Straw Men,Iron Men,and Argumentative Virtue

The straw man fallacy consists in inappropriately constructing or selecting weak (or comparatively weaker) versions of the opposition’s arguments. We will survey the three forms of straw men recognized in the literature, the straw, weak, and hollow man. We will then make the case that there are examples of inappropriately reconstructing stronger versions of the opposition’s arguments. Such cases we will call iron man fallacies. The difference between appropriate and inappropriate iron manning clarifies the limits of the virtue of open-mindedness.     

On Counseling Men

Counselors need to be aware of the characteristics of men, the qualities of men in counseling, and the pressures on the contemporary man. This article considers some of the expectations and qualities of men in general and in the counseling relationship in particular. The influence of these qualities and expectations on the interaction between client and counselor is examined. Suggestions are made to improve the effectiveness of the counseling process.     

Men Under Scrutiny

It is a burning of the heart that I want; it is this burning that is everything, more precious than the empire of the world, because it calls God secretly in the night. —Rumi

A man who is not on fire is nothing; he is ridiculous, he is two-dimensional. He must be on fire even if he does make a fool of himself. A flame must burn somewhere, otherwise no light shines, there is no warmth, there is nothing. —C.G. Jung     

Men and Violence

The authors explore violence in men from cultural, historical, social, and individual perspectives. The many ways in which violence is expressed by men are examined. The remediation of violent behavior through counseling is studied, and a model for understanding that process is indicated. Resources, both organizational and bibliographical, are furnished. Violence … is as American as cherry pie. H. Rap Brown We've got to stop it, it's you and me, oh violence never did make a man. Geof Morgan     

The Impact of Social Roles on Stereotypes of Gay Men

Past research demonstrates that heterosexuals perceive gay men to have traditionally feminine characteristics. Guided by Social Role Theory (Eagly, 1987), we predicted that this stereotype would differ depending on a gay man’s specific social role. To test this idea, participants rated five gay targets (father, single man, hairdresser, truck driver, typical gay man) on stereotypically masculine (e.g., ambitious, leader) and feminine (e.g., affectionate, sensitive) personality attributes. Gay men in traditionally masculine roles (truck driver, single man) were rated as less feminine than gay men in traditionally feminine roles (hairdresser, parent). In addition, gay men in feminine roles were perceived as more similar to the typical gay man than were those in masculine roles. Suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Men,Warriorism, and Mourning: the Development of Unconventional Warriors

In this article, I consider the interrelation between the warrior ethos, warriorism, and mourning. More specifically, the question I seek to answer is how a young man moves from warriorism—an uncritical acceptance of warrior ethos—to being an unconventional warrior who, while remaining attached to the warrior ethos, is critical toward a government that uses its military to further the aims of political and economic elites. I rely on psychology of religion perspectives to understand the warrior ethos and warriorism because they have many parallels to religion. In addition, I find Nathan Carlin’s discussion of religious mourning helpful in framing this process of change. Finally, to illustrate my claims, I discuss the life of Marine Corps Major General Smedley Butler.     

Shame and Its Sons: Black Men,Fatherhood, and Filicide

Few passages of Scripture are more revered than the parable of the prodigal son. Whether through quotidian biblical readings or fiery Sunday morning sermons, the evocative images that it conjures up—the most prominent of which is that of a forlorn son returning home to a beneficent father—often causes those who encounter this story of redemption, believer and non-believer alike, to be enraptured in the ardor of spiritual ecstasy. It is a quintessential feel-good story. And yet, one must ask, how many prodigal sons are able to return to their fathers’ houses in like manner? Is it not troubling to consider the lack of such a welcome home for the countless prodigal sons among us? This interdisciplinary study examines such questions by underscoring not only the failed “return,” but, even more so, the lack of a “home” (a veritable place of return, so to speak) for black men who suffer from the inherent prodigality, the desire to spend all, of patriarchal manhood. It is for this reason that anatomizing the parable itself, which is done by utilizing the works of such scholars as Henri Nouwen, is not sufficient to address our concerns. Other interlocutors are needed, scholars of a different but not better perspicacity, who can speak to the deleterious intergenerational effects that a lack of home can have on a black man’s development, be it psychosocially, spiritually, or otherwise. The chosen participants for this somewhat uncommon dialogue are psychoanalyst John Bowlby and African American author Ernest Gaines. Both of these authors enunciate the ways in which the inability to return or, in some instances, retreat to what Bowlby calls a “secure base” traps a man within a deadly web of negative affect, such as shame, within which he entangles his sons as well. This is an unfortunate act of filicide.     

