Great man theory

{{bronze}}[[File:Great Man Theory.jpg|thumb|right|165px|"The history of the world is the biography of great men" — Thomas Carlyle, inscribed in the Thomas Jefferson Building at the Library of Congress]]
{{cquote|Universal History, the history of what man has accomplished in this world, is at bottom the History of the Great Men who have worked here.|||Thomas Carlyle.<ref>{{wpa|Great man theory|}}</ref>}}
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The '''great man theory''' a [[historical]] and leadership perspective that dates back to the 19th century and suggests that history is largely justified by the impact of great men, or heroes, who are quick to define themselves as highly influential individuals who, thanks to their personal charisma, intelligence, wisdom, or political skills, used their power in such a way that it had a decisive historical impact. While similar theories have been proposed before him, the concept was popularized by [[Scottish]] [[philosopher]] and essayist [[Thomas Carlyle]] {{lived|1797|1881}} in 1840 in a series of lectures, which were collected into a book in the following year.<ref name=hero>''On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and The Heroic in History: Six Lectures'' by Thomas Carlyle (1841) James Fraser.</ref> 

The examples that Carlyle gave fell into six categories, one for each lecture:<ref name=hero/>
#The Hero as Divinity: [[Odin]]
#The Hero as [[Prophet]]: [[Muhammed]]
#The Hero as Poet: [[Dante Alighieri]] and [[William Shakespeare]]
#The Hero as [[Priest]]: [[Martin Luther]] and [[John Knox]]
#The Hero as Man of [[Literature|Letters]]: {{wpl|Samuel Johnson||,}} [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]], and {{wpl|Robert Burns}}
#The Hero as [[King]]: [[Oliver Cromwell]] and [[Napoleon Bonaparte]]

Carlyle posited that these "great men" are born with inherent traits that make them natural leaders, rather than being shaped by their environment or circumstances. To a less-enamored and more-dispassionate eye, some of these figures are not so heroic, e.g.: Luther was an [[antisemite]], Cromwell's army killed many [[Irish]] people, and Napoleon was a [[dictator]] and [[imperialist]]. In terms of leadership, the theory rests on two primary assumptions: that great leaders are born possessing certain traits that enable them to rise and lead and that great leaders can arise when the need for them is great.<ref>[https://www.villanovau.com/resources/leadership/great-man-theory/ The Great Man Theory]. ''Villanova University.''</ref> Additionally, this excludes great women throughout history, including in the time of Carlyle. The use of 'man' rather than 'person' was characteristically misogynist for that era.

Carlyle was an antisemite<ref name=kaplan>''Thomas Carlyle: A Biography'' by Fred Kaplan (1993). University of California Press. ISBN 978-0520082007.</ref>{{rp|526-527}} who was also a [[white supremacist]] in the form of believing in Anglo-Saxon racial superiority.<ref name=kaplan/>{{rp|360}}<ref>''Observing America: The Commentary of British Visitors to the United States, 1890–1950'' by Robert Frankel (2007). University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 978-0299218805.</ref>{{rp|54}} With the [[British Empire]] ascendant during Carlyle's lifetime, there would seem to have been a certain [[confirmation bias]] in Carlyle's [[worldview]].

"People's history", or "history from the bottom", which attempts to describe the history of common people and marginalized groups, as well as the elite, is sometimes contrasted with great man theory, though it is not entirely antithetical to it.<ref>{{wpa|People's history}}</ref>

==Brief history on the idea==
A prototype of Carlyle's great man theory was Plutarch's {{lived|46|119 CE}} sloppy biography, ''Parallel Lives'', which compared important figures in [[Classical antiquity|Greek and Roman history]].<ref>[https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/plutarchs-exemplary-lives-2532143/ Plutarch’s Exemplary Lives: An ancient Greek wrote the book on biography then and now] by Lance Morrow (July 2004) ''Smithsonian Magazine''.</ref>

