Issue48 "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."
对历史的研究把太多的重点放在对某些个人上。而历史上一些重大的事件和发展趋势不是由个别名人决定的,而是由那些已经被人们淡忘的社会群体所创造的。
In this statement, the speaker claims that the study of history places too much emphasis on individuals. Because 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 have to say that I cannot agree with the speaker. I will provide evident to support my standpoint.
It is no deny that groups of people play an important part in history. Without the power of them, history could not develop. It is impossible to happen the social change without the enroll of groups of people. Without groups of people, there are no famous leader. Because leaders could do nothing themselves. They entroll and create the history but they cannot start a most significant events and trends which could influence the develop of the sociey. Groups of people donnot maintain particularity, in my view, the emphasis of study is to study perticulaeity. And it is also difficult to study groups of people, because there is few record about groups of people. So study the famous few should be the emphaes of the study of history.
On the one hand, the famous few lead the most significant events in history. They decide the War and the fate of most people. They hold the power to influence, call and lead people. Like Lincoln, lead the civil war in order to liberate the black slaves. And Martin Luther King, another famous leader of civil rights for black in America. Perhaps that the black slaves in the south of America may still not liberate. So, many vital history events were leaded by the famous few, and these people play a vital role in the development of the history.
On the other hand, we can learn many from the famous few. Because the famous few often hold some especial character and experience, sometimes, they are representative of their era. Like Beethoven, began to lose his hearing in 1801 and was deaf by 1819. But he still insisted on working after he was deaf, and wrote many great composition. From this great composer, we can learn what is insisit and what is diligence. And his music fromed a transition fron classical to ramantic composition. Also like Leonardo da Vinci, the representative of Renaissance. We can learn Renaissance from research Vinci. Therefore, we can learn the character of a era from study its famous few.
To sum up, we donnot deny the function of groups of people, wo also admit that it is groups of people who decide the develpoment of the history. But for study of history, we should place much emphasis on individuals. They have especial character that valuable to learn, and we also learn their age’s character from them.