Re:Geniuses of the past were aristocratically tutored
by mardifoufs on Wednesday March 16, 2022 @04:37PM
(#30703747)
It's useful to be skeptical of Great Men
Theory narratives but I think that you are
taking it too far. Yes, we absolutely should
avoid overstating the impact of "great
men". It usually leads to wrong conclusions
& a hyperfocus on the role of individuals as
of they were independent of the society
around them.
Yet, completely dismissing the possibility
of remarkable individuals having very
oversized impacts on humanity and history
is also extremely diminutive. Yes, they were
usually also lucky to be at the right place,
at the right time and being surrounded by the right people. But their individual actions/efforts were still crucial catalysts to actually put all of those things together. It would be just as weird to dismiss the impact of individuals in history or science as it is to focus too much on them
Yet, completely dismissing the possibility of remarkable individuals having very oversized impacts on humanity and history is also extremely diminutive. Yes, they were usually also lucky to be at the right place, at the right time and being surrounded by the right people. But their individual actions/efforts were still crucial catalysts to actually put all of those things together. It would be just as weird to dismiss the impact of individuals in history or science as it is to focus too much on them