issue48 [0710G 戴三个表冲刺小组] 第11次作业

nifeiUID: 2340954

ISSUE48 - "The study of history placestoo much emphasis on individuals. The most significant events and trends inhistory were made possible not by the famous few, but by groups of people whoseidentities have long been forgotten."
WORDS: 481          TIME: 00:41:13          DATE: 2007-8-6 17:53:35

Consider both the cases supporting thespeaker's view and the ones opposing it in the scientific, artistic andsociopolitical fields, on balance, I hold the view that we should pay attentionto the influence of both individuals and groups of people which I will reasonby exemplifying.
Admittedly, the famous few, who made greatcontributions to science and technology, obtained noticeable achievements inart and sparkled social changes and political transforms; do play importantroles in the process of history.  In thescientific field, mere mention of the names of Newton, Einstein and Edisonwould strongly prove this view, not mention the law of universal gravitationand Theory of Relativity, discovered by Newton and Einstein respectively, andthe more than 3000 inventions of Edison. The same cases occur in the artisticfield. Paul Cezanne and Van Gogh, who initialize impressionism and who pull itto an acme, are good examples. When it comes to the sociopolitical events,President Lincoln, who initiated the Civil War and lead the people to overturnslavery, which had been out of time at that moment, exemplifies the view thatindividuals play important roles in history.
However, undue emphasizing the influence ofthe well-known persons and overlooking that of the groups of people, withoutwhom the steps of history would also cease, would result in a narrowed visionof the history. In fact, this partial point neglects the cause-and-effectrelationship in the historical study. In all the areas mentioned above areinstances. It is true that the scientists that made great discoveries should bememorized in history, however, we should also notice the facts that the Pi hadbeen computed by many mathematician including a Chinese named Zu Chongzhi and aGermany named Otto, both of whom had got the similar accuracies time, and that Pythagorastheorem was recorded in both ancient Chinese mathematical books and Westernones. That is to say, the development of science and technology would not beblocked by the lack of several individual scientists, since the discoverieswould eventually be made by human being some day. In the area of art, theopponent of this point may assert that we might not see the works ofimpressionism without Paul Cezanne and Van Gogh, but everyone who has studiesthe background at that time would agree that the cultural salon which providedthe painters opportunities to  commutewith each other and made an impressionism atmosphere. When it comes to thesociopolitical events, the a-hundred-day transform in the 1890s in China comesinto mind immediately. This movement was held regardless of the power of thepeople and proved that social transformation by a few persons is impossible.
In sum, there are both positive andnegative examples concerning the problem of whether the trends of history were made by famous few or by groups ofpeople and I hold the opinion that we should not overlook the significance ofeither.