Issue 48:
"The study of history places too much emphasis on individuals. The most significant events and trends in history were made possible not by the famous few, but by groups of people whose identities have long been forgotten."
I agree with the speaker that historians always pay to much attention on individuals, as the speaker maintains. However, it’s hard for me to accept the statement that the most significant events and trends in history were made by solely groups pf people, because from my point of view, not only the famous few but also groups of people create the most significant events and trends in history. The study of history should emphasize equally on both of them.
It’s true that the famous few play a key role in creating the most significant events and trends in history. Benefiting from their wisdom, leadership, intelligence, braveness or other excellent qualities that makes them manage to remain in the limelight consistently, the memories of few individuals are immortalized in history. Consider the speech “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat” given by Churchill for example. This famous speech was a great inspiration to the embattled British and help Britain defend itself in the war. The effort of Churchill can never be undermined, and people will doubtless remember the name of Churchill in the history text book. Consequently, famous few play a important role in most significant events and trends and deserves a huge share of limelight in history because of their characteristic qualities.
However, some of the most significant events in the history were made by groups of people. Hence it is unfair to give all credit to the famous few. The efforts of one man are not sufficient to cause a paradigm shift in the well-being of humanity. For instance, when we talks about Biology, one may mention Charles Robert Darwin who wrote the famous book “On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection”. But very few people would mention professors such as Baruj Benacerraf, George D. Snell and Jean Dausset who discovered the immune system's distinction between self and non-self after organ planting. Without them, there will be no successful organ planting today. Or consider the celebrated event Renaissance in during the medieval period. Several renaissance painters like Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Rafael, Donatello and Da Vinci depict the hardship of common people through their paintings and complete the great Renaissance. Yet, as of today, only Da Vinci and Michelangelo are world renowned. Thus, some of the most famous events and trends in history are possible because of group effort.
Accordingly, when study the history, what we should do is to stress on both famous individuals and groups of people that pour their effort to precipitate the crucial events and trends in history. Only by doing this can we recognize the characteristic of that period of time comprehend more deeply.
To sum up, it is both the famous individuals and groups of people that make significant events and trends. None of them can be underestimated. Moreover, peoples and historians should treat equally on them.
I agree with the speaker that historians always pay too much attention on individuals, as the speaker maintains. However, it’s hard for me to accept the statement that the most significant events and trends in history were made by solely groups of people, because from my point of view, not only the famous few but also groups of people create the most significant events and trends in history. The study of history should emphasize equally on both of them.
It’s true that the famous few play a key role in creating the most significant events and trends in history. Benefiting from their wisdom, leadership, intelligence, braveness or other excellent qualities that makes them manage to remain in the limelight consistently, the memories of few individuals are immortalized in history. Consider the speech “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat” given by Churchill for example. This famous speech was a great inspiration to the embattled British and help Britain defend itself in the war. The effort of Churchill can never be undermined, and people will doubtless remember the name of Churchill in the history text book. Consequently, famous few play a important role in most significant events and trends and deserves a huge share of limelight in history because of their characteristic qualities.
However, some of the most significant events in the history were made by groups of people. Hence it is unfair to give all credit to the famous few. The efforts of one man are not sufficient to cause a paradigm shift in the well-being of humanity. For instance, when we talks about Biology, one may mention Charles Robert Darwin who wrote the famous book “On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection”. But very few people would mention professors such as Baruj Benacerraf, George D. Snell and Jean Dausset who discovered the immune system's distinction between self and non-self after organ planting. Without them, there will be no successful organ planting today. Or consider the celebrated event Renaissance in during the medieval period. Several renaissance painters like Michelangelo, Rembrandt, Rafael, Donatello and Da Vinci depict the hardship of common people through their paintings and complete the great Renaissance. Yet, as of today, only Da Vinci and Michelangelo are world renowned. Thus, some of the most famous events and trends in history are possible because of group effort.
Accordingly, when study the history, what we should do is to stress on both famous individuals and groups of people that pour their effort to precipitate the crucial events and trends in history. Only by doing this can we recognize the characteristic of that period of time comprehend more deeply.
To sum up, it is both the famous individuals and groups of people that make significant events and trends. None of them can be underestimated. Moreover, peoples and historians should treat equally on them.
语言流畅 行文也很好 只是觉得有些例子可以更尖锐 突出些作者: joycening 时间: 2007-7-25 22:55:17