Ladies and Gentlemen, Women and Men: A Study of the Connotations of Words Indicating Gender

Lakoff's hypothesis about the connotations of the words "lady" and "woman" was investigated by asking college students to rate these words, as well as the masculine words "gentleman" and "man", on several adjective scales. Ratings indicated that the term "gentleman" implied greater competence and warmth than the word "man", while the term "lady" tended to suggest to raters relatively less competence and less warmth than the term "woman" did. Further, it was found that the more formal term ("gentleman", "lady") regardless of gender was described more positively than the less formal term ("man", "woman") on several scales concerned with goodness, politeness, morality, and femininity. Lakoff's hypothesis that "lady" conveys some unique meanings relative to sex role stereotypes thus received support, although some of the connotations of "lady" appear to be due to implied formality rather than to gender features. The degree to which feminine terms were differentiated by raters could be predicted to some extent on the basis of rater characteristics; no significant prediction was possible for the masculine terms.     

Women's Sexual Aggression Against Men: Prevalence and Predictors

In this study, we investigated the prevalence of women's sexual aggression against men and examined predictors of sexual aggression in a sample of 248 women. Respondents reported their use of aggressive strategies (physical force, exploitation of a man's incapacitated state, and verbal pressure) to make a man engage in sexual touch, sexual intercourse, or oral sex against his will. Childhood abuse, gender role orientation, ambiguous communication of sexual intentions, level of sexual activity, and peer pressure were included as predictors of sexual aggression. Almost 1 in 10 respondents (9.3%) reported having used aggressive strategies to coerce a man into sexual activities. Exploitation of the man's incapacitated state was used most frequently (5.6%), followed by verbal pressure (3.2%) and physical force (2%). An additional 5.4% reported attempted acts of sexual aggression. Sexual abuse in childhood, ambiguous communication of sexual intentions, high levels of sexual activity, and peer pressure toward sexual activity were linked to an increased likelihood of sexual aggression. The findings are discussed in relation to the literature on men's sexual aggression.     

Ignatius of Loyola,Jonathan Edwards,and Indifference

The aim of this paper is threefold: First, I provide a brief account of Ignatian indifference as contained in the Spiritual Exercises. I distinguish between two senses of ‘indifference’ and apply them to an imaginary Regina who is faced with the decision about whether to give an inheritance to UNICEF or use the funds to finance her daughter’s college education. Second, I argue that Jonathan Edwards’s polemic, in Freedom of the Will, against Isaac Watts’s account of indifference, is open to the ‘straw man objection’ when applied to the Ignatian concept. Finally, I put forth a Kantian based critique of Ignatian indifference. I claim that while indifference is a logically consistent notion it may very well be psychologically problematic. If it is an open question whether Regina can ever know with certainty that she has acted from the pure motive of duty, then it is also an open question whether she can ‘find’ herself indifferent in the Ignatian senses of the term.     

Towards a Critique-Friendly Approach to the Straw Man Fallacy Evaluation

In this article I address the following question: When are reformulations in argumentative criticisms reasonable and when do they become fallacious straw men? Following ideas developed in the integrated version of pragma-dialectics, I approach argumentation as an element of agonistic exchanges permeated by arguers?? strategic manoeuvring aimed at effectively defeating the opponent with reasonable means. I propose two basic context-sensitive criteria for deciding on the reasonableness of reformulations: precision of the rules for interpretation (precise vs. loose) and general expectation of cooperativeness (critical vs. constructive). On the basis of analysis of examples taken from online political discussions, I argue that in some contexts, especially those that are critical and loose, what might easily be classified as a straw man following conventional treatment should be taken as a harsh, yet reasonable, strategic argumentative criticism.     

Men and women as computer-using teachers

Education is one institutional arena in which women professionals comprise a majority of adult computer users. Using data from a national survey of schools, it was found that women comprise two-thirds of the primary computer-using teachers (PCUTs) in elementary schools, and the proportion of women in this role in secondary schools is nearly the same as the proportion of women among secondary school teachers as a whole. Elementary schools whose primary computer-using teacher was a woman used their computer more for programming instruction and less as a drill-and-practice tool than where a man was the PCUT. Microcomputers were used for more hours of the day and with more positive consequences at elementary schools whose PCUT was a woman. In contrast, at the secondary level, schools with men PCUTs had more extensive programs of microcomputer use in nearly every aspect measured.     

