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The Stone 

Socrates, Cynics and Flat-Nailed, FeatherlessBipedsBy

Nickolas Pappas

April 4, 2016 3:21 am April 4, 2016 3:21 am

The Stone is a form for contemporary philosophers an! other

thinkers on isses "oth timely an! timeless#

There$s a story that %ol! ha&e taken place 'assmin( it$s tre) not

lon( after the !eath of Socrates# Plato set ot to !efine *hman

"ein(+ an! annonce! the ans%er: *featherless "ipe!#+ hen

-io(enes of Sinope hear! the ne%s he came to Plato$s school, kno%n

as the Aca!emy, %ith a plcke! chicken, sayin(, *.ere$s the Platonic

hman/+ Natrally, the Aca!emy ha! to fi its !efinition, so it a!!e!

the phrase *%ith flat nails#+

ynics like -io(enes "eha&e! not as the athors of theories

"t as performers of %is!om# They %ere philosophers in

action, nota"le for eistin( rather than for their acconts of

eistence#

This story is %i!ely tol!, an! not st "ecase it has a pnch line# t

represents philosophers as al%ays ha&in( "elon(e! to t%o &ery!ifferent types an! it$s %orth remem"erin( ho% far "ack the !i&ision

(oes# 5ecently 5o"ert ro!eman an! A!am Bri((le %rote a colmn

for The Stone, *hen Philosophy 7ost its ay,+ that ar(e!

philosophy cease! to "e %hat Socrates ha! ma!e of it sometime

aron! the late 18 centry, %hen it "ecame professionali9e! %ithin

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/category/the-stone/?module=BlogCategory&version=Blog%20Post&action=Click&contentCollection=Opinion&pgtype=Blogs&region=Headerhttp://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/author/nickolas-pappas/http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/category/the-stone/http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/01/11/when-philosophy-lost-its-way/http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/category/the-stone/?module=BlogCategory&version=Blog%20Post&action=Click&contentCollection=Opinion&pgtype=Blogs&region=Headerhttp://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/author/nickolas-pappas/http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/category/the-stone/http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/01/11/when-philosophy-lost-its-way/

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feathers an! so !ispro&es the Aca!emy$s !efinition# ;n the other

han! the philosophers in the Aca!emy keep their !i(nity# As if they

!i!n$t kno% they %ere "ein( ma!e fn of, they looke! p from the

chicken in the room an! fi!!le! %ith their !efinition to impro&e it#

hen philosophers (ather to(ether they can "il! on one another$s

insi(hts an! impro&e on past accomplishments# Plato$s !ialo(es

offer (limpses of ho% philosophy %ol! ha&e "een practice! at his

school, as a collecti&e an! cooperati&e

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not make p for the a"sence of that rationality an! systematic

ar(mentation that characteri9e the tre philosophers of anti

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an! pri(ht citi9en#

Then there %ere other (ra&en ima(es of philosophers !rin( those

same years that %e can classify as le(acies of the ynics# Bear!s

man(y, postre slmpe!, !resse! in one "i( ro(h cloth an! restin(

on a %alkin( stick, the ynics %an!ere! thro(h the 5oman %orl! as

its ima(e of the freethinker, ne&er at home D not e&en in a

philosophical theory "t *cosmopolitan,+ to se a %or! the ynics

in&ente!: citi9ens of the %orl!, meanin( that they !i!n$t "elon(

any%here in particlar# ontercltralism %as their instinct e&en if

it %as a ne(ati&e implse# -io(enes %as aske! %hat %as most

"eatifl an! ans%ere! parrhesia *can!or, free!om of speech+

"t the %or! literally means *sayin( e&erythin(,+ an! the ynic ha!

to "e rea!y to say anythin( at all, impro&isin( philosophy n!er all

circmstances#

n their role as %alkin( contereamples, the ynics mattere! more

as %ho they %ere than for the content of anythin( they sai!# n this

sense ooper is ri(ht to separate them from the ancient tra!itions of

moral theory# n the hman !rama, they "eha&e! not as the athors of theories "t as performers of %is!om# e kno% them anec!otally

"ecase they li&e! anec!otally, as the s"ects of retol! tales# They

%ere philosophers in action, nota"le for eistin( rather than for their

acconts of eistence#

hen hristianity "ecame le(al in the 5oman mpire, Platonism (a&e

the early chrch$s thinkers a &oca"lary for n!erstan!in( the !i&ine,

helpe! to eplain ho% !i&inity offere! (i!ance to hman "ein(s, an!

s((este! ho% hman "ein(s mi(ht aspire to !i&inity# Bt the

contercltral appeal of Socrates also affecte! hristians, %ho

%ol! remem"er the persections a(ainst them lon( after they ha!

cease! "ein( persecte!# 5ea!in( a"ot Socrates yo col! "elie&e

that yo mi(ht "e ri(ht a"ot yor corse of action e&en %ith the

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%orl! a(ainst yo, an! hristian hermits %ho %ante! to immerse

themsel&es in their faith sa% the ynics as their "est mo!els#

Philosophy has plle! in "oth !irections, systematic an! s"&ersi&e,

for as lon( as it has remem"ere! Socrates# t !oesn$t for(et him "y

inclinin( one %ay or the other# The Aca!emy ha! the ori(inality to

en&ision an intellectal society D %hat a ni&ersity still is, at its "est

 D !istin(ishe! "y the &irtes of mo!esty an! self>control, al%ays

rea!y to sher ne% st!ents into the tra!ition# Philosophy as a

tra!ition %ol! ha&e %ithere! %ithot an aca!emy to li&e in# f it

sometimes appears to "e %itherin( %ithin the aca!emy, that is

"ecase the s"&ersi&e si!e of Socrates has its appeal: the &irtes of 

the eccentric, a"o&e all eccentric cora(e, an! the %illin(ness to

make yor life an impro&isation#

The ynics nee! a near"y aca!emy, if only as a place to thro% their

plcke! chickens, "t the aca!emy nee!s near"y cynics too, if only

as %alkin( a!&ertisements for philosophy as a serios st!y,

remin!ers that this is a s"ect people fall in lo&e %ith#

Nickolas Pappas teaches philosophy at 1ity 1olle(e an! the Cra!ate 

1enter of the 1ity Eni&ersity of Ne% ?ork# .e is the athor, most

recently, of * The Philosopher$s Ne% 1lothes #+

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