Username Backstory

I chose the username Beholdaman because it is a reference to one of my favorite interactions between Greek philosophers. Plato defined humans as “featherless bipeds” to which his philosophical rival, Diogenes, brought a plucked chicken to the steps of Plato’s academy proclaiming “Behold, a man!” Learning about this helped me to see how history, especially ancient history, is romanticized. For me at least, the philosophers were peaceable old men quietly teaching and discussing great moral questions. All with a side of subtle social commentary. I now know that they disagreed and often fought. It has helped me to view historical figures as human.