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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: 2) by NotSanguine on Thursday January 24 2019, @10:46PM
Ever since I began to sprout facial hair almost forty years ago, I've been engaged in a complicated balancing act.
I hate shaving, as it's a pain in the ass and I'm lazy. I also hate having facial hair, as it's itchy and I don't like how it looks on me.
I came to the conclusion long ago that I hate facial hair more than I hate shaving. So I don't shave until the facial hair starts annoying me, then I do.
In my early thirties, I decided I'd try having a beard for six months then shave it off and see if I missed it.
It was a close-cropped goatee and it was somewhat annoying. When I finally shaved it off, not only did I not miss it, my friends and family all said something along the lines of "thank goodness you shaved that thing off!" And less than a fuck was given.
Not everything is a political statement. And men who complain about how shaving is such a pain in the ass should remember that most women (at least in the US) shave their legs and pits regularly.
What's more of a political statement IMHO is the pressure that women get to shave their pubic hair completely. I can certainly understand wanting to be well-groomed, but *adults* have pubic hair. Social pressure for women to completely shave their pubic hair infantilizes women. It is a little annoying when I get pubic hair stuck in my teeth (TMI?) but but my sexual interests lie with *women* not little girls.
I think that discussion would be more useful and interesting than discussing mens' facial hair.
No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr