Is the great man theory right?

[Breadbassket]

The great man theory is an approach to the study of history popularised in the 19th century according to which history can be largely explained by the impact of great men, or heroes: highly influential and unique individuals who, due to their natural attributes, such as superior intellect, heroic courage, extraordinary leadership abilities, or divine inspiration, have a decisive historical effect.

 

[Tanuki Mixed Nuts]

I'm theoretically great, man

 

[break these cuffs]

I subscribe to the Great Womyn Theory, The Great Womyn Theory is an approach to the study of history popularised in the 19th century according to which history can be largely explained by the impact of great womyn, or heroes: highly influential and unique individuals who, due to their natural attributes, such as superior intellect, heroic courage, extraordinary leadership abilities, or divine inspiration, have a decisive historical effect, but had all their accomplishments attributed to men due to the white cis hetero patrichal world we live in.

 

[Waifu Days]

I subscribe to the Great Womyn Theory, The Great Womyn Theory is an approach to the study of history popularised in the 19th century according to which history can be largely explained by the impact of great womyn, or heroes: highly influential and unique individuals who, due to their natural attributes, such as superior intellect, heroic courage, extraordinary leadership abilities, or divine inspiration, have a decisive historical effect, but had all their accomplishments attributed to men due to the white cis hetero patrichal world we live in.

So Herstory?

 

[Dysnomia]

I subscribe to the Great Womyn Theory, The Great Womyn Theory is an approach to the study of history popularised in the 19th century according to which history can be largely explained by the impact of great womyn, or heroes: highly influential and unique individuals who, due to their natural attributes, such as superior intellect, heroic courage, extraordinary leadership abilities, or divine inspiration, have a decisive historical effect, but had all their accomplishments attributed to men due to the white cis hetero patrichal world we live in.

Womyn or "Womyn"?

 

[draggs]

yes, it is

 

[MrTroll]

If great men are so great then how come they're dead (except the alive ones)?

 

[Jhonson the Two]

I thinks the theory is incomplete.
Even if there have been exceptional individuals who have been the pivots of certain key points in History through their heroic inclination, we must not forget the middle man: usually great men are rarely alone and are supported by a small or larger group (lovers, children, friends, the Turkish kebab shop who puts extra fries in your kebab, angry hungry paysans who listen to him, etc.) Think like a slingshot: to throw the stone you need to pull the elastic which, once bandaged, will forcefully throw the stone. It is the great man who makes the stone move. But you are only able to apply a force on the stone when the elastic is attached, supported by the stick. It's the other people who support the hero. He would have had less much power without people around.


I would dare to says there's two types of heroic individuals:
1) the one you talk about, inclined since birth to do great because of their natural attribute and/or their upbringing
2) the occasional hero, a "normal" individual who is usually part of the non heroic mass, but due to external pressure ends up perpetrating a one-off heroic act. Like Stanislav Petrov who saved the world from nuclear war by not reporting odd spots on Russian computer screens as potential missiles to his superiors in 1983.

​

 

[The Magnificence]

 

[dick brain]

Sort of.

There's a 0% chance Copernicus was the first person in the history of people to argue that the Earth revolves around the sun. It's just impossible, the Earth and the sun have been the subject of thought for as long as thought has existed. But prior to Copernicus, everyone who suggested it was probably dismissed as crazy. Copernicus just happened to be brave enough to make the argument at a point in time when the general public happened to be receptive to it. He was at the edge of the zeitgeist where others speaking the same truth were quite literally ahead of their time.

This is the reality of "great men". People not pulling the rest of society behind them, but rather embodying and representing an emergent change in society that pushes them forward, riding it like a wave.

Probably.