DIOGENES - KNOWLEDGE

<BODY> <CENTER><FONT SIZE=5><B><FONT SIZE=6>DIOGENES</FONT><BR> THE CYNIC</B></FONT></CENTER><P> <FONT SIZE=4><B>What Can we Know?</B></FONT><P> Diogenes scorned many aspects of traditional learning valued by philosophers, especially mathematics, astronomy and cosmology. All that one needed to know was how to live in the here and now, reducing wants and desires to a minimum. Intellectual pursuits often led men into hypocrisy and distracted them from self improvement.<P> <BLOCKQUOTE>"Men strive in competition to outdo one another, but no one strives to become a good man and true. Grammarians investigate the ills of Odysseus while remaining ignorant of their own. Musicians tune the strings of their lyre but leave the dispositions of their own souls discordant. Mathematicians gaze at the sun and moon, but overlook matters closer to home. Orators fuss about justice in their speeches but never practise it. "<P> (Diogenes Laertius VI.28)</BLOCKQUOTE> <BR clear=left><BR> <HR width=100%> <A HREF="http://www.creatorix.com.au"><IMG SRC="../creatorix.gif" WIDTH="85" HEIGHT="40" BORDER="0" ALT="Creatorix" align=right></A> </BODY>