This week, we feature a biography of an influential—and the original—Greek cynic, and an influential Victorian novel which gave rise to the contemporary mystery genre.
Biography
‘Diogenes: The Rebellious Life and Revolutionary Philosophy of the Original Cynic’
By Inger N.I. KuinDiogenes, one of the ancient era’s most famous philosophers, founded Cynicism. This biography also looks at Diogenes’s impact on philosophy. Diogenes had no disciples and probably published nothing during his lifetime. This book pieced together Diogenes’s life using ancient sources, among them his rivals’ criticisms and a biography written 600 years after Diogenes’s death. A good introduction to Diogenes and his philosophy, it shows how philosophy remains worth studying today.
