Is Williams a great man?

[Naïve Old Fart 6,637]

He certainly makes great music, but I think that I would rather remain ignorant of his achievements outside the realm of his work (and let's remember that what we slaver over, and debate until we are green in the face is, to J.W., literally a day at the office). I prefer to leave that to people who have a far more intimate knowlwdge of J.W. I've got no idea if he is agreat man, or not, but as one J.Christ, esq. once said: "Why do you call me good? Only God is good". If only God is good, how can any man be great? An interesting illustration of this whole thread could be the final scene of "Saving Private Ryan", where he asks his wife: "Am I a good man?", to which she replies: "Yes". Of course, she is bound to say that, but she has had no notion of what Ryan did before he met her, or what he did in W.W.II. Whether someone is good, great, bad, or indifferent, is a matter of personal opinion, and one that I chose not to apply to J.W. the man, only to his output. Of course, it could be argued that one's life is reflected in one's work, which would probably colour the issue somewhat, and, even then, how would someone who hates J.W.'s music evaluate him? No greatness for that non-fan! Yeah, he makes fantastic music, but that is one part of who J.W. is. I chose not to investigate the othe parts.

[Elmo Lewis 6]

Spiritual reverence for nature.

A choice for professional inspiration. Churchill had a spiritual reverence for booze -- is he not a great man?

Caring father.

As millions of others in the world who may or may not qualify for best man.

Higher goals than just commerce.

Would he maintain that attitude without those astronimical figures in his bank account?

Brings joy and inspiration to millions through his work.

So did Michael Jackson and he wasn't regarded as great in his final years.

Donates millions to the arts.

Again, the astronomical salary comes to factor.

I think he is a great man.

I don't care what kind of man he is.

[JoeinAR 1,759]

really who gives a flying fuck if he's given millions to the arts....

that doesn't make him a great man, that just means he's had a opportunity to take a very nice tax credit.

[MissPadmé 17]

Is John Williams a great man.... yes he is..

[Koray Savas 2,095]

That picture proves it?

[Ollie 859]

Might prove he's a lucky man....

Williams has worked with many world class musicians.

[MissPadmé 17]

That picture proves it?

let the picture speak for itself..........

[Koray Savas 2,095]

All it says to me is that JW allows himself to be photographed with other people.

[Hitch 55]

John Williams ate my hamster.

[Luke Skywalker 1,284]

Might prove he's a lucky man....

Williams has worked with many world class musicians.

is she the same japanese player from geisha?

I remember the funny pant crease williams had there.

There is some affair between the two...

[Ollie 859]

She did perform on Geisha.

[BLUMENKOHL 1,064]

No. He's not. Stepmom Shenanigans is all I can say.

[Ollie 859]

Well taking that into consideration, there are very few composers we can consider as great men.

[Hlao-roo 388]

A good diversity of replies in this thread, which I ultimately found worthwhile, even if many who responded apparently did not. To me, it was an interesting exercise in examining more closely a particular label that can be slapped on someone without careful consideration for what it means or suggests. I think labels matter because they provide a cognitive filter through which we (not always consciously) make judgments and assumptions.

In the end, it all comes down to what one believes determines a person's "greatness" (if one thinks it at all matters). Richard's response is notable because he makes explicit the moral dimensions of the word great. Great, of course, meaning an amplified good, which, as applied to a person, is perhaps the most fundamental judgment one can make about a person's character.

For some reason, I find that great seems to connote something above and beyond the level of the individual. Not simply personal beliefs and values, but the extent to which the actions they inform have meso or macro level repercussions we might consider beneficial. In the case of MLK, Jr., not only did he have a "dream," but, through the course of marches, sit-ins, and non-violent demonstrations, he compellingly shared his dream with millions of Americans, galvanizing grass-roots support for change in Washington.

I guess what I'm suggesting is that someone could be "great" without being incontrovertibly "good" -- particularly if we were to hold to the standard of "good" put forth by Jesus in the book of Mark, as noted by Richard.

In general, how much praise we have for someone depends on the relative value we attach to what he or she does. Using the vague framework I adopted above, if one places great relative value on the importance of the symphony orchestra in music; or if one places great relative value on film as a communicative medium and believes (John Williams's) music plays a significant role in that; or if one believes that great art (such as John Williams's) can be a very real and meaningful way of reckoning with the human condition -- then perhaps John Williams is not just a great composer but a great man.

But if one believes that a person's vocational accomplishments, particularly if it pertains to art, entertainment, athletics -- or anything else we cordon off as ancillary to "real life" -- are largely irrelevant to their stature as human beings, then John Williams's greatness certainly lies outside the realm of inquiry for most of us.

[Ollie 859]

I will say that it would be easy to call Williams a great man based off of his achievements and success. And yes he has used his finacial success to donate to various charities as well as lend his support to the political party he supports.

However as I've gotten older, I've witnessed many famous people I used to look up to, do quite a few questionable things with their lives, outside of the spectrum they famously known for.

So I came to the conclusion many years ago that it's best to not truly know what a person does away from the spotlight unless I plan on forming a relationship with them.