"I'm Looking for an Honest Man"
A Healthy Distrust in Mankind
I was born at the tail end of Generation X. One characteristic of modern American generations is cynicism, and this is also used to describe some ancient Greek philosophers.
WHO WERE THE CYNICS?
The Cynics were a group of ancient Greek philosophers formed around 400 B.C. in Athens, Greece who eschewed conventional living. They taught the benefit of independence and self-control. They had disdain for ease and wealth in the name of independence. The Cynics disbelieved the genuine motives in mankind’s actions. They didn’t trust the honesty in the value of others. The Cynics also ridiculed formal philosophy and all material and intellectual pursuits.
The Cynics is where we get the word cynic or cynical, which means to be distrustful in the actions and motives of humans. It’s like you’re always thinking someone is trying to “get one over on you” when people say they are otherwise.
DIOGENSES
Diogenes is probably the most famous of the Cynics. He despised ordinary living so much that he lived in a tub in the marketplace, reflecting his disdain towards wealth and property.
In the same marketplace he would walk around in broad daylight carrying around a lantern saying, “I’m looking for an honest man.”
This was an example of how cynical Diogenes was towards mankind. He publicly displayed in a spectacle how much he distrusted mankind. Another story says that he saw a thief being arrested by officials and he commented “the big thieves have caught a little thief.”
One other famous story about Diogenes is that he attracted the attention and interest of Alexander the Great. Alexander was enthralled with Diogenes’ appeal to simple living. One day Alexander and his officials went to Diogenes in the marketplace. Alexander asked him if he could provide a service for Diogenes. Diogenes said to Alexander, “Stand a little less between me and the sun (A World of Ideas, pg. 87).” This is how little impressed Diogenes was with wealth and power.
THE HIPPIES AND OTHER GENERATIONS
Thousands of years later, other generations such as the Hippies from the Baby Boomer Generation and Generation X have shared similarities with the Cynics of ancient Greece.
The Hippies wanted to go back-to-nature and live in communes, free of materialism. Gen X through Gen Z have one thing on common: a lack of trust in authority and the motives in others.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
a distrust in the motives of others is healthy at times to avoid being duped
sometimes to get things done is this world trust in others is necessary
if you’re too cynical, you could end up being the man in the tub in the middle of the marketplace
Notes:
Whatever happened to Generation X? (bbc.com)
Gen Z Voices Lackluster Trust in Major U.S. Institutions (gallup.com)
Rohmaann, Chris (1999). A World of Ideas. The Random House Publishing Group.