World Socionics

  Thomas Carlyle (Often referred to as the Sage of Chelsea) was a Scottish historian and philosopher often credited as the creator of the Great Man Theory of history. Having emerged as the top expert on German Idealism, he would become highly critical of the more empirical approach to history often represented by Leopold Von Ranke (LSE) , and embody an alternative and much less  approach to history.      The first thing that stands out when reading any of Carlyle’s works is his fixation on the transcendent. On Heroes, Hero-Worship, & the Heroic in History is the work often cited as the creation of the great man school of history. The book (originally a series of lectures) waxes lyrically (and often unintelligibly) about the impact of great men. The following quote from that book’s first paragraph should make it clear what the appeal of great men was to Carlyle:      “For, as I take it, Universal History, the history of what man has accomplis...

     Leopold Von Ranke was a nineteenth century historian whose focus on primary sources and historiographical views were highly informative in the emergence of history as both a profession and a distinct discipline. His historical seminar classes became a standard part of college level history education. His intensely non-ideological approach built around the use of primary sources became the foundation of modern historical methodology. This focus on primary sources is often viewed as the origins of empirical history, and is even considered “scientific” by some.      Von Ranke’s approach to history was entirely built around the attempt to recreate the past without any involvement from modern ideologies and viewpoints, even famously claiming “Every generation is equidistant from God.” His approach instead emphasized the importance of going into archives and digging up as many sources as possible. This approach emphasizes the need for more and more informati...

  Stephen John Ditko was a comic book artist and key figure in the early years of Marvel, being a co-creator along side Stan Lee (ESE) of both Spider-Man and Dr. Strange. However in 1966, he would completely leave Marvel for Charleston comics where he created the Question as a backup to the Blue Beetle stories he was doing art for. Charleston’s IPs would later be acquired by DC hence why both these characters are now under the DC umbrella. However during his time at Marvel, Ditko would become increasingly enamored with the work of Ayn Rand (LIE) , becoming a self-described objectivist. The Question would be created to explore Ditko’s idea of what an objectivist superhero would be. This archetype would be further refined into Mr. A, an independently published character through which Ditko could more fully explore his ideas. Despite runs at DC and even a return to marvel during the Eighties, none of Ditko’s later work would acquire anywhere near the level of fame of his work with St...