Q0383

Diogenes of Sinope

A verified English rendering from the curated archive.

English

I am looking for a human being.
Thinker Diogenes of Sinope
School Cynicism
Source Diogenes Laertius, Lives VI.41
Theme Sincerity
Another quotation More from this thinker

Source context

This English passage is associated with Diogenes Laertius, Lives VI.41, within the tradition of Cynicism. The wording below is a verified rendering prepared for careful reading rather than a claim of unique translation authority.

A short reading

Read in the register of sincerity, the sentence asks the reader to test an assumption rather than to collect a slogan. In Diogenes of Sinope's wider work, similar claims are usually offered as prompts for judgment: what would have to be true for the sentence to hold, and what would follow if it did?

How to cite this quotation

APA: Diogenes of Sinope. (n.d.). I am looking for a human being. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0383

MLA: Diogenes of Sinope. “I am looking for a human being..” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0383.

Chicago: Diogenes of Sinope. “I am looking for a human being..” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0383.

Same theme

More on sincerity

  1. Sincerity is the Way of Heaven; making oneself sincere is the way of human beings.
  2. All things are already complete in me. There is no greater delight than to turn within and find sincerity.
  3. The noble person is cautious about what is not seen, apprehensive about what is not heard…therefore watchful when alone.
  4. Those who wish to cultivate themselves first rectify the mind; those who wish to rectify the mind first make the intention sincere.
  5. True eloquence mocks eloquence.

Browse the sincerity theme