Name: 憤世嫉俗？玩世不恭？究竟什麼是犬儒主義？ (The philosophy of cynicism - William D. Desmond)
Uploaded: 2020-01-19T21:01:20.000Z
Duration: 5 min 26 s

In the 4th century BCE, a banker's son threw the city of Sinope into scandal by counterfeiting coins.

在西元前第四世紀，一位銀行家的兒子因為假造錢幣而讓錫諾普市陷入醜聞。

進階被動語態

When the dust finally settled,  the young man, Diogenes of Sinope, had been stripped of his citizenship,  his money, and all his possessions.

等風波終於平息，這位年輕人，錫諾普的戴亞吉尼斯，失去了他的公民權、金錢和所有的財產。

While many of the details of  Diogenes' life are shadowy, the philosophical ideas born out of his disgrace survive today.

雖然戴亞吉尼斯的許多人生細節都很模糊，從他的不光彩行為所產生的哲學想法卻存活至今。

In exile, Diogenes decided that by rejecting the opinions of others and societal measures of success,  he could be truly free.

被放逐的戴亞吉尼斯決定，不要在乎他人的意見以及社會對於成功的衡量方式， 這樣他才能真正獲得自由。

He would live self-sufficiently, close to nature, without materialism, vanity, or conformity.

他能夠過著自給自足、 接近大自然的生活，沒有唯物主義、虛榮，或順從。

In practice, this meant he spent years  wandering around Greek cities with nothing but a cloak, staff,  and knapsack— outdoors year-round, forgoing technology,  baths, and cooked food.

實際上，這表示他數年間都 一直在希臘城市附近流浪，身上只有斗篷、拐杖、背包—整年都在戶外，放棄科技、洗澡、熟食。

He didn't go about this new existence quietly, but is said to have teased passers-by  and mocked the powerful, eating, urinating and  even masturbating in public.

他並不是靜靜地過這種新生活，據說他會取笑過路的人， 並嘲笑有權者，還會在大庭廣眾之下吃東西、 撒尿，甚至手淫。

The citizens called him a kyôn—  a barking dog.

Though meant as an insult, dogs were actually a good symbol for his philosophy—they're happy creatures, free from  abstractions like wealth or reputation.

雖然稱他為狗的本意是種侮辱， 卻為他的哲學建立了好象徵—狗是快樂的生物，不在乎抽象的概念，像是財富和名聲。

Diogenes and his growing  number of followers became known as “dog philosophers,”  or kynikoi, a designation that eventually became the word “Cynic.”

越來越多人追隨戴亞吉尼斯，他們形成了一般所知的 「犬儒學派」，或稱 kynikoi，這個名稱後來變成了「憤世嫉俗者」。

These early Cynics were a carefree bunch,drawn to the freedom of a  wandering lifestyle.

早期這些犬儒學派的人是群自由自在的人，喜愛漂泊的生活方式。

As Diogenes' reputation grew, others  tried to challenge his commitment.

隨著戴亞吉尼斯的名聲越傳越廣， 有人試著挑戰他堅守的程度。

Alexander the Great offered him anything he desired.

亞歷山大大帝願提供他任何他所想要的東西。

But instead of asking for material goods,Diogenes only asked Alexander to get out of his sunshine.

但戴亞吉尼斯並沒有索求實質的物品，他只請亞歷山大別擋住他的陽光。

After Diogenes' death,adherents to his philosophy continued  to call themselves Cynics for about 900 years, until 500 CE.

戴亞吉尼斯死後，他的哲學的擁護者仍然繼續自稱為犬儒學派，持續了約九百年， 直到公元五百年為止。

Some Greek philosophers, like the Stoics, thought everyone should follow  Diogenes' example.

有些希臘哲學家， 比如斯多葛學派學者，認為人人都應該遵從戴亞吉尼斯的典範。

They also attempted to tone down his philosophy to be more acceptable to conventional society—which, of course, was fundamentally  at odds with his approach.

他們也嘗試將他的哲學稍做調整，讓墨守成規的社會比較能接受它—當然，這麼做就根本上和他的方法有所抵觸。

Others viewed the Cynics less charitably.

