The speaker asserts that whether the individuals are great, only can be decided by people living after them instead of their contemporaries. Decisions of individuals’ greatness are measured by the critics of people. Such certain points below support this assertion, which is obvious in our daily life.
I turn first to my chief point of agreement to the statement. The author concedes this statement because that the contemporaries may be restricted by the level of thought common accepted in that period, and the influence brought by the individual whose greatness they decided. So the contemporaries cannot make the decision whether someone or something is great or not equally. Take the Hitler as an obvious instance. Adolph Hitler, a crimer we consider as, nazified Germany in the 1930's. Before the World War II, he took extreme policies to assist economic recovery from the Big Depression. Such extreme policies as expansionist policies did works in that days to recover the Germany industry and agriculture. All German was cheated by Hitler and even considered him as the greatest leader of their country. But, Hitler brought about the World War II, the great disaster in human history. Nearly all the contemporaries of Hitler in German chanted his deeds, because they were totally cheated by the crimer. Why did they make such a mistake? Because the common thought was against to truth, and made them blind in the way to make right decision. Thus, the speaker hold such a statement.
I agree with the statement also in that the greatness of individuals can be proved after a long time. So people after them may make an accurate decision. Copernicus, the polish astronomer, who advanced the theory that the earth and other planets revolve around the sun, disrupted the Ptolemaic system of astronomy. But his theory was not accepted in his days. But, it is all known that, the theory of Copernicus is one of the greatest ones which break the religions’ dominant to natural science. The study of astronomers had proved the error of the Ptolemaic system after he was dead. By the evidences we got by modern technique, the greatness of Copernicus is accepted by the people after him. Now, we all consider he is a great astronomer although he came down in the world in the dark period. Another obvious example is Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis. His psychoanalytic theories, which initially met with hostility, profoundly influenced 20th-century thought.
Moreover, an important view of point I have is a little distinct to the speaker’s assertion. The greatness is a truth. No matter the decider are contemporaries or the after ones, the truth never changes. Only the decider respects the truth, the decision of greatness of individuals would never be mistaken. Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, has been considered as a saint in our mind from his period. In his days, he was elected as the tutor of Alexander, the biggest honor of a philosopher. In the after days, his works on logic, metaphysics, ethics, natural science, politics and poetics profoundly influenced Western thought. It is to say, his greatness is proved by the truth. His contemporaries made the same decision as we do, Aristotle is a great man. The reason of the similar consideration is that we both respect the truth.
In sum, the speaker’s the assertion shows us a right way to decide whether someone or something is great or not. The greatness of individuals can be decided more exactly and accurately, if we break the restrain of contemporary thought, and respect to the truth.