is a man defined by his actions?

>is a man defined by his actions?

The first question is who is doing the defining? If it is God, he sees all and can define a man based on everything that comprises him. (God sees the heart.)

If it is man, then we must regress to a subjective evaluation, that is, each person has their own set of standards/rules/beliefs, and each individual looks upon another individual through those standards/rules/beliefs. We are fundamentally unable to take off our perspective glasses; ie: we cannot see clearly anyone.

>sartre used to say that a man is what he does

Batman said this recently too. (--: The premise of Sartre's statement, I believe, is the presupposition that man acts in accordance with himself at all times under all conditions. This is simply not true, in my estimation. Man is a layered creature with various components:physical, spiritual, mental, emotional, psychological, social, ethical, etc.

With so many aspects to his personality, there is bound to be conflict between levels and between components. This is why I always say "Everyone is a hypocrite to a greater or lesser extent."

You are who you are; your behavior is simply a manifestation of some core component in your personality.

For example, there are many people in society who act altruisitcally but for the wrong reasons. A wealthy man may donate a large sum of money to a charity, but the reason behind the donation may have nothing to do with his good-will and everything to do with his status in the community, or support for his own endeavors. Do you consider him a "good man"? I do not. It is called marketing - he is a skilled businessman with good salesmanship skills, but internally he thinks only of himself.

So, he is a hypocrite to a great extent.

Countess

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Originally Posted by Outlander

As I'm sure your implication of "Always" -an absolute-
was also an unintended offense.

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:confused: How did I manage to offend you by using the word "always"? I merely stated my opinion.
Still, I'll try to use another word.

If we go over this here we'll be highjacking the thred.
PM on it's way.

Definition implies separation, and so, if a man externalizes his thoughts and feelings, he is indeed separated from some and conjoined with others and thus defined. On a deeper level, our thoughts separate our shadow from our persona, and so at times we are divided even from ourselves. Perhaps the best short I can offer on this is "Borges on Borges."

Because we all do so many strange and irrational things over the course of our lives, things that come from fatigue or hurt or pain or hunger...
I don't believe a person is defined actually by what he/she does.
I do believe however a person is known by the things he or she does.

very interesting discussion guys but are we allowed to contribute to elaboration of the question or is this primary a discussion between you too?

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Originally Posted by fzeko

very interesting discussion guys but are we allowed to contribute to elaboration of the question or is this primary a discussion between you too?

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Welcome to the forums :)

Feel free to just jump on in anywhere! everybody else does :D

Oops, I did not realize that they were more entries. I guess that's what happens when you try to read and write about philosophy after a long day at work.

I believe that you are posing a very philosophical question Martha Q and as it goes with philosophical questions there are not definite answers. Somehow I beleive that our actions define us even though I tend to doubt that at times. In the movie "Hellboy" the last lines are "What defines a man is not his origins or where he comes from but his actions and the way that he decides to end things". I don't remember the words by hard completely but that's how they kind of go.

Genetics, the way we are raised, and society formulate us as personalities and characters but sometimes the only way that we come to understand ourselves and who we are is by looking closely at our actions and decisions.

Hi I have just started posting threads and am new to this so if I make any faux pas please let me know!!

I think that M. Satre was trying to encapsulate an ideology based on psychology and his own perceptions of life around him and may possibly be a basis for his own philosophy on life .
We are who we are by our actions the only way one can define a human being is by those actions and outcomes. I don't think he literally meant any single person. What we do as a collective will have an outcome on humanity, therefore as M. Satre states that in doing so he (man)acts for all of humanity be that positive or negative . I read M.Satres' quote as meaning that we are all important and our actions in this life singly and collectively have a baring on humanity.

I'd say you're right, although there are alot more things to it than that.

Deeds, not words.

To others, people are defined by what they do, because no one else can understand what is in a person's mind. To themselves, people are defined by what they think, their motives, etc.

Which definition is more important--the person's own definition of him or herself, or others' definition? There's a weighty question.

A man or woman is defined more by their thoughts, which can be seen in their actions, which determines their character.

A man or a woman can not be defined by their thoughts. They may do exactly opposite of what their thoughts were. A woman on telephone may accept an invitation by her collegue for a cup of tea very cheerfully but before that she could and should have whispered in her own ear "my foot".

There are far too many influencing factors interacting to answer such a question simply. Every effect of a cause, becomes in itself, by interaction, a cause producing an effect.

Thought ALWAYS precedes action, sometimes it is subconscious thought. Our actions, which include reactions, constitute our behaviour.

But how did we form our behaviour? It is formed from nature and nurture. Some of our basic behaviour is inherited. This is easily identified in the rest of the animal kingdom. A bird would know how to build a nest without being shown. A dog will often walk in a circle before bedding down from the habit inherited from its early ancestry as living in the wild. Cats have a natural liking for milk. All animals, including we humans, have a strong, inherited, survival instinct.

A person can be programmed under hypnosis to behave in a certain way, but the trick is to convince them while under hypnosis that they want to act this way. In other words it is by accessing their subconscious and temporarily blocking their conscious mind. This requires skill.

You can reprogram your own 'self' by self hypnosis. This way you can get rid of bad habits. Why don't more people do this? Because they don't believe they can. A computer, in many ways is similar to the brain.

How are we defined? We are defined by how we relate to the one, or those, doing the defining. Whilst this is subjective, a general character is built up according to the number who 'see' (define) us a particular way. We define ourselves by how we see ourselves. The two are often at variance.

All our actions (behaviour) comes directly from the mind - our unconscious actions are still from the mind - the subconscious. What we say is all part of behaviour, as is our body language.

Sometimes, a person who feels misjudged, disliked, and/or misunderstood, in the community, or nation, in which he/she was born and lives, goes to another country and finds just the opposite. The reason for this is understandable - their culture may have a different set of values, and, when you are from another country, or culture, you are unique, and interesting, especially if the nation, or culture you represent is viewed favourably by the new one.

Being received warmly, helps us to react accordingly, and the two interact. This can often result in us becoming a more agreeable person, because we don't have to resort to the defensive and behave negatively. Our mind starts to think differently which in turn alters our actions and body language.

Our thoughts are transmitted outside ourselves, which is intensified by emotion. Our mind is a transmitter as well as a receiver. We have lost much of the 'power' to use this as we have developed language to communicate. Most animals still retain this power as it is more necessary for their survival instinct.

Why do we like, or dislike some people, the moment we are introduced? We are picking up thoughts, we sometimes call 'chemistry,' that we think we can hide behind a smile, and a perfunctory greeting. As we get to know them, we can change because more information permits better evaluation which alters our thought process.

It's a big subject. It's far too big to explain fully here - I for one have not the time. But the more we understand the process, the more it is possible for us to handle situations and perhaps 'win a few more friends and influence people' a la Dale Carnegie. Perhaps also, as Burns wrote:- 'to see ourselves as others see us' .

This is not intended to explain everything fully, just to put a few thoughts in the pot

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Originally Posted by Martha Q

sartre used to say that a man is what he does......his true self is dictated by his actions...and not only his but by acting for himself he acts for the whole of humanity....
is a man defined by his actions? i think not....you?

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I think yes and so is a woman.
An even truer statement might be (and this is probably someone's quote), a person is defined by what is done in the dark when no one is looking.