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from the With-great-beard-comes-great-responsibility dept.
Philosophers deal with real, empirical, questions! From Quartzy, the ethical question of male facial hair.
Those who believe growing a beard is a personal fashion choice need to reconsider. The bristly facial hair of men is, in fact, the physical embodiment of deep ethical and aesthetic considerations. Henry Pratt, philosophy professor at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York, wrote a detailed analysis of such philosophical conundrums in his aptly titled paper, “To Beard or Not to Beard: Ethical and Aesthetic Obligations and Facial Hair.”
Why now: well, it all goes back to the "fool says in his heart" guy, St. Anselm.
In this paper, presented at the January 2019 eastern division meeting of the American Philosophical Association in New York, Pratt considers the premise set out by Saint Anselm of Canterbury, an 11th century philosopher. Anselm writes:
Not having a beard is not dishonorable for a man who is not yet supposed to have a beard, but once he ought to have a beard, it is unbecoming for him not to have one. In the same way, not having justice is not a defect in a nature that is not obligated to have justice, but it is disgraceful for a nature that ought to have it.
The take-away:
However, one surprising consequence of my philosophical work on pogonotrophy is that I now find myself thinking that the choices made by myself and others about what to grow on our faces are actually pretty important. I find myself wondering whether I should worry about the masculinity projected by my beard, and the effects thereof. I also consider whether friends and associates should have the facial hair they grow. But just as it’s a bad idea to tell other parents they’re raising their kids wrong, I think it’s a bad idea to tell others that their beards are wrong. So far.
Other relevant sources:
The Philosophy of Beards: A Lecture Physiological, Artistic and Historical, by Thomas Gowing; 1875;
The Philosopher’s Beard
Beard Taxes!
The Gentleman Lawyer’s Guide to Facial Hair
"Law of Conservation of Facial Hair" still applies.
(Score: 5, Funny) by PartTimeZombie on Thursday January 24 2019, @02:38AM (7 children)
The link to the Gentleman Lawyers's guide to facial hair starts with: "A proper beard makes a man more intimidating to his enemies. And since lawyering is about 90% mental, you should all listen up."
Look up and to the left and the profile picture is of some fool wearing a bow tie, which is the least intimidating item of clothing possible, beard or no beard.
If I walked into a lawyer's office and he was wearing a bow tie, I would walk out, as his judgement is obviously compromised.
Thanks for reading. Go about your business now, while I calm myself down.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 24 2019, @03:09AM (3 children)
Yup, I didnt realize this until some dude told me he was jealous of my full beard. Did not even occur to me that it was some alpha male thing to grow a beard.
This is a stupid development. Being considerate is one thing, but if someone's simple existence is a problem for other people then the problem is with the other people!! Of course this assumes that your existence does not infringe the lives of other people.
Growing a beard is a moral consideration? You do you but fuck off telling me my laziness is oppressing you.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Nuke on Thursday January 24 2019, @10:22AM (1 child)
Neither did I. The initial impression that a beard gives (like a name) depends on who you have known in the past with one. I have known some complete jerks with beards, who seem to have grown it in an attempt to get others to take them seriously. One thing is certain - a beard makes a man look older than he is. I have also known some very small men who have grown one, presumably because they would rather be mistaken for a garden gnome than for a boy.
I don't know how women can stand men with beards : the sexual act must feel like their boobs being rubbed with a wire brush, depending on heights of course, so perhaps they stick to the Helicopter Position, which saves her from having to see the beard too.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 24 2019, @06:23PM
Says tha bald faced ninny who leaves a rash on his lovers where ever his face might lay. Either that or you're hyper anal and shave each and every day, meaning you've got soft hands an a sad pool of pud hardly fit for anything related to what might ve called fucking. I bet you don't even go down on your man. Take your Boy George and your Village People album and get the fuck outta here Liberace
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Thursday January 24 2019, @06:06PM
I have a former coworker I'm still in contact with who grew his out for exactly the opposite reason: he's very tall and he says the beard makes him seem less formidable.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 2) by AthanasiusKircher on Thursday January 24 2019, @04:49AM (1 child)
Have you been to the American South(east)? Bow ties are still sometimes worn by professional men (including lawyers). They're not a common choice for everyday wear anymore, but they're not quite the mark of certain eccentricity they definitely are elsewhere.
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Thursday January 24 2019, @06:36PM
I have been to (a part of) the American South, yes.
I can't remember seeing anybody wearing a bow tie, but I can tell you that if a southern lawyer wore his bow tie in almost any other part of the western world, people would snigger behind their hands.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by stretch611 on Thursday January 24 2019, @06:43AM
Any guide with "Gentleman" and "Lawyer" as part of the title is obviously flawed from the beginning.
Now with 5 covid vaccine shots/boosters altering my DNA :P