Issue244【0906G 文以载道三月四月作文小组】第1周第2作业 by timon_hacuna

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Issue244
"Most societies do not take their greatest thinkers seriously, even when they claim to admire them."
很多社会并不重视思想家，即使社会宣称很景仰这些思想家。

【ISSUE参考提纲】
A. Confucius is regarded as a great thinker in China, but today few people including scholars pay much attention to what he actually said.
B. John Dewey was one of the greatest thinkers in American history, but few Americans including scholars know much about him.
C. In ancient Greece, the great thinker Socrates was sentenced to death.


The author contends that most societies do not take their greatest thinkers seriously, even when they claim to admire them. Just as in ancient Greece, the great thinker Socrates was sentenced to death. However, he over simplies the issue. The final judgement, in my opinion, should depend on a case-by-case analysis.

First and foremost, what a society did to a great man when he was alive cannot present the wholly attitude towards him. Great thinkers are great just because of their difference. So when they show the world their thoughts, people are not smart enough to accept them. Thus they were treated seriously. For illustration, In the old days in China, A minister called Shangyang got the emperor's permission to practise the new law, which harmed the rights of the aristocarts. When the emperor died, Shangyang was killed in a brutal way. But several decades later his law was practised again. And he is famous in the history. Socrates was sentenced to death, but the wholly Greece remember him since then.

From personal perspective, at the risk of sounding too simplisitic, I insist that great thinkers are recognised in the modern society, at least in China. The opening ceremony of Beijing Olympic Games demonstrate that we chinese are pround of our old culture. We'd like the old civilizations to be admitted on a higher level, which means the whole world. Confucius' wolds were recited by all the actors, that proved our admiration towards him, our greatest thinker.

However, we should concede that despite the merits of the great thinkers. Overextended adoration is not proper. Aristotle once said that Plato was dear to him, but dearer still was truth. Great thinkers are teachers to a nation or even all human beings, but what they hold is not all truth. So take them seriously does not mean they cannot be questioned.

To sum up, in my eyes the societies treasures their great thinkers. And if their fruits are used in a wider and proper way, it would be better.




[ 本帖最后由 timon_hacuna 于 2009-1-15 23:00 编辑 ]