Right before Carlyle, [[GWF Hegel]] - in his various essays and speeches that are collected in his "{{wpl|Lectures on the Philosophy of World History}}" - had postulated that the "Weltgeist" (World Spirit) - a kind of collective spirit/consciousness that shapes historical development - sometimes manifests in "World-Historical individuals" through a "ruse of reason" to achieve a historical mission.<ref>
{{cite book |last1= Hegel |first1= Georg Wilhelm Friedrich|last2= Hoffmeister |first2= Johannes |orig-date= 1837|date= 1980|title=Lectures on the Philosophy of World History |publisher= Cambridge University Press |chapter=Introduction |isbn= 9780521281454}}</ref> In his letter to {{wpl|Friedrich Immanuel Niethammer||,}} Hegel had written about him witnessing [[Napoleon]]:<ref>Pinkard, T. (2001). Hegel: A Biography. Cambridge University Press. {{isbn|9780521003872}}
</ref>{{rp|228}}
{{quotebox|I saw the Emperor – this world-soul – riding out of the city on reconnaissance. It is indeed a wonderful sensation to see such an individual, who, concentrated here at a single point, astride a horse, reaches out over the world and masters it.}}

Following Carlyle and his "On Heroes, Hero-Worship, & the Heroic in History", the Great Man Theory was most popular during the latter half of 19th century. The timing was [[understatement|quite awkward]], as this was also the time when counter-enlightenment and irrationalist philosophies started to arise, particularly in the context of the {{wpl|Fin de siècle|| era.}} As within the main ''fin de siècle'' movements, with its focus on irrationalism and charismatic leadership, provided fertile ground for the idea of a powerful, transformative leader to emerge. This leader, embodying the will of the nation, could then guide it towards a revitalized future, aligning with some interpretations of both the Great Man theory and [[fascist]] ideology.

==Some philosophers' arguments==
[[Herbert Spencer]] {{lived|1820|1903}}, a polymath and [[social Darwinism|social Darwinist]], who was a contemporary and significant critic of Carlyle, argued that people are products of the social environment from which they originate.<ref name=spencer>[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.22506/page/n45/mode/2up/search/scientific ''The Study of Sociology''] by Herbert Spencer (1880) C. Kegan Paul & Co. 8<sup>th</sup> edition.</ref>{{rp|32-34}}

Philosopher and psychologist {{wpl|William James}} {{lived|1842|1910}} defended Carlyle and criticized Spencer, by fleshing out a nature vs. nurture comparison of the two sides and himself coming down in favor of of nature, that it is the unique physiological characteristics of great men that make them so.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20150307004008/https://www.uky.edu/~eushe2/Pajares/jgreatmen.html/ Great Men, Great Thoughts, and the Environment] by William James (1880) ''Atlantic Monthly'' (archived from March 7, 2015).</ref>

Novelist and philosopher Leo Tolstoy argued against both [[free will]] and the great man theory in his ''War and Peace'' ("Book IX, Chapter I. The year 1812. Rulers and generals are "history's slaves'").<ref>''War and Peace'' by Leo Tolstoy (1997) Penguin Popular Classics. ISBN 0140622691.</ref>{{rp|663}}

Similar to James, philosopher {{wpl|Sidney Hook}} argued against [[determinism]] and supported the great man theory.<ref name=hook>[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.189905/page/n1/mode/2up ''Hero in History: A Study in Limitation and Possibility''] by Sidney Hook (1943) Martin Stecker & Warburg.</ref>

==Falsifiability==
[[File:David - Napoleon crossing the Alps - Malmaison2.jpg|thumb|right|220px|[[Napoleon Bonaparte]], perhaps the quintessential "great man".]]
{{main|Falsifiability}}
Is the great man theory [[scientific]], can it be falsified? This is a question that Spencer alluded to, albeit in a [[racist]] way,<ref name=spencer/><ref>''Hero Myths'', edited by Robert A. Segal (2000) John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0631215158.</ref>{{rp|3}} but did not firmly answer because the concept of falsifiability as a benchmark for science did not exist until the 20<sup>th</sup> century. So, the philosophers of 19<sup>th</sup> century and the first half of the 20<sup>th</sup> century were left with arguing about nature vs. nurture or some combination of both, without coming up with any convincing answer. The problem with looking at historical figures with regard to the great man theory is that each person appears to be in a unique position in space and time, and hence it is difficult to come up with parallel examples, and the theory would seem to be unfalsifiable.

Fortunately, Carlyle's theory was very broad, and though he himself did not include scientists, at least one of the theory's defenders, Hook, has included scientists and [[mathematicians]].<ref name=hook/>{{rp|30-31}} Hook even noted that it was commonplace for scientists to make the same discovery simultaneously,<ref name=hook/>{{rp|30-31}} and Hook considers the likelihood of discovery had not the great man lived:<ref name=hook/>{{rp|31-32}}
{{cquote|It is extremely difficult to see how we would go about establishing a legitimate claim that, if this or that discovery had not been made, its subsequent discovery would be unlikely. Yet certain general considerations apply. If [[Newton]] had not made his discoveries in mechanics and optics, we can readily believe that others might have done so not long after, for interest in the problems of these fields was widespread and other attempts at their solution by first-rate minds had been independently made. But some other branches of mathematics and physics show creative work along certain lines by an individual who had no outstanding predecessors in the field and from whom all subsequent investigations in the same direction stems. For example, we have no specific evidence that would warrant the judgment that {{wpl|Georg Cantor|Cantor's}} theory of [[Infinity|transfinite numbers]] and [[Einstein]]'s special theory of [[relativity]] would have been developed by others. Although it would be rash to assert that no one but Cantor and Einstein would have propounded these theories, the assertion that others would have done so has even less ground.}}

Similar to the great man theory vs. people's history argument, in science there has been an argument of the {{wpl|Heroic theory of invention and scientific development|"heroic theory of invention and scientific development"}} vs. {{wpl|multiple discovery||.}}

Hook knew that he was weakening his own argument for the great man theory by this explanation, but a fuller examination of multiple discoveries comes very close to discrediting the theory. Both fundamental inventions of civilization ([[plant]]<ref>{{wpa|History of agriculture}} {{wpa|List of domesticated plants}}</ref> and [[animal]] domestication,<ref>{{wpa|Domestication of animals}} {{wpa|List of domesticated animals}}</ref> writing systems,<ref>{{wpa|History of writing}}</ref> and metallurgy<ref>{{wpa|Metallurgy in pre-Columbian America}}</ref>) and many advanced scientific discoveries have been discovered independently by different people.<ref>{{wpa|List of multiple discoveries}}</ref>

Regarding Hook's specific examples, it is true that special relativity and transfinite numbers were not discovered independently, but several of Einstein's other discoveries were also independently discovered ({{wpl|Mass–energy equivalence}} [E=mc<sup>2</sup>], {{wpl|Brownian motion||,}} the {{wpl|Einstein relation (kinetic theory)|Einstein Relation|,}} and the {{wpl|Stark–Einstein law}}), and while Cantor's transfinite numbers were counter-intuitive at the time, the concept is not particularly difficult to understand and it is taught in undergraduate mathematics classes.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20180829142456/https://www.math.ucla.edu/ugrad/courses/math/M114S Math M114S: General Course Outline] ''UCLA Department of Mathematics'' (archived from August 29, 2018).</ref>

So, the frequency of multiple independent discoveries argues against the great man theory. It is instead supportive of the idea that past inventions and knowledge plus current problems lead to discoveries from multiple people working on the problems and sometimes discovering the solutions independently.

==Thought experiment==
Another approach to looking at the plausibility of the great man theory is the [[thought experiment]]. A relevant one is the [[Hitler#Killing baby Hitler|Killing baby Hitler]] thought experiment, which started floating around in 2015,<ref name=ford>[https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/10/killing-baby-hitler-ethics/412273/ The Ethics of Killing Baby Hitler: A moral dilemma is better understood as a historical one.] by Matt Ford (Oct 24, 2015) ''The Atlantic''.</ref> but had earlier antecedents.<ref name=trope>[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HitlersTimeTravelExemptionAct Hitler's Time Travel Exemption Act] ''TV Tropes''.</ref> In this case, one can regard Hitler as a great man in the broad sense that ''Time'' magazine has for their person of the year cover ("for better or for worse… has done the most to influence the events of the year").<ref name=person>{{wpa|Time Person of the Year}}</ref> And, Hook also discussed Hitler as a great man in this sense of having great effect.<ref name=hook/>

So, the thought experiment if one could go back in time to kill baby Hitler, should one do it, and would it change the course of history significantly. A strong argument can be made that it is not a worthwhile endeavor, that the historical and sociological currents of that era<ref name=ford/> (anti-[[communism]], [[antisemitism]], [[pogroms]], [[Great Depression|economic depression]], [[eugenics]], [[irredentism]], ''[[Lebensraum]]'', militarism, [[authoritarianism]], [[Persecution complex#In Christianity|persecution complex within Christianity]], [[scientific racism]], and the [[Treaty of Versailles]]' unfavorable terms for [[Germany]]) were strongly supportive of someone like Hitler rising to power. One does not need to look much past the upper echelon of [[Nazi Germany]] for likely candidates who could have replaced Hitler in the early 1930s.

==Autocrats==
[[Dictator]]s, autocrats, and those supporting autocracy are particularly fond of great man theory, because [[Argument by assertion|by definition they are great]], right? Their endless [[Hagiography|hagiographic]], door-stopping autobiographies are evidence of this.<ref>''The Infernal Library: On Dictators, the Books They Wrote, and Other Catastrophes of Literacy'' by Daniel Kalder (2019) Picador. ISBN 1250181607.</ref>

Hitler in ''[[Mein Kampf]]'' noted the importance of promoting great men in fascist education:<ref>''Mein Kampf'' by Adolf Hitler, translated by Ralph Manheim (1971) Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0395083621.</ref>{{rp|424}}
{{cquote|Our educational system lacked the art of picking a few names out of the historical development of our people and making them the common property of the whole German people, thus through like knowledge and like enthusiasm tying a uniform, uniting bond around the entire nation. They did not understand how to make the really significant men of our people appear as outstanding heroes in the eyes of the present, to concentrate the general attention upon them and thus create a unified mood.}}

Along the lines of dictators, corporate CEOs are often considered to be 'great men' or visionaries. During the pending purchase of [[Twitter]] by [[Elon Musk]], former-CEO [[Jack Dorsey]] said, "Solving for the problem of it being a company however, Elon is the singular solution I trust. I trust his mission to extend the light of consciousness."<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20220426020428/https://twitter.com/jack/status/1518772756069773313 In principle, I don’t believe anyone should own or run Twitter. It wants to be a public good at a protocol level, not a company. Solving for the problem of it being a company however, Elon is the singular solution I trust. I trust his mission to extend the light of consciousness.] by Jack Dorsey (7:03 PM - 25 Apr 2022) ''Twitter'' (archived from April 26, 2022).</ref><ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/04/27/jack-dorsey-elon-musk-singular-solution/ Elon Musk and tech’s ‘great man’ fallacy: Jack Dorsey called him the 'singular solution’ to Twitter’s problems. But no leader can go it alone.] by Will Oremus (April 27, 2022) ''The Washington Post''.</ref>{{efn|The term 'light of consciousness' is one that is associated with [[transpersonal psychology]]<ref>''The Light of Consciousness: Explorations in Transpersonal Psychology'' by Richard Dewey Mann (1984) SUNY Press. ISBN 0873959051.</ref> and [[New Age]] promoter [[Eckhart Tolle]].<ref>''A New Earth: Awakening Your Life's Purpose'' by Eckhart Tolle (2005) Penguin Group. ISBN 0525948023.</ref>{{rp|8,79,102,166,288}}}} This completely ignored tech companies' reliance on a highly skilled workforce, as well as Musk's well-known toxic management style.<ref>[https://www.inc.com/business-insider/elon-musk-rage-fires-employees-experts-say-its-terrible-leadership.html Elon Musk Reportedly Fires Employees at Will When He's Angry, and Experts Say It's a Sign of Terrible Leadership] by Shana Lebowitz (Jan. 24, 2019, 9:21 AM) ''Business Insider'' via ''Inc.''</ref><ref>[https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-tesla-life-inside-gigafactory/ Dr. Elon & Mr. Musk: Life Inside Tesla’s Production Hell: Unfettered genius. Unpredictable rages. Here's what it was like to work at Tesla as Model 3 manufacturing ramped up and the company's leader melted down.] by Charles Duhigg (Dec 13, 2018 6:00 AM) ''Wired''.</ref>

Similarly, the "Only I can fix it." claim can be found among [[Cult of personality|cults of personality]], for example:
{{cquote|I resolved that no revolutionary movement was going to be brought into being in the USA unless [[Delusions of grandeur|I brought it into being.]]|||[[Lyndon LaRouche]]<ref name="Klein">[https://web.archive.org/web/20110727053229/http://lyndonlarouche.org/klein-november.pdf Publish and Perish: The Mysterious Death of Lyndon LaRouche's Printer] by Avi Klein (November 2007) ''Washington Monthly'' (archived from July 27, 2011).</ref>}}
{{cquote|I am your voice. I alone can fix it. I will restore law and order.|||[[Donald Trump]]<ref>[https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/07/trump-rnc-speech-alone-fix-it/492557/ ‘I Alone Can Fix It’: Breaking with two centuries of political tradition, Donald Trump didn’t ask Americans to place their trust in each other or in God, but rather, in Trump.] by Yoni Appelbaum (Jul 21, 2016) ''The Atlantic''.</ref><ref>''I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J. Trump's Catastrophic Final Year'' by Carol Leonnig & Philip Rucker (2021) Penguin Press. ISBN 0593298942.</ref>}}

