account the fact that he &as char ed and executed on account of !impiety" and corruptin
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the youth#1 >hether or not such

Plato, Phaedo 11Aa# Plutarch, %n Stoic Self&"ontradictions: oralia' i#1# 'rans# Harold *herniss# Boeb *lassical Bibrary# *ambrid e and Bondon8 Harvard Cniversity Press# vol# 1<# 1.:D# 1 Plato, Apolo!y#
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accounts are

enuine or perhaps mere exa erations, there can certainly be no

disa reement concernin the fact that for his predecessors, the stories and events of his life &ere deeply affectin # 'he birth of Plato"s $cademy &as lar ely in the spirit of Socrates, and on the other extreme, the foundin of the *ynic school# Socrates and Cynicism In terms of philosophical practice as influenced by Socrates, the *ynic school stands out foremost both in terms of its emphasis upon livin and its no(nonsense and, perhaps for the $thenians of the time, hilarious attitudes# 'he founder of *ynicism, accordin to some accounts, &as thou ht to be $ntisthenes, a direct disciple and directly influenced by Socrates# +io enes Baertius in his Li(es of the Eminent Philosophers states that $ntisthenes,
Ecame into touch &ith Socrates, and derived so much benefit from him that he used to advise his o&n disciples to become fello& pupils &ith him of SocratesE,rom Socrates he learned his hardihood, emulatin disre ard of feelin , and thus he inau urated the *ynic &ay of life#D

'he peculiar aspects of the character of Socrates is iven first place amon the traits &hich $ntisthenes emulated or inherited from his teacher# 'he *ynic !&ay of life" &hich resulted, as is &ell %no&n, too% on asceticism in the spirit of Socrates, disre ardin both pain, pleasure, &ant and desire and thus instantiatin the practice of self(sufficiency and self(control# 'here &as yet another aspect &hich $ntisthenes inherited from Socrates, &hich althou h not iven direct mention, certainly comes out throu h an analysis of the attitude of the *ynics# 'hat is, the reno&ned irony of Socrates, his ability to shape and lead an ar ument, &hich evidently infuriated his fello& interlocutors, as &ith 'hrasymachus in Plato"s )epu*lic &ho &hen brou ht into contradiction retorts, F'hat"s because you are a false &itness in ar uments, Socrates#G : $t any rate, the *ynics &ere reno&ned for their shre&d replies, and the ability to turn even the most bitin remar%

+io enes Baertius, Li(es of the Eminent Philosophers # vi#2# 'rans# R#+# Hic%s# Boeb *lassical Bibrary# *ambrid e and Bondon8 Harvard Cniversity Press# vol# II# 2333# : Plato, )epu*lic# I#</3d#

round upon their opponent# $ntisthenes &as himself %no&n for his rhetorical shre&dness, to ive just a sin le example it is said that he,
Hein reproached because his parents &ere not both free(born, FNor &ere they both &restlers,G he said, Fbut yet + am a &restler#GA

>e thus find in the person and disciple of $ntisthenes an imitation of Socrates, thou h in the peculiar cynic &ay @ and an interestin side note is the fact that in the 4n lish lan ua e a !cynical" remar% is understood as an intermin lin of criticism &ith truth and humor# >hen spea%in of *ynicism, the ima e of +io enes of Sinope often comes to mind, and indeed the name *ynic ori inated from the ancient 6ree% &ord $uon, meanin do # +io enes &as certainly deservin of the name *ynic, since he reportedly slept in a tub, ate &ith his hands from an old bo&l and later &ithout even this, urinated on the tables of his hosts and spat in their faces &hen they forbade him to do so on the round# . It is incredible that such a man could have come do&n to us &ithin history as a veritable philosopher# ?et despite his un&ashed &ays and oftentimes outra eous character, he received both respect and praise amon many of the $thenians of his time, findin further reno&n in nei hborin re ions# $lexander of Macedon -the 6reat0 himself &as %no&n to have said, FHad I not been $lexander, I should have li%ed to be +io enes#G 13 In the account of +io enes" life, &e see an obvious Socratic influence not only in terms of his asceticism,11 but also his ironic &it and the humorous retorts he &as reno&ned for, particularly before his contemporary !antithesis", that is, $lexander once a ain, &ho reportedly stood before +io enes and famously as%ed,
F$s% of me any boon you li%e#G 'o &hich he -+io enes0 replied, FStand out of my li ht#G12

