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

The statement above takes an extreme position by claiming that only it is by people who live after the great individuals that greatness of them can be decided. In essence, the high position of individuals does not necessarily requires the recognition of others, and individuals can be decidedly great despite being totally unknown from the others. But, when it comes to recognition of the others, those who live after the individuals can better validate the glory of them.

To begin with, greatness of individuals is not something that necessarily needs others to become decided, unquestionable or definite. Neither contemporaries, nor the people of the future, glory of individuals can be decided by individuals themselves by knowing that they had done something great for the humanity. For example, many are those of great people who were considered as heretics and beheaded while they were enlightening the benighted people of their time. In the future there is no name or there is no significant trace of them as they were burnt and became ashes. While it is clear that unknown high valued individuals lived and died anonymously, we cannot exclude them from having decided greatness merely because people who live after them do not recognize the individuals.

But, when we tie the greatness of individuals to the recognition of others, as the greatness and fame should came through the crