Issue 41 示范

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issue 41 greatness of individuals decided by contemporaries or people after them

The greatness of individuals can be decided only by those who live after them, not by their contemporaries.

Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should consider ways in which the statement might or might not hold true and explain how these considerations shape your position.


In human history great figures have been celebrated for their extraordinary achievements in various fields such as politics, sports, science and literature. Some people argue that it is difficult to assess the greatness of contemporary individuals due to the bias and near-sightedness that often cloud our judgment. In other words, greatness can only be determined from a historical perspective. I agree with this position as far as political leaders and writers are concerned. Nevertheless, in the fields of science and sports, greatness of scientists and athletes can be clearly recognised by their contemporaries.  

In the field of politics, it is often difficult to assess the greatness of a leader until the individual has passed away for at least 50 years. For one thing, people who are contemporaries of the political leaders often make their judgment under the heavy influence of their own political positions.  Neither republicans or democrats, for example, could evaluate the accomplishments of a contemporary US president without their partisan bias.  In addition, we have to wait for a number of decades to see the long-term effects of some of the decisions or policies a political leader made and then assess his/her greatness accordingly.  Richard Nixon was often remembered for his watergate scandal and subsequent disgraceful resignation. Yet, with the benefits of hindsight, we may better understand the significance of his 1972 visit to the Communist China in maintaining world peace in late 20th century.  

In the field of literature, despite the annual selection of outstanding authors for Nobel prize award, the greatness of authors can only be properly understood by people living after them.  One reason is that modern literature is often closely related to politics in such a way that contemporary critics cannot often review literary works without any ideological bias.  The 2000 Nobel prize-winning author Gao Xingjian, for example, was criticised by Chinese government for writing politically offensive novels and plays.  Is Gao a truly great writer? To answer this question we may have to wait for 100 years and see if future generations still find his work interesting and relevant.  Indeed, the best way to tell whether a literary work is great or not is to see if it can survive the test of time.  Consequently, the greatness of authors has to be probed from a historical perspective.  

While great political leaders and authors may be difficult to be recognised by their contemporaries, scientists and athletes can accomplish something that is truly extraordinary.  Since scientific theories can often be applied to develop useful engineering solutions, its impact on contemporary human society can often be properly assessed.  For example, the theory of relativity developed by Albert Einstein has been used to harness nuclear energy which has become a crucial power source for many countries around the world.  The atomic bombs developed based on his theory have also been used to end the bloody World War II.  Meanwhile, the greatness of elite athletes is also indisputable.  Michael Phelps who won over 8 gold medals in Beijing Olympics is clearly a genius in swimming.  Even if his accomplishment may be surpassed by another genius athlete someday in future, no one can deny he is still one of the greatest athletes in human history.  

Overall speaking, whether this statement is true or not depends on which fields we are talking about.  In areas such as political leadership and literature, the test of time is probably the most accurate assessment for greatness of individuals.  In fields such as science and sports, accomplishments of great figures can be easily determined by their contemporaries.  


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