All Great Men Studied History the Same Way

SUMMARY

In a Thinking West video, the presenter explores Thomas Carlyle's Great Man Theory, arguing history is shaped by elite heroes like Napoleon and Caesar, and studying them unlocks personal potential through imitation.

STATEMENTS

Thomas Carlyle's Great Man Theory posits that world history is the biography of great men who shape civilization through their genius and will.
Heroes emerge from inherent traits and unique circumstances, acting as decisive forces in resolving societal problems.
Great men are born, not made, possessing unquantifiable creative genius that surpasses collective efforts.
Carlyle's heroes include six types: divine like Odin, prophets like Muhammad, poets like Shakespeare, priests like Martin Luther, men of letters like Rousseau, and kings like Napoleon.
Studying heroes fosters personal character development, instilling courage, vision, and self-insight to become more heroic.
Plutarch's Parallel Lives dissected influential figures like Alexander and Caesar to highlight virtues for imitation and vices to avoid.
Machiavelli advised rulers to study historical great men to imitate successes, avoid failures, and model themselves after admired leaders.
Social history, influenced by Herbert Spencer and Howard Zinn, emphasizes collective social conditions over individual heroes, often portraying elites as oppressors.
Great men are flawed but serve as patterns for imitation, driving historical progress through their actions and innovations.
Emulating specific impactful qualities of great men, rather than their entire lives, allows for positive application in personal growth.

IDEAS

Choosing heroes like Caesar or Alexander directly influences personal destiny, as seen in how Napoleon modeled himself after Caesar.
History's core narrative revolves around elite figures whose willpower overrides mass influence, challenging conventional education.
Heroes possess innate genius that no amount of collective manpower can replicate, such as one Caesar equaling countless legions.
Flawed heroes provide relatable models for imitation, turning personal contradictions into drivers of societal change.
Every human interest has a corresponding hero type, making the theory universally applicable for self-shaping.
Studying great men transforms abstract history into a practical tool for building courage and unique insights.
Plutarch's ancient biographies prefigured modern great man theory by analyzing leaders' lives for moral lessons.
Machiavelli viewed historical study as essential for rulers, turning imitation into a strategic edge for real-world success.
Social history's focus on the masses diminishes aspiration by portraying leaders as mere products of environment.
Even devious great men's skills, like oratory or tactics, can be ethically repurposed for uplifting others.

INSIGHTS

Personal identity emerges from hero selection, as emulation chains link modern individuals to ancient archetypes.
Innate genius in leaders tips historical scales, underscoring that individual agency often trumps structural determinism.
Flaws in heroes humanize them as blueprints, enabling imperfect people to drive meaningful progress.
Universal hero archetypes ensure history's lessons tailor to any pursuit, fostering targeted self-improvement.
Historical study shifts from passive learning to active character forging, revealing hidden potentials within.
Ethical emulation extracts virtues from villains, transforming destructive legacies into constructive tools.

QUOTES

"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."
"Before the great man can remake his society, his society must make him."
"A ruler must do to exercise his mind is read history, in particular accounts of great leaders and their achievements."
"He should look at their wartime strategies and study the reasons for their victories and defeats so as to avoid their failures and imitate the successes."
"We cannot look however imperfectly upon a great man without gaining something by him."

HABITS

Regularly study biographies of historical great men to develop courage and vision in daily decisions.
Select one admired leader as a constant mental model, recalling their deeds during challenges.
Analyze virtues and vices from leaders' lives to guide personal actions and avoid pitfalls.
Imitate specific innovative tactics from heroes, like Napoleon's artillery use, in one's own field.
Dedicate time to reading historical accounts, prioritizing those of elite figures over collective narratives.

FACTS

Thomas Carlyle delivered lectures on heroism in 1840, later published as On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History.
Plutarch's Parallel Lives, from the second century, examined 23 great figures including Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar.
Suetonius wrote The Twelve Caesars, detailing Rome's first emperors in a biographical style.
Machiavelli, in The Prince, claimed knowledge from history's great men was his most precious asset.
Herbert Spencer's critique formed the basis for social history, influencing works like Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States.

REFERENCES

Thomas Carlyle's On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History; Plutarch's Parallel Lives; Suetonius's The Twelve Caesars; Machiavelli's The Prince; Herbert Spencer's social philosophy; Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States; Aristotle's conception of the magnanimous man.

HOW TO APPLY

Identify a personal hero from history whose traits align with your goals, such as a leader's strategic mindset, and begin daily reflection on their key decisions.
Read primary biographical accounts, like Plutarch's lives, focusing on one figure per month to extract actionable virtues and avoid their documented errors.
Apply imitation in practice by adapting a hero's innovative method—e.g., Napoleon's bold tactics—to a modern challenge in your career or project.
Balance study with self-assessment: after learning a hero's flaw, journal how it parallels your own weaknesses and devise countermeasures.
Engage critically with social history critiques by comparing them to great man examples, ensuring you emulate only positive impacts while rejecting unethical ends.

ONE-SENTENCE TAKEAWAY

Studying and imitating great historical figures unlocks personal potential by shaping character through their timeless virtues and innovations.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Prioritize biographies of flawed yet impactful leaders to build resilient, actionable self-improvement strategies.
Model after one highly praised historical figure to elevate your achievements, even if not reaching their heights.
Counteract social history's cynicism by seeking inspiring elite narratives that foster aspiration over resentment.
Extract technical skills from controversial great men, repurposing them ethically for societal good.
Integrate hero study into routines, treating it as essential mental exercise for leadership and innovation.

MEMO

In an era dominated by collective narratives, Thomas Carlyle's 19th-century Great Man Theory offers a provocative counterpoint: history unfolds not through the faceless masses, but via the biographies of extraordinary individuals. Carlyle, a Scottish essayist and philosopher, argued in his 1840 lectures—later compiled into On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History—that elite figures like Julius Caesar or Shakespeare wielded genius and willpower to mold civilizations. These "heroes," born with innate traits and rising amid pivotal circumstances, tip the scales of fate, their unquantifiable creativity outshining any legion or crowd.

Yet Carlyle's vision extends beyond academia into self-transformation. By choosing heroes wisely—Napoleon emulating Caesar, who idolized Alexander—one crafts their destiny. The theory identifies six hero archetypes spanning divine prophets like Muhammad to kings like Napoleon, ensuring relevance for every pursuit. Studying them, as ancient biographers Plutarch and Suetonius did, dissects virtues for imitation and vices for evasion, fostering courage and insight. Machiavelli echoed this in The Prince, urging rulers to mine history for strategies, turning imitation into pragmatic power: follow a great trailblazer's path, and even partial success elevates you.

This top-down lens clashes with modern "history from below," popularized by Herbert Spencer and Howard Zinn, which credits social conditions over individuals, often recasting elites as ruthless opportunists. While Spencer's dictum—"Before the great man can remake his society, his society must make him"—highlights environmental forces, it risks diminishing aspiration, leaving no pedestals to climb. Carlyle's flawed heroes, far from infallible, inspire through relatable imperfections; Alexander's conquests set warfare templates for centuries, Napoleon's artillery revolutionized tactics.

Ultimately, the Great Man Theory invites ethical discernment: emulate oratory from demagogues for good causes, tactical brilliance from tyrants for upliftment. It reveals human nature's depths and mastery potentials, proving that gazing upon a great man, however imperfectly, yields profound gains. In a world craving models amid uncertainty, reclaiming this approach could reignite personal heroism, bridging ancient legacies to modern flourishing.