The Lamp of Diogenes: Inquiry and Transparency
“What are you doing with your lamp
out, Diogenes? It's the middle of the day”
“I am looking for an honest man.”
That is how the story of Diogenes was
related to me by my mother when I was young and it has stuck with me
ever since. At first, it was because of the curious actions of the
man and that they indicated a deeper truth—though I was too young
at the time to fully grasp it. Having a basic familiarity with Bible
stories as well, I naturally drew parallels to the story of Lot and
the Angels telling him that they would spare his city, if he could
but find a single righteous man. Of course, he couldn't and the city
was destroyed, but the notion of the scarcity of honest men or of
righteous men was something that stuck with me. But, as I have
learned some of the deeper truths of human nature I have realized
that there may be much more to the legend of Diogenes that I could
have ever guessed at the time. What I share with you now may
have been a secret, original doctrine to accompany the story of
Diogenes and his Lamp, or it may be more of a function of the truth
that 'when the student is ready, the teacher appears'. You may judge
this for yourself.
Diogenes
is looking for an honest man, we are told. And he is using a lamp to
find one? What a curious idea. Why a lamp? Because a Lamp illuminates
darkness. So Diogenes is seeking
to penetrate some darkness with a kind of light. What is it that
shines forth from his Lamp, what is this light? It is the Light
of Inquiry.
By
asking questions, Diogenes will find out if a man that he encounters
is transparent or
opaque. If the man is
transparent, the man is open to revealing the truth that is within
himself and the man is honest—to the degree that he is transparent.
If the man is opaque, the man is hiding the truth within himself and
the man is not honest.
The
answers to the questions are important, but it is the openness to
giving up answers—the transparency--
that is most important and is the key to whether he is an honest man
or not. I will not say that the content of the answers is of no
matter, only that the content of the answers is secondary to the
willingness to yield those answers.
The content of the answers is important in understand the truths
within the man being questioned, but also in whether the man is of a
particularly dishonest sort. Some men are adept at pretending
to be open and honest and will give answers that are not reflective
of the truth within them. But even a casual examination of the
content of the answers given will reveal the inconsistencies and
eventually, the Light of Inquiry will reach to a depth where the
deceiver cannot keep up the deception any longer.
So what are the questions that fuel
the Light of Inquiry? They are numerous and unspecific, they are
almost unimportant. But
regardless of their specific form they will be the most pertinent
questions that come to mind when confronted with a man that you do
not know—or even a man that you may think you know. Socrates was a
person who would have been able to fuel the Lamp of Diogenes quite
well. Any time one begins with asking 'Why?'
in relation to a person's behavior, the Lamp will begin to shine. The
rest of the questions flow from that.
Then
it is just a matter of observing what one sees by the light of the
Lamp. Is the man open, does he reveal his motives and intentions? Or
does he conceal them? Does he try to distract or get angry as the
light of the Lamp shines in his dishonest eyes? One must be very
careful with a tool as powerful as the Lamp of Diogenes. Inquiry has
been the death of many a decent man. Just ask Socrates.
As
for the finding a righteous man...I will have to get back to you on
that.
for more essays and for short stories, check out MHHickey.com
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