The REAL Difference Between Stoics and Cynics | Cynicism Expert Inger Kuin (PT. 2)

The Daily Stoic

Daily Stoic | Backyard Ventures

Education, 694393, Daily Stoic, Society & Culture, Stoic, Stoicism, Self-improvement, Business, Stoic Philosophy, Philosophy, Ryan Holiday

4.6 • 4.7K Ratings

🗓️ 22 November 2025

⏱️ 61 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

What can Diogenes teach us about the roots of Stoicism? In today’s episode, Ryan and classicist Inger Kuin break down the real gap between Stoicism and Cynicism, discussing why one trusted order and structure while the other thought most of society was nonsense. They get into Diogenes’ legendary stunts, the Stoics’ attempt to distance themselves from him, and why the world still needs people who question absolutely everything.

Inger Kuin is a researcher, writer, and teacher focused on the intellectual history of ancient Greece and Rome. She is Associate Professor of Classics at the University of Virginia. Originally from The Netherlands, she publishes both in English and in Dutch.

Check out Inger’s website: https://ingerkuin.com/

Be sure to pick up a copy of Inger’s new book Diogenes: The Rebellious Life and Revolutionary Philosophy of the Original Cynic.

📚 Books that Ryan recommended to Inger:

Tales of Soldiers and Civilians: and Other Stories by Ambrose Bierce

Thoughts of a Philosophical Fighter Pilot by James Stockdale

Moral Ambition by Rutger Bregman

🎟️ Come see Ryan Holiday LIVE: https://www.dailystoiclive.com/

👉 Support the podcast and go deeper into Stoicism by subscribing to The Daily Stoic Premium - unlock ad-free listening, early access, and bonus content: https://dailystoic.supercast.com/

🎥 Watch the video episodes on The Daily Stoic YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DailyStoic/videos

🎙️ Follow The Daily Stoic Podcast on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dailystoicpodcast

✉️ Want Stoic wisdom delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Stoic email at https://dailystoic.com/dailyemail

🏛 Get Stoic inspired books, medallions, and prints to remember these lessons at the Daily Stoic Store: https://store.dailystoic.com/

📱 Follow us: Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Look, ads are annoying. They are to be avoided, if at all possible. I understand as a content
0:07.1	creator why they need to exist. That's why I don't begrudge them when they appear on the shows
0:12.8	that I listen to. But again, as a person who has to pay a podcast producer and has to pay
0:19.5	for equipment and for the studio and the
0:21.8	building that the studio is in, it's a lot to keep something like the Daily Stoic going.
0:27.8	So if you want to support a show but not listen to ads, well, we have partnered with
0:34.4	Supercast to bring you an ad-free version of Daily Stoic.
0:40.3	We're calling it Daily Stoic Premium.
0:42.1	And with Premium, you can listen to every episode of the Daily Stoic podcast completely ad-free.
0:47.5	No interruptions, just the ideas, just the messages, just the conversations you came here
0:53.3	for.
0:53.7	And you can also get early access to
0:55.7	episodes before they're available to the public. And we're going to have a bunch of exclusive
0:59.7	bonus content and extended interviews in there just for daily stoic premium members as well.
1:05.3	If you want to remove distractions, go deeper into stoicism and support the work we do here.
1:10.2	Well, it takes less than a minute to sign up
1:12.1	for Daily Stoic Premium and we are offering a limited time discount of 20% off your first year.
1:18.5	Just go to DailyStoic.com slash premium to sign up right now or click the link in the show
1:22.9	descriptions to make those ads go away.
1:28.8	Welcome to the weekend edition of the Daily Stoic.
1:32.5	Each weekday, we bring you a meditation inspired by the ancient Stoics,
1:37.1	something to help you live up to those four stoic virtues of courage,
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 5 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Daily Stoic | Backyard Ventures, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Daily Stoic | Backyard Ventures and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.