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Green Philosophy

The Ancient Cynics: The First Environmentalists

Tim Madigan asks, why did the featherless biped cross the road?

“When some one reproached him with his exile, his reply was, ‘Nay, it was through that, you miserable fellow, that I came to be a philosopher.’ Again, when some one reminded him that the people of Sinope had sentenced him to exile, ‘And I them,’ said he, ‘to home-staying.’”
– Diogenes Laertius, Diogenes

Webster’s Dictionary defines ‘cynical’ as “1. Believing that people are motivated in all their actions only by selfishness; denying the sincerity of people ’s motives and actions, or the value of living 2. Sarcastic, sneering, etc.

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