Body Image of Non-Clinical and Clinical Populations of Men

ABSTRACT

Body image is a complex, multidimensional construct incorporating neurophysiological and psychocultural components. This paper presents a review of the literature on the body image of clinical and non-clinical populations of men. The typical man with no measurable psychological or physical disability does not show body image disturbances. Although limited, there is some evidence that men with diagnoses frequently treated in occupational therapy do show body image disturbances. From a theoretical perspective body image is related psychologically and physically to the movements of body parts necessary for occupational performance. There is need for more empirical research establishing this relationship, particularly for men.     

Sexual Peak: Socially Shared Cognitions About Desire,Frequency, and Satisfaction in Men and Women

Is a man’s sexual peak earlier than a woman’s? Three studies were conducted to examine (a) whether the perception that men achieve their sexual peak at a younger age than do women is shared across individuals of different ages and sexes, (b) whether sexual peak is defined differently for men and women, and (c) whether differences between definitions contribute to differences in the age at which men and women are perceived to reach sexual peak. Study 1 suggested that participants believed that females reach their sexual peak at an older age than do males. Study 2 indicated that the defining feature of sexual peak for males was sexual desire and for females was sexual satisfaction. Study 3 suggested that predictions of male sexual peak coincided with participants’ predictions of male age of highest desire and frequency, but not satisfaction, and that female sexual peak coincided with participants' predictions of female age of highest satisfaction but not frequency or desire. Discussion focuses on potential reasons for differences between the perception of male and female sexuality, as well as the social and evolutionary importance of each of the dimensions of sexuality for both males and females.     

BLAMING THE PERPETRATOR Language that Distorts Reality in Newspaper Articles on Men Battering Women

In an earlier article, Lamb (1991) showed that journal authors, when writing about men battering women, wrote in a way that avoided assigning responsibility to men as perpetrators, and that this kind of writing was more common among male authors as well as female authors who wrote with men. This study examines first whether this kind of writing occurs in newspaper articles on men battering women, and whether two problematic styles of writing have an effect on the reader. Three versions of a newspaper article were developed to differentiate active voice, passive voice, and writing that implies shared responsibility for a man's violence. One hundred and eighty subjects read one of the three versions and endorsed one of five possible punishments for the man in the story who had been violent. Results showed that subjects did not differ in their selection of punishments for the active voice versus the passive voice version, but were much more lenient towards the man after reading the shared responsibility version.     

More than Men: Latino Feminist Masculinities and Intersectionality

This qualitative study analyzes the definitions of manhood provided by a US sample of 36 adult, working class Latinos who identify as feminist, and have attended institutions of higher education. Using an intersectional framework, we analyze in-depth interviews and address the research questions “To what extent did participants identify with their gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, and class background? How did participants subjectively define what it means to be a man?”. Results indicate that participants identified with their significant social groups to varying degrees. Manhood was defined in relational, ethical, and counter-hegemonic ways. Our discussion examines the way participants wove in and out of discourses related to hegemonic notions of manhood deemed as positive, while simultaneously rejecting aspects of hegemonic masculinity.     

Increasing Initial Leadership Effectiveness: Assisting Both Women and Men

In this experiment, we manipulated leadership appointment in 3 ways for both a woman and a man. In accord with status characteristics theory, we found that interventions designed to increase the status of the appointee allow the new leader to be more influential and thus more effective. In addition, we found that when a woman is appointed leader with no reason offered for her appointment, followers are willing to be led by her, but, following the theory of motivated reasoning, they will search the context for a plausible reason for their decisions. Suggestions are offered for organizations that want to facilitate the effectiveness of new women leaders; additional recommendations are made for assisting new women leaders.     

Mags and Abs: Media Consumption and Bodily Concerns in Men

Media messages directed toward men increasingly promote the hypermuscular male body, an ideal impossible for most men to achieve. In this study we investigated the association between media consumption and bodily concerns in a sample of 89 college men. Reading male-directed magazines was associated with concerns about muscularity and general fitness, beauty product use, and dietary supplement use to build muscle. Low self-esteem was linked to weight concerns. Men's media exposure was also associated with their standards for women's bodies: the more male-directed magazines a man read and the more movies he saw, the more he valued thinness in women.     

An apology for the “New Atheism”

In recent years, a series of bestselling atheist manifestos by Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, and Christopher Hitchens has thrust the topic of the rationality of religion into the public discourse. Christian moderates of an intellectual bent and even some agnostics and atheists have taken umbrage and lashed back. In this paper I defend the New Atheists against three common charges: that their critiques of religion commit basic logical fallacies (such as straw man, false dichotomy, or hasty generalization), that their own atheism is just as “faith-based” as the religious beliefs they criticize, and that their expressed disrespect for religious belief is immoral.