==In popular culture==
The most notable popular work that came out of the great man theory was the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Eleventh Edition (1911), which contains lengthy detailed biographies of great men and few social histories.<ref name=eb>{{wpa|Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition|''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Eleventh Edition}}</ref> It is also notable for containing many articles written by living famous men ([[Henry Ford]], [[Thomas Henry Huxley]], [[Pyotr Kropotkin]], {{wpl|John Muir||,}} [[Bertrand Russell]], {{wpl|Ernest Rutherford}}).<ref name=eb/><ref>[https://www.bookthink.com/0020/20enc.htmn Immortal Encyclopedia?] by Craig Stark (7 June, 2004) ''Book Think'' #20.</ref>

''Time'' magazine's "Man of the Year" series (from 1999: "Person of the Year") clearly was influenced by this idea, though it seems to have faded in later years as groups of people and non-humans were featured instead of individuals.<ref name=person/> 

Virtually every public statue depicting an historical figure is predicated upon the great-man theory.<ref>[https://www.historytoday.com/archive/head-head/there-still-value-%E2%80%98great-man%E2%80%99-history Is There Still Value in ‘Great Man’ History? How important is the study of the powerful, epoch-defining individual?] by Diarmaid MacCulloch (September 2019) ''History Today'' 69(9).</ref><ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/museums/the-new-eisenhower-memorial-is-stunning-especially-at-night-but-is-this-the-last-of-the-great-man-memorials/2020/08/05/100eb90a-d665-11ea-aff6-220dd3a14741_story.html The new Eisenhower Memorial is stunning, especially at night. But is this the last of the 'great man' memorials?] by Philip Kennicott (August 6, 2020 at 4:00 a.m. PDT) ''The Washington Post''.</ref> The pigeons do not understand the theory  but they are grateful for the practice.

Two [[logical fallacies]] are basically predicated upon the great man theory, [[argument from authority]] (in part), and [[appeal to celebrity]].

[[White nationalist]]s sometimes make claims to the effect that most or all of the great men of the world were white.<ref>[http://archive.ph/kOo78 Whites that want to preserve their cultural and heritage want to gas Jews and lynch innocent blacks eh? Plus, they are 'prejudice' too unlike the haters that slander whites, right? All of the great men of the world came from the white race.] by Tom Fauld (1:12 PM · Apr 10, 2019) ''Twitter'' (archived from 28 Feb 2020 08:07:07 UTC).</ref><ref>[http://archive.ph/Vjywp The white race we take what we want and build what we need. The rest of the world should thank us for giving it all the Great Inventions Cars airplanes air conditioning electricity computers smartphones etc.. I could be here all day name and all the inventions we gave the world] by @FrattoRealjames (10:13 AM - 21 Aug 2019) ''Twitter'' (archived from 28 Feb 2020 08:12:12 UTC).</ref> This of course ignores the contributions from elsewhere in the world.<ref>{{wpa|List of Chinese inventions}}</ref><ref>{{wpa|List of Indian inventions and discoveries}}</ref> And leads to definition issues with [[one-drop rule]] blacks like Alexandre Dumas or Alexandr Pushkin.

==See also==
===Potential examples of "great men"===
*[[George Washington]]
*[[Abraham Lincoln]]
*[[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]
*[[Karl Marx]]
*[[Friedrich Engels]]
*[[Vladimir Lenin]]
*[[Joseph Stalin]]
*[[Mao Zedong]]

===Related topics===
*[[American exceptionalism]]
*[[Coincidence]]
*[[Eurocentrism]]
*[[Hagiography]] — the making of great men
**[[Book burning]] — will make our man even greater… at least for a few years
*''[[A People's History of the United States]]'' — a counter-history to the great man approach
*[[Personality cult]]

==External links==
*[https://www.sfgate.com/culture-columns/article/Who-is-Time-Magazine-s-ultimate-Person-of-the-16705110.php The definitive ranking of Time's worst 'Persons of the Year'] by Drew Magary

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

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