A Dutch philosopher is planning to live for a week in a barrel.

Eric Hoekstra will follow the example of the ancient Greek philosopher Diogenes. He will live in a 6ft wine barrel during the Philosophy Week of Leeuwarden University from March 30 to April 7, excluding the occasional toilet break.

Now, Diogenes was really an anti-philosopher: he thought human abstractions led to anxiety and that animal-like poverty was the key to happiness.

And there were certain other things that Diogenes was reported to have done in public, that were key to the shock-value of his prophetic way of life. He was a cynic, meaning dog, and disturbed passers-by in the same way that young Fido might embarrass you with his over-enthusiastic welcome. He also didn't use the public convenience but saved it for any critics.

So your blogger spoke with Dr Hoekstra to find out more:

I should heap insults on you, I presume, but I won't, I'm not a cynic. April is the month of philosophy in the Netherlands. I have a personal preference for the oldest Greek philosophy. In order to advertise the month of philosophy, especially old Greek philosophy, I chose the best-known symbol, which happened to be the barrel.

Although no cynic, I do prefer simple living as a habit, though not as a permanent habit. I also like things of wood. This may sound naïve, but it gives me a good connection with the whole feat.

The idea first came to me as a consoling fantasy in August. In August, I often feal week, slightly depressed. I had a fantasy about having no obligations, not having to do anything, and the fantasy cheered me up, and things got back to normal. Then, only then, the idea struck me that I could develop the fantasy into something different, a feat for drawing attention to the month of philosophy, to different, simpler ways of living, to ancient philosophy, and to old books.

After my stay in the barrel, there will be a modern re-enactment of Xenophon's Symposium, which struck me as one of the most modern, urbane books ever written. This connects to the theme 'Roots of our civilisation'. After the murders of right-wing politician Pim Fortuyn and artist Theo van Gogh by extremists, some politicians talk a lot about the the Christian-humanist roots of our civilisation, but hardly any of them knows the origins of the roots of humanism.

I became better acquainted with the figure of Diogenes through Diogenes Laërtius The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers and through the Critique of Cynical Reason by Peter Sloterdijk.