Modern medicine

Sometimes I wonder what philosophers did for kicks.

We all know what some of them died of – serves them right for having lived in the wrong century only to give us a headache hundreds of years down the line.

Nowadays, philosophers don’t die by their vices; neither do they exactly deliver the goods.

Anyway, back to Diogenes (of Sinope); I have always had a secret admiration for him: Imagine living in a barrel (without shower facilities). Unfortunately he was not only frugal, he was also highly arrogant: When Manes (his slave) left him Diogenes observed: “If Manes can live without Diogenes why not Diogenes without Manes?” Why not indeed? If only life were as simple as that egotistical bastard makes it out to be. But then that’s the Stoics for you; take Epictetus who thought that misfortune is good for the development of strong character.

Dear Epic, a) I already do have a strong character; b) I’d rather be weak than endure misfortune; c) Being anal-retentive, as you Stoics quite clearly were, gives you all sorts of ills in the long run (ask Freud or your nearest oncologist).

Nietzsche reiterated, many hundred years later, the same in the famous “That which doesn’t kill us makes us stronger”; I forgive Nietzsche the profanity but only because the guy had such a way with words and syntax. It still doesn’t make the sentiment any better.

And yes, my father brought me up in the vain hope that one day I might believe in the Stoics’ ”We are not disturbed by events, but by the views we take of them”. I keep telling him that it really is not as simple as that since heart and head seem to be at loggerheads a lot of the time.

U