Hounded in Holland

[Philosophy Now]

Seán Moran considers canine companions.

https://philosophynow.org/issues/130/Hounded_in_Holland

[vegetariantaxidermy]

A lot of misinformation about dogs. Dogs are 'not' free to copulate willy nilly and do whatever they please in the wild. There are strict rules, and wolves have to cowtow to the pack leader or suffer the consequences. Wolves/dogs have chosen to be around humans. Some wolves are more genetically disposed to 'friendliness' than others--behaviour that has been observed in many species. Having a pack leader that is human is completely natural for dogs. Dogs have been evolving alongside humans for thousands of years, and I have a feeling they understand us a lot better than we understand them.

http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20160912 ... -the-world

[seanpmoran]

Thanks for your comment, 'Vegetarian Taxidermy'.

I think we probably agree about dogs. You make a good point that these social animals give up some freedom in order to be part of the pack - whether that be in a domestic 'pack' of humans, or with other dogs in the wild (unless of course, they are a 'top dog' or 'lone wolf'.) In fact, I think that your contribution strengthens my overall thesis that the human-canine relationship can be mutually beneficial, with the human acting as de facto pack leader.

Warm regards,

Sean

Dr Seán Moran

[Gary Childress]

When I first encountered the Cynic philosophers, conventional wisdom seemed to credit Antisthenes as being the founder of the movement, however, there is apparently some dispute within philosophy departments about it these days. In any case, unequivocally crediting Diogenes of Sinope with that mantle seems like it might be somewhat presumptuous. To be on the safe side, I would think it better to err on the side of caution and just qualify Diogenes of Sinope as "the famous Cynic philosopher" or something like that when referring to him in your article, rather than "the founder of the Cynics". Otherwise you sort of put yourself out there opening up a whole new can of worms.

But congrats on working the ancient Cynics into an article about dogs. It's definitely appropriate given the venue.

[seanpmoran]

Thanks for the compliment, Gary.

You make an interesting point about Antisthenes. Some scholars describe him as a 'precursor' or 'forerunner' of the Cynics. But Kennedy (2017, p.45) says that 'it can be securely stated that Antisthenes was not a Cynic, nor did he have anything to do with the founding of Cynicism as a philosophy or school of thought. Later Cynic and Stoic philosophers attempted to make Antisthenes fit a proto-Cynic mould because they possessed a teleological drive for doing so. That is, they all wanted to be able to trace their philosophical genealogy back to Socrates, the 'Father of Philosophy', as it were; and Antisthenes appeared the most compatible of Socrates' direct disciples to allow them to make the connection'.

But we should give Crates of Thebes his place in the sun too (as Diogenes insisted upon when he was overshadowed by Alexander). Crates was an early Cynic (or at least a forerunner).

So ... I'm happy to change 'the founder of the Cynics, Diogenes of Sinope' to 'a founder of the Cynics, Diogenes of Sinope'

Warm regards,

Seán.

Dr Seán Moran