其他人就沒有這麼寬厚地看待犬儒學派了。

In the Roman province of Syria in the 2nd century CE, the satirist Lucian described the Cynics  of his own time as unprincipled, materialistic, self-promoting hypocrites, who only preached what Diogenes had  once actually practiced.

公元第二世紀，在羅馬帝國的敘利亞行省，諷刺作家琉善形容他那個時代的犬儒學派是不道德的、實利主義的、自吹自擂的偽君子，只會宣揚亞吉尼斯曾經做過的事。

Reading Lucian's texts centuries later, Renaissance and Reformation writers called their rivals cynics as an insult— meaning people who criticized others  without having anything worthwhile to say.

在數世紀後閱讀琉善所寫的文字，文藝復興和宗教改革運動的作家 侮辱他們的對手為犬儒學派—意指嘴裡吐不出象牙、只會批判別人的人。

This usage eventually laid the groundwork  for the modern meaning of the word “cynic:"

「犬儒學派」的這種用法，為現代「憤世嫉俗者」一詞的定義奠定了基礎。

A person who thinks everyone else  is acting out of pure self-interest, even if they claim a higher motive.

這詞意指的人總認為別人即使 嘴上宣稱有崇高的動機，其實仍單純為了私利行事。

Still, the philosophy of cynicism  had admirers, especially among those who wished  to question the state of society.

不過，仍然有人欣賞 犬儒學派的哲學，特別是想要質疑社會狀態的那些人。

The 18th-century French philosopher  Jean-Jacques Rousseau was called the “new Diogenes” when he  argued that the arts, sciences, and technology, corrupt people.

十八世紀的法國哲學家尚雅克·盧梭被稱為「新的希臘哲學家」， 當時他主張藝術、科學，以及科技讓人腐敗。

In 1882, Friedrich Nietzsche  reimagined a story in which Diogenes went into the  Athenian marketplace with a lantern, searching in vain for a single  honest person.

1882 年，弗里德里希·尼采重塑了一個故事，故事中的希臘哲學家提著燈籠進入雅典市場，找不到一個誠實的人。

In Nietszche's version, a so-called madman rushes into a town square to proclaim that “God is dead.”

在尼采的版本中，一名瘋子急著趕去小鎮的廣場，去宣告「神已死」。

This was Nietzsche's way of calling  for a “revaluation of values,” and rejecting the dominant Christian and Platonic idea of universal, spiritual insights  beyond the physical world.

尼采用這種方式來呼籲 「價值重新評估」，並駁斥主流的基督教和柏拉圖式針對實體世界以外的宇宙、 靈性洞見的想法。

Nietzsche admired Diogenes for sticking stubbornly to the here-and-now.

尼采欣賞希臘哲學家到哪都能夠頑固堅持。

More recently, the hippies of the 1960s  have been compared with Diogenes as counter-cultural rebels.

更近期則有六零年代的嬉皮將希臘哲學家比作反文化的反叛者。

Diogenes' ideas have been adopted and reimagined over and over again.

希臘哲學家的想法一再被採用、重塑。

The original cynics might not have  approved of these fresh takes: they believed that their values  of rejecting custom and living closely with nature were the only true values.

最原始的犬儒學派可能 不會認同這些新的形式：他們相信，他們排拒習俗，靠近大自然生活的價值觀， 才是唯一真正的價值觀。

Whether or not you agree with that, or with any of the later incarnations, all have one thing in common:  they questioned the status quo.

不論你是否認同這種價值觀或其後來的版本，他們都有一個共通點：他們都在質疑現狀。

And that's an example we can still follow: not to blindly follow conventional  or majority views, but to think hard about what is truly valuable.

而這是我們仍然能遵循的典範，不要盲目地遵循傳統或多數人的觀點，而是要用心思考什麼才是真正有價值的。

Thinking critically about our institutions and way of life is more important than ever. Hone your new found skepticism with these videos.

對於我們的制度還有人生擁有著判斷性的思考是在重要不過了。用我們的新影片來磨練你懷疑的態度吧！