Diogenes of Sinope (412 BC - 323 BC)

One of the founders of Cynicism, Diogenes mocks conventions and affectation of knowledge that satisfies no necessity. He regards reason as the faculty that frees Man from passion or beastliness and guides him away from errors and toward personal fulfillment. For Diogenes, happiness has nothing to do with material circumstances whereas ethical conduct grounds on the return to nature’s minimalism.