Men

[Belial]

I've been thinking about this a lot lately and I wonder if any of you have any thoughts on the matter. What does it mean to be a man; what traits separate a man from his youth? Also, what makes a great man; what made Franklin, Lincoln, Washington, DaVinci and all those great men throughout all the ages just so great?

Of course I've got my own ideas on the subject, but I'd like to hear from some other people before I say them.

[Kreutz]

Testosterone and external sexual organs. Beard and chauvanistic attitude optional, but recommended for success with those of the opposite sex.

[Gundampilotspaz]

All men are created unequal.

[Belial]

Testosterone and external sexual organs. Beard and chauvanistic attitude optional, but recommended for success with those of the opposite sex.

While those characteristics do render a being a sexually capable male member of our race, it does not make them a man. I have seen many people who fit those specifications and are not men.

[margot]

Uhh, a great person is someone who is intelligent, open minded, mature, and working to make the world better.

[Belial]

Uhh, a great person is someone who is intelligent, open minded, mature, and working to make the world better.

I think thats a little simplified. Correct, but not complete.

[Galkar]

Why should any of those be requirements? The members of Monty Python was not mature, but I would consider them great men. Hitler did not make the world better, but he was a great man. Horrible yes, but great nonetheless. I can't really think of any unintelligent people right now that were great men, but I'm sure there were.

[Belial]

Hitler was not great. He was powerful yes, but not great. He died like a dog and the world was better for it; he was not great. A great man passing is mourned.

[Venom112]

I've been thinking about this a lot lately and I wonder if any of you have any thoughts on the matter. What does it mean to be a man; what traits separate a man from his youth?

Apparently there are a certain number of roads a person must walk down before you can call them a man, but despite years of research, no one has found the number or average length of these roads.

While those characteristics do render a being a sexually capable male member of our race, it does not make them a man.

Yes it does. A boy is a man when he either has gone reasonably far through puberty or is an adult.

What you seem to be talking about is philosophically or concept/value based, and I've always hated that lane attempted reasoning, because it sets up a bunch of stuff that has nothing to do with being a man.

"Be a man! Take responsibility!"

"You won't stand up for my honor? Are you a man or a mouse!?"

"You won't support a family of 12 with 4 jobs? I guess you're still just a little boy."

Hitler was not great. He was powerful yes, but not great. He died like a dog and the world was better for it; he was not great. A great man passing is mourned.

Uh, yes, yes Hitler was a great man. A man of such cunning and charisma that he could lead an entire nation to believe what he wanted and pull their strings like marionettes. The world may have been better for the downfall of Adolf Hitler, but to proclaim that he wasn't a great man, while someone like George Washington is, is just foolhardy.

Additionally, very, very few dogs shoot themselves in the heads with guns, so Hitler didn't really die like a dog.

[Belial]

A man is a male human who is sexually mature and developed.

Fuck society's ideas of what a man is. That's just a human fabrication. The only definition is biological.

A biological definition that was written by the same kind of people who wrote the philisophical.

[Venom112]

A biological definition that was written by the same kind of people who wrote the philisophical.

You mean the extremely wide field of writers that has nothing to do with anything?

[Arcane]

Wrestling a full grown bull to the ground with nothing but your bare hands and smug sense of self-satisfaction makes you a man. Nothing else.

[uniform_motion]

All men are created unequal.

Try not to just post a random Heinlein quote and run, GPS.

[Venom112]

Wrestling a full grown bull to the ground with nothing but your bare hands and smug sense of self-satisfaction makes you a man. Nothing else.

I was only able to do with an exhausted expression of feeling sorry for myself. Also, I wore gloves, so the Man Association wouldn't hand over my medal, which was lame.

[Baltar]

eating rocks and shitting Gun Powder also makes you a man

[TeleportSandwich]

A man is a male human who is sexually mature and developed.

Fuck society's ideas of what a man is. That's just a human fabrication. The only definition is biological.

I agree with the above statement. Masculinity is purely a human construck, just like feminity.

[Galkar]

But that's not at all true. Testosterone has effects on behavior. It's not just something created by society.

[Wind]

A great man is one who looks like me.

[No Sad Endings]

But that's not at all true. Testosterone has effects on behavior. It's not just something created by society.

It is true. Yes, testosterone has effects on behavior, but much less specific and dramatic effects as people generally seem to think.

For instance, I read in my sociology book back when I was in college, that there is a tribe in South Africa I think it was, where the men answer to the women, they stay at home and keep house, and wear jewelry, and are known for gossip, while the women go out and do the hunting and that sort of thing.

Yes, this is an unusual social structure, and simply would not work in most "primitive" cultures. And I do agree the physical aspects of what it is to be male and female do in fact have an effect on your dealings with the world - but masculinity and femininity, as they are percieved by our culture, are merely social constructs.

[Ceraziefish]

What makes a man?

More importantly, who cares? There are men I want to be like, and men I don't want to be like.

[CTL is kool]

CTL, embodied in CTLism, ie the belief in himself is a great man.

I am a collection of events and experiences, all of which point to honor, integrity and the pursuit of greatness.

[Elitist Indie Hipster]

An opinion of what makes a great man is from someones perspective. Thats what i hate about these message boards. a person posts a question and then argues because he doesnt agree with other people say. But technically everyones opinion is different, so theoretically , everyone is right.

that said, a great man TO ME is someone that works everyday comes home to the wife and children. Makes time for his child and wife, and tries to make somes world just a little bit beter.

[Galkar]

But it's obvious that we're all just stating opinions, so we don't preface each opinion by saying that it is such. Given that, these are then just debates of opinion, and there's nothing wrong with that.

[Ceraziefish]

An opinion of what makes a great man is from someones perspective. Thats what i hate about these message boards. a person posts a question and then argues because he doesnt agree with other people say. But technically everyones opinion is different, so theoretically , everyone is right.

That logic says to me that everyone is wrong.

I mostly say that because I don't want to admit that all those people on GameFAQs might be right in any way.

[Poophy]

Every ones opinion is correct to them, but an opinion that can be backed with facts or reason is much more convincing