Issue48

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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."

历史研究过于关注个人。 历史上最有意义的事情和潮流能够成为可能不是因为几个少数的名人而是一些身份早就被淡忘的人。



The speaker claims that the study of history emphasis too much on individuals and it is the groups of people who have long been forgotten rather than the few famous individuals who made the most significant events and the trends in history possible. I disagree with the speaker on both aspects. First, the history study does not only focus on the individual events, but also inspire us by teaching lessons and providing experience and so forth. Furthermore, we should admit it is often an individual who leads the trend and theprocessing of the historical events, thus groups of people can get together to make things done as discussed below.



To look on the surface, the study of history does place much energy on the individuals. Take Martin Louther King as an example. Being a leader of the black, Martin Louther King made the significant contribution to the liberation of the black. We now honor his devotion and dedication for nonviolent leadership in the battle against the racial discrimination and segregation. But close scrutiny reveals that we actually attach more importance on the history itself rather than certain individuals. Depending on detailed inspection of background in that era and the statistics from other fields, historians value the liberation movement as a great turn in the American history, which ended the division situation and opened the door to cooperation.When to value the essence of it, we no more emphasize Martin Louther King's personal experience, but analyse the influence of the historical events.



Admittedly, when studying on the history, the "famous few" are often regarded as the clue to build the frame of studing system. These individuals are remembered and frequently mentioned because they had played the leading role in the history events and became the representatives of that event. For example, during the period of industry revolution, a lot of great inventors are now praised. Admittedly, without the hard work of those workers, the inventions cannot turn into products, not to mention the success of the industry revolution. It is a perfect combination of wisdom and labour that lead the revolution to success. Without any of them, the result can be different. All in all, we cannot ignore those groups of people who had devoted themselves to facilitate the event, nor can we forget the leaders who leaded the trend of the history.



In addition, the purpose of studying on history is not only to memorize the contributions our predecessors had made, but inspiring ourselves. Through the process studying thehistory events, we can better draw lessons and experiences which do have benefits for our future life. There is no need to argue whether the individuals or the groups of people make the significant events and trend possible.