Should we discard achievements made by unlikable people?

[Pat Mustard]

We've had this discussion with regard to civil war greats like General Lee, and now with cinematic greats like Harvey Weinstein.  I'm pretty sure if we knew more about Socrates or Sam Harris, about Ghandi or about Joe Rogan, we'd find quite the horror.

I've looked in my mirror more, and I have to say that I've seen the entire gamut of horrors and greatness in myself-- deep, deep depravity, inexplicable generosity, complete selfishness, and life-risking altruism.

Is it possible that Cosby, when he's in the public, actually IS a great guy?  Or is it that he is always, 24/7, a monster, and he's hiding the truth?  Am I a 24/7 monster too, someone who has imagined rape, murder, theft or violence in the past, but have had either the discipline (or the simple lack of opportunity) to keep my actions under control?

It depends mostly on the level of achievement, the number of achievements made by that person and whether he made them through talent or luck.

For example I respect and honour Newton's achievements because despite being an absolute shit of a man he more than passes the bar on all three of my criteria.

On the other hand I look at Julian Assange and I discount his achievement with wikileaks because in addition to being an absolute shit of a man what he did before and since makes it obvious that he absolutely fluked into wikileaks in the first place.