A
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+io enes Baertius, Li(es# vi#/# Ibid# 2<, //, /D# 13 Ibid# /<, <2# FStill he &as loved by the $thenians#G 11 Ibid# 2<, </# 12 Ibid# <A#

It &as ri htly said of +io enes that he &as a !Socrates one mad", 1< and althou h &e may be humored by the many tales attributed to him, &e must nevertheless in)uire into &hether or not his peculiar philosophic attitude @ and indeed that of the *ynics @ &as enuine# Hy enuine I mean this, if +io enes &as an inheritor of the Socratic tradition and the practical side of philosophy, and if the end of philosophy is in fact &isdom, then &hat &ould &isdom thus ac)uired mean for such a philosopher= >ould the end of such practices be &isdom at all or rather a form of treatment a ainst illness, a %ind of therapy= ,or on the one hand +io enes himself reportedly says, &hen as%ed &hat he has ained from philosophy, F'his at least, if nothin else @ to be prepared for every fortune#G 1/ $re &e thus to attribute his philosophical inclinations solely to therapy, for the sa%e of self( sufficiency and self(control, or is it that in the search for inner freedom there &as yet another object sou ht= Is Diogenes a Pretender to Wisdom? In yet a further account of the *ynics in the Li(es, a man moc%s +io enes sayin ,
F?ou don"t %no& anythin , althou h you are a philosopher,G -and0 he replied, F4ven if I am but a pretender to &isdom, that in itself is philosophy#G 11

>hat exactly does +io enes mean by this= $t hindsi ht one mi ht attribute to +io enes the same status &hich both Socrates and later Plato attributed to the Sophists8 that he hypocritically touts &isdom and virtue &hile in fact offerin nothin more than ridiculous display and rhetorical tric%ery# +oes +io enes admit to bein philosophy= Is +io enes a Sophist= In ans&erin this )uestion, &e could on the one hand see% the solution &hich accords &ith the vie&s iven in relation to ancient philosophy, as aforesaid# 1D In this
1< 1/

a !pretender" to

Ibid# 1/# Ibid# D<# 11 Ibid#D/# 1D 'o cite one example from the above(mentioned &or%s, Pierre Hadot in his excellent &or%, What is Ancient Philosophy?, spea%s of the ancients as practicin spiritual exercises for the sa%e of freein the mind from perturbations, F'hus, all spiritual exercises are, fundamentally, a return to the self, in &hich the self is liberated from the state of alienation into &hich it has been plun ed by &orries, passions, and desires#G -from p# 13< of the Hlac%&ell edition, 1..1# 4d# by $rnold I# +avidson# 'rans# from the ,rench by Michael

spirit, the ancients vie&ed philosophy in the main as an asceticism and hence a livin practice and therapeutic# Philosophy is therefore an ethical practice for the purpose of betterin oneself, and +io enes, the *ynic that he is, ta%es this aspect of philosophy to its extreme# 'herefore, li%e unto the Pharisees and Scribes &ho taunted *hrist, so too do the ancient boo%&orms of Hellenic civili7ation profess theoretical %no&led e itself to be >isdom, &hen in fact for +io enes it is rather life in accordance &ith nature for the purpose of brin in health to the soul &hich is the true end and essence of philosophy# Hence, &hen +io enes says that thou h he be a pretender to such !theoretic" s)uabblin it is still philosophy, he refers merely to the fact that theory touches but the surface in comparison to the depths of philosophy as a lived discipline for the sa%e of spiritual &ellness# >hether he en a es in such disputation or not, ma%es a display of his %no&led e or not, is a !pretender" to &isdom or not, he nevertheless remains a philosopher# Should &e remain content &ith this ans&er, or is there yet somethin dissatisfyin that remains= $re &e to accept this &ith reference to +io enes" previous account that the sole ain of philosophy lay in its preparation !for every fortune"= Is this conclusion sufficient enou h for us to vindicate +io enes from the char e of sophistry= >e have already seen t&o conclusions# 5n the one hand, considerin his statement pointblan%, it can be said that in fact +io enes is a Sophist; but to be a Sophist &ould seem to run in contradistinction to everythin for &hich the man stood, both in &ord and deed, and so &e must interpret his statement as holdin an underlyin , ironic meanin # 5n the other hand, his ascetic behavior and the need to overcome the vicissitudes of fortune, a spirit &hich the later Hellenistic philosophers &ould ta%e up, does indeed admit to a %ind of therapy of soul# Nevertheless, inasmuch as this ans&er offers a solution, yet it remains dissatisfyin for a number of reasons# ,or ho& do &e explain +io enes" actions, that is, his stran e ironic behavior, his cynical remar%s and sometimes outra eous &ays= +oes this not indicate a sense of philosophic practice &hich extends beyond the mere medicinal drive for health and the psycholo ical ur ency &hich a sense of therapy &ould imply= ,or in +io enes &e &itness a sense of !play", that is, a lettin be of the thin s of the &orld# >ould not sic%ness demand a more serious disposition= ,urthermore, ho&
*hase0

should &e interpret the &ay in &hich +io enes constantly )uestions, moc%s, and transcends the established norms and conventions of his society= >ould it be ri ht to say that he merely sou ht health, or rather, that throu h livin in accordance &ith nature and rejectin the standards &hich society offered, he sou ht somethin else, a %ind of %no&led e in fact= Cnless &e loo% beyond therapy as an end in terms of the philosophical )uest, then it seems to me that +io enes actions become entirely superfluous, and the philosopher loo%s nothin more than a jester and a fool# If on the other hand, &e consider such actions in li ht of their intrinsic &orth, as representin a deeper desire beyond health, then &e find that therapy becomes merely a metaphor for &hat is truly sou ht# Sic%ness and health thus stands as a metaphor for i norance and %no&led e# *onsider the &ords of $ristotle,
$nd if this is not %no&led e but opinion, they should be all the more anxious about the truth, as a sic% man should be more anxious about his health than one &ho is healthy; for he &ho has opinion is, in comparison &ith the man &ho %no&s, not in a healthy state as far as the truth is concerned# 1:

The Conquest of Wisdom In considerin yet an alternative possibility, &e turn a ain to the passa e in +io enes Baertius" Li(es, and there discover somethin &hich at first si ht may have one unnoticed# 'he 6ree% is, !ouden eidos philosopheis", you don"t %no& philosophy, to &hich he responds, !ei %ai prospoioumai sophian, %ai touto philosophein esti#" 'he &ord !prospoioumai", refers enerally to an addin! or attachin! to oneself, a pretendin!, fei!nin!# Hence, in relation to the passa e, there is a sense of sophistry implied in the meanin of !a pretender to &isdom#" Nevertheless, in relation to other persons the &ord means to *rin! o(er to one#s o-n side, -in or !ain o(er# If &e reconsider the possibility that +io enes is employin irony, that is, ma%in a pun on the &ord, then &e obtain a different flavor in the sense of the sentence# 'ranslated a ain &ith this sli ht alteration &e find, F'hou h I &ould fei n &in -or ain over0 &isdom, this too is philosophy#G >e are to understand that &ith reference to &isdom, +io enes means both a pretender, in the
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$ristotle, etaphysics II#133Ab#<3# The .asic Wor$s of Aristotle# 4d# by Richard McJeon# Ne& ?or%8 'he Modern Bibrary# 2331#

sense of a sophist, and a fei!nin!, in the sense of the attempt to &in or ain &isdom, to brin &isdom over to his o&n side# 'his &ould mean that for +io enes, &isdom is not necessarily a thin to be had, o&ned or bou ht &ith &ords and trifle ar uments# Rather, &isdom is a thin to be sou ht after, pursued, and brou ht into alliance &ith# ,urthermore, if +io enes himself does not possess &isdom, if he is not in fact &ise, nevertheless he still remains a philosopher since he is possessed by the earnest pursuit of it, and for him, this is enuine philosophy# In conse)uence, &e are spea%in of &isdom in terms of its aim, as a thin to be sou ht, and as such, &e run round in a circle to confront the ori inal idea &ith &hich &e be an, that indeed for +io enes, philosophy is a %ind of practice# Still, there is a difference in the sense in &hich &e no& must understand &hat this practice means# ,or are &e to say that the pursuit of &isdom, and indeed all of philosophy itself is a spiritual therapy of the soul= ,urthermore, &hat is to be understood in the attempt to brin over to one"s side and &in &isdom= Is it not that the practice of philosophy thereby becomes a pursuit, the aim bein a %ind of victory, the pri7e bein that of &isdom= If this be the case, then philosophy extends beyond a merely medicinal and therapeutic use# It rather becomes somethin of an art, an occupation, a profession, a vocation @ all of these meanin s &ould be implied# Still as a philosopher, and no& &e loo% beyond +io enes, &hat &ould it mean to see% to &in over &isdom= >e mi ht find an ans&er to this if &e consider &hat it means to &in in eneral# ,or to &in implies a sense of victory, but is there not an art or occupation &hich already has victory as its aim= *onsider $ristotle once a ain, and particularly his Politics# 'herein he states,
'he )uality of coura e, for example, is not intended to ma%e &ealth, but to inspire confidence; neither is this the aim of the eneral"s or the physicians art; but the one aims at victory and the other at health# 1A

'hus the 6eneral is one &ho see%s victory in &ar, and this is his sole aim and occupation# Interestin ly, $ristotle is here distin uishin bet&een the physician and the eneral# If &e loo% to the analo y of both as &ell as the above considerations, then ho& are &e to understand the tas% of philosophy= Is the end of philosophy more analo ous to the art of
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$ristotle, Politics I#121Aa13#

the physician or to the eneral= In ans&er, &e should li%e to state that both senses of philosophy, at least in the ancient sense, are contained &ithin this concept# ,or &hereas it may be properly stated that the ancients employed philosophy for medicinal purposes, nevertheless they did not limit themselves to its therapeutic use, but rather they sou ht &isdom, and as &ith a 6eneral &ho see%s various &ays to achieve victory, they sou ht various &ays to ain &isdom over to their side @ e# # the differin philosophical schools and practices# If &e then loo% at philosophy in this sense, &e can say that the aim or the practice of philosophy is analo ous to that of both the physician and the 6eneral# Hefore continuin , it is necessary to pause# 'here are sure to be numerous objections to my dra&in an analo y bet&een the practice of philosophy and eneralship# Indeed, the 6eneral"s art aims at victory in -ar, and hence he see%s to overcome the enemy throu h violence# Philosophy on the other hand see%s &isdom, and &isdom entails beauty, truth and %no&led e, &hich I myself &ould certainly not attribute to &ar#1. >hereas in &ar &e see% to subdue the opponent throu h force of arms, in philosophy the opponent, here seemin!ly &isdom, is in fact nothin of an opponent at all, but rather more a%in to a lover and a friend &ith &hom &e desire constant companionship# Hut &hat of the lover= Is there not somethin of an analo y bet&een a lover and an enemy= $s the Senators struc% *aesar, he breathed his dyin &ords, !4t tu, HruteK" +o &e not pursue both the lover and the enemy= +o &e not both see% to overcome our enemy and to overcome our lover throu h a &innin of the love of one &hom &e see%, that is, that the lover should become our beloved= If this is indeed the case, and in fact Plato ma%es use of such analo ies &ithin his o&n philosophy,23 then perhaps &e are not so &ron to reconsider +io enes" statement as referrin to a &innin (over of &isdom, much in the &ay in &hich one &ould see% to &in over a lover# >e are surely not the first to ma%e

1.

Hence, it is not surprisin that many should loo% at the philosophical practice solely as a therapy# Such a vie& of Philosophy as &e ar ue here is evidently too narro&, bearin but a !li%eness" to its true face# It is as thou h &e should ta%e the fruit to be more important than the tree# 'herapy is but one fruit upon the tree of philosophy# 23 ,or example, Plato"s Symposium, 23/b, FIt follo&s that Bove must be a lover of &isdom and, as such, is in bet&een bein &ise and bein i norantG# $lso, considerin the distinction bet&een a!ape and eros, Phaedrus, 21De @ 21:a#, F'here are the re&ards you &ill have from a lover"s friendship, my boy, and they are as reat as divine ifts should be# $ non(lover"s companionship, on the other hand, is diluted by human self(control; all it pays are cheap, human dividends, and thou h the slavish attitude it en enders in a friend"s soul is &idely praised as virtue, it tosses the soul around for nine thousand years on the earth and leads it, mindless, beneath it#G

such an analo y either &ith the lover or the eneral, for indeed Plato is to be credited &ith both, in the Philosopher(Jin #21 +io enes" actions are thus imbued &ith meanin in li ht of his pursuit of &isdom# ,or in this sense he see%s not only inner freedom but also a oin beyond the contemporary doxa of his time and its false and va ue estimations; a transcendence of the values and disvalues &hich fall short of truth, and a vision of the enuine face of nature hidden behind the mas% of deception# In a &ord, +io enes see%s %no&led e throu h a practice of lived(discipline,22 a turnin himself a&ay from the spirit both of his inner prejudices in terms of &ant, pain and desire, and the prejudices of his o&n time and society# His method for approachin truth and the *ynicism to &hich his name has become most famously if not infamously attributed, is but a reflection of the idiosyncrasies of his character in adaptin to both circumstance and &hat is deemed enuine truth# It is a re(education of the self and soul throu h an inner re(articulation of its sources, to ether &ith a %ind of, !civil disobedience" before contemporary forms of i norance# I norance is thus understood as the enemy, not &isdom# Self(sufficiency and self(control thereby become the solution, but not merely for the sa$e of health, unless &e understand i norance and %no&led e metaphorically as $ristotle implied# Rather the search is for the sa%e of truth, for the sa%e of %no&led e, and throu h ac)uisition of both, for the victory of &isdom# Concluding Remarks In conclusion, +io enes the Sophist is revealed as +io enes the *ynic and philosopher, ta%in the pursuit of &isdom as the oal# >e li%en his pursuit to the 6eneral, althou h the enemy that he confronts is not flesh, blood and steel, but rather inner i norance and the heavy hand of public opinion &hich pressures even the most battle( tried to ive in to its force# +io enes ho&ever, is certainly not fainthearted, and li%e any 6eneral employs deception as a means to victory# Hence &hen char ed &ith sophistry he appeals to the Sophist, pointin to him &ho stands before and bars the ates to >isdom# 'o enter re)uires a peerin throu h the dis uise# 'herein one reco ni7es the deception of
21 22

i#e# in the )epu*lic# Here I am employin the terminolo y of Pierre Hadot, see What is Ancient Philosophy?#

the Sophist &ho stands before the ates and yet misleads us a&ay from them# 'here is the further reco nition of one"s o&n illness, that &e too bear the ima e of the Sophist# 'hrou h this reco nition &e may be in the search for that &hich is enuine and real, and &hile &e bear the face of the Sophist, &e slo&ly shed his vesti e# ,or oftentimes, and here &e recall Plato, the philosopher must appear the fool to others in that he disa rees &ith the spirit of his time @ indeed, he may even appear as a Sophist# Re ardless of the outer appearance, it is the inner stru le and search for truth &hich defines the enuine philosopher from the mere pretender, and this I thin%, &as precisely +io enes" point8 thou h I may seem but a Sophist, this is still philosophy, that is, the appearance &hich I assume is but a conse)uence of the inner search for truth, &adin throu h the muddy &aters of i norance# >e thus find in the ima e of +io enes a reflection of the Socratic spirit in its full form# Socrates stood out amon the $thenians of his time, he &as both admired and scorned, adored and ridiculed# In the end, his sincere efforts in the search for truth resulted in his execution# >ith +io enes &e see the spirit of irony, the pursuit of truth throu h practical livin , and the )uestionin of the norms and &ays of his present(day society# He too &as lau hed at, loved and ridiculed# Nevertheless, &e must admit this !Socrates one mad" to be a true philosopher, and certainly in our o&n times, &herein the concept of philosophy in its ancient form has lon fallen into disuse, the memory and ima es of such men serve to resuscitate and revive the falterin contemporary spirit# passions of the