In this episode of Raising Men, host Shaun Dawson sits down with entrepreneur, father, and author Boad Swanson to explore what classical philosophy can teach us about raising resilient, honorable young men in an era of cultural confusion. Drawing from his book, Great Souled Men, Boad unpacks Aristotle’s twelve virtues—anchored by courage, magnanimity, and magnificence—and explains how fathers can apply the "golden mean" to everyday parenting.
00:00 - Introduction to the masculinity crisis and the modern opportunity
01:40 - Aristotle's twelve virtues and defining the magnanimous ma
04:18 - Understanding courage through Aristotle's golden mean
05:55 - Moral and physical courage in Desmond Doss and Dan Lanning
09:28 - Managing life tensions and parenting with a clear vision
15:35 - Fatherhood missteps and the power of delayed apologies
19:35 - What the game of golf reveals about emotional regulation
25:35 - The explosion of the youth travel sports industry
28:08 - Establishing family boundaries and the Sunday sports rule
34:00 - Releasing parental ego and confronting identity after athletics
38:00 - The collapse of male institutions and the value of Scouting
39:50 - Aristotle's magnificence and building a legacy that serves humanity
Books
Great Souled Men by Bode Swanson
Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle
Walden by Henry David Thoreau (quoted on wisdom and avoiding desperate things)
Links & Social Media
Website: https://greatsouledmen.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greatsouledmen
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greatsouledmen
Frameworks & Concepts
The Golden Mean: Aristotle's philosophical model proposing that every virtue sits in the balanced center between two extremes of vice—deficiency and excess.
Magnanimity ("The Great-Souled Men"): The crown of virtues characterized by warmth, strength, charisma, intelligence, and high moral character without toxic posturing.
Magnificence ("Generosity at Scale"): The practice of directing personal means, skills, or wealth toward building enduring civic, artistic, or social structures that outlive the builder and elevate mankind (illustrated by Antoni Gaudí’s La Sagrada Família).
Oblique Parenting: Mentoring sons indirectly by actively embodying virtue and living an inspiring life rather than lecturing them at the dinner table.
The Golf Swing Metaphor (Input vs. Outcome): Holding your posture after an errant shot to reflectively analyze what flaw in the swing caused the ball to slice, applied to parenting reactions and personal missteps.
00:00 - Introduction to the masculinity crisis and the modern opportunity
01:40 - Aristotle's twelve virtues and defining the magnanimous ma
04:18 - Understanding courage through Aristotle's golden mean
05:55 - Moral and physical courage in Desmond Doss and Dan Lanning
09:28 - Managing life tensions and parenting with a clear vision
15:35 - Fatherhood missteps and the power of delayed apologies
19:35 - What the game of golf reveals about emotional regulation
25:35 - The explosion of the youth travel sports industry
28:08 - Establishing family boundaries and the Sunday sports rule
34:00 - Releasing parental ego and confronting identity after athletics
38:00 - The collapse of male institutions and the value of Scouting
39:50 - Aristotle's magnificence and building a legacy that serves humanity
Books
Great Souled Men by Bode Swanson
Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle
Walden by Henry David Thoreau (quoted on wisdom and avoiding desperate things)
Links & Social Media
Website: https://greatsouledmen.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greatsouledmen
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greatsouledmen
Frameworks & Concepts
The Golden Mean: Aristotle's philosophical model proposing that every virtue sits in the balanced center between two extremes of vice—deficiency and excess.
Magnanimity ("The Great-Souled Men"): The crown of virtues characterized by warmth, strength, charisma, intelligence, and high moral character without toxic posturing.
Magnificence ("Generosity at Scale"): The practice of directing personal means, skills, or wealth toward building enduring civic, artistic, or social structures that outlive the builder and elevate mankind (illustrated by Antoni Gaudí’s La Sagrada Família).
Oblique Parenting: Mentoring sons indirectly by actively embodying virtue and living an inspiring life rather than lecturing them at the dinner table.
The Golf Swing Metaphor (Input vs. Outcome): Holding your posture after an errant shot to reflectively analyze what flaw in the swing caused the ball to slice, applied to parenting reactions and personal missteps.
