The philosophy of cynicism - William D. Desmond

Prevodilac: Katarina Čolić Lektor: Ivana Krivokuća

In the 4th century BCE,

U 4. veku p.n.e, sin jednog bankara

a banker’s son threw the city of Sinope into scandal by counterfeiting coins.

izazvao je pravi skandal u Sinopu jer je falsifikovao kovanice.

When the dust finally settled, the young man, Diogenes of Sinope,

Kada se prašina konačno slegla, mladiću, Diogenu iz Sinopa,

had been stripped of his citizenship, his money, and all his possessions.

oduzeti su državljanstvo, novac i sve što je posedovao.

At least, that’s how the story goes.

Makar se tako priča.

While many of the details of Diogenes’ life are shadowy,

Premda je mnogo detalja Diogenovog života nejasno,

the philosophical ideas born out of his disgrace survive today.

filozofske ideje iznedrene iz tog sramotnog čina žive i danas.

In exile, Diogenes decided that by rejecting the opinions of others

Diogen je u izgnanstvu odlučio da odbaci mišljenja drugih,

and societal measures of success, he could be truly free.

kao i društvene norme uspeha kako bi bio istinski slobodan.

He would live self-sufficiently, close to nature, without materialism,

Živeće tako da bude dovoljan sam sebi, blizak prirodi, bez materijalnog,

vanity, or conformity.

taštine i konformizma.

In practice, this meant he spent years wandering around Greek cities

U praksi, to je značilo da je proveo godine lutajući gradovima Grčke

with nothing but a cloak, staff, and knapsack—

sa ogrtačem, štapom i naprtnjačom -

outdoors year-round, forgoing technology, baths, and cooked food.

vani tokom cele godine, bez tehnologije, kupanja i kuvane hrane.

He didn’t go about this new existence quietly,

Njegovo novo bivstvovanje nije prošlo u tišini,

but is said to have teased passers-by and mocked the powerful,

već je, prema priči, zadirkivao prolaznike i ismejavao moćnike,

eating, urinating and even masturbating in public.

jeo, urinirao, pa čak i masturbirao u javnosti.

The citizens called him a kyôn— a barking dog.

Žitelji su ga nazivali „kion” - pas koji laje.

Though meant as an insult,

Iako je to trebalo da bude uvredljivo,

dogs were actually a good symbol for his philosophy—

psi su zapravo na dobar način predstavili njegovu filozofiju -

they’re happy creatures,

oni su srećna stvorenja, slobodna apstrakcija poput bogatstva i reputacije.

free from abstractions like wealth or reputation.

Diogenes and his growing number of followers

Diogen i sve veći broj njegovih sledbenika

became known as “dog philosophers,” or kynikoi,

postali su poznati kao „filozofi psi” ili „kinikoi”,

a designation that eventually became the word “Cynic.”

naziv od kog je postala reč „cinik”.

These early Cynics were a carefree bunch,

Ovi rani cinici su bili posve bezbrižna gomila

drawn to the freedom of a wandering lifestyle.

koju je privlačila sloboda lutajućeg stila života.

As Diogenes’ reputation grew, others tried to challenge his commitment.

Kako je Diogen postajao poznatiji,

neki su pokušavali da iskušaju njegovu posvećenost.

Alexander the Great offered him anything he desired.

Aleksandar Veliki mu je ponudio šta god želi.

But instead of asking for material goods,

Ali Diogen nije zatražio materijalna dobra,

Diogenes only asked Alexander to get out of his sunshine.

već je zamolio Aleksandra da mu se skloni sa sunca.

After Diogenes’ death,

Nakon Diogenove smrti,

adherents to his philosophy continued to call themselves Cynics

sledbenici njegove filozofije su nastavili da nazivaju sebe cinicima

for about 900 years, until 500 CE.

još nekih 900 godina, sve do 500. god. n.e.

Some Greek philosophers, like the Stoics,

Pojedini grčki filozofi, poput stoika,

thought everyone should follow Diogenes’ example.

smatrali su da svi treba da slede Diogenov primer.

They also attempted to tone down his philosophy

Takođe su pokušali da ublaže njegovu filozofiju

to be more acceptable to conventional society—

kako bi bila prihvatljivija konvencionalnom društvu -

which, of course,

što je bila, naravno, sušta suprotnost njegovom pristupu.

was fundamentally at odds with his approach.

Others viewed the Cynics less charitably.

Drugi nisu videli cinike tako blagonaklono.

In the Roman province of Syria in the 2nd century CE,

U rimskoj provinciji Siriji u 2. veku nove ere,

the satirist Lucian described the Cynics of his own time as unprincipled,

satiričar Lukijan je opisao cinike svog vremena kao beskrupulozne,

materialistic, self-promoting hypocrites,

materijaliste, licemere koji sami sebe promovišu

who only preached what Diogenes had once actually practiced.

i koji samo propovedaju ono što je nekada Diogen praktikovao.

Reading Lucian’s texts centuries later,

Nakon čitanja Lukijanovih tekstova vekovima kasnije,

Renaissance and Reformation writers called their rivals cynics as an insult—

pisci doba renesanse i reformacije su pogrdno nazivali rivale cinicima -

meaning people who criticized others without having anything worthwhile to say.

ljudima koji kritikuju druge, a nemaju ništa pametno da kažu.

This usage eventually laid the groundwork for the modern meaning

Ova upotreba je postavila temelje modernom značenju

of the word “cynic:"

reči „cinik”:

a person who thinks everyone else is acting out of pure self-interest,

osoba koja misli da se svi drugi ponašaju u skladu sa ličnim interesima,

even if they claim a higher motive.

čak i kada tvrde da postoje viši motivi.

Still, the philosophy of cynicism had admirers,

Filozofija cinizma je i dalje imala svoje sledbenike,

especially among those who wished to question

naročito među onima koji su želeli da dovedu u pitanje stanje društva.

the state of society.

The 18th-century French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Francuski filozof 18. veka, Žan-Žak Ruso,

was called the “new Diogenes”

nazivan je „novim Diogenom”

when he argued that the arts, sciences, and technology,

jer je smatrao da umetnost, nauka i tehnologija kvare ljude.

corrupt people.

In 1882, Friedrich Nietzsche reimagined a story

Godine 1882, Fridrih Niče je osmislio novu priču

in which Diogenes went into the Athenian marketplace

u kojoj Diogen odlazi na atinsku pijacu sa lampionom

with a lantern,

searching in vain for a single honest person.

i bezuspešno traži jednu jedinu iskrenu osobu.

In Nietszche’s version,

U Ničeovoj verziji jedan tzv. ludak juriša ka gradskom trgu

a so-called madman rushes into a town square

to proclaim that “God is dead.”

uz reči „Bog je mrtav”.

This was Nietzsche’s way of calling for a “revaluation of values,”

To je bio Ničeov način da pozove na „revalorizaciju vrednosti”

and rejecting the dominant Christian and Platonic idea

i odbacivanje dominatnih hrišćanskih i platonskih ideja

of universal, spiritual insights beyond the physical world.

o univerzalnim, duhovnim pogledima izvan fizičkog sveta.

Nietzsche admired Diogenes for sticking stubbornly

Niče se divio Diogenu jer se tvrdoglavo držao principa „ovde i sada“.

to the here-and-now.

More recently,

U skorijoj istoriji, hipici 1960-ih se upoređuju sa Diogenom

the hippies of the 1960s have been compared with Diogenes

as counter-cultural rebels.

kao protivkulturni buntovnici.

Diogenes’ ideas have been adopted

Diogenove ideje su stalno iznova usvajane i osmišljavane.

and reimagined over and over again.

The original cynics might not have approved

Prvobitni cinici se možda ne bi složili sa novim idejama:

of these fresh takes:

they believed that their values of rejecting custom

verovali su da su vrednosti odbacivanja uobičajenog

and living closely with nature were the only true values.

i življenja u skladu sa prirodom jedine prave vrednosti.

Whether or not you agree with that, or with any of the later incarnations,

Bilo da se slažete sa tim ili ne, ili sa bilo kojim narednim inkarnacijama,

all have one thing in common: they questioned the status quo.

sve imaju nešto zajedničko: dovodile su u pitanje „status kvo”.

And that’s an example we can still follow:

To je primer koji i dalje možemo slediti:

not to blindly follow conventional or majority views,

ne da slepo idemo za konvencionalnim ili mišljenjem većine,

but to think hard about what is truly valuable.

već da zaista promislimo o tome šta je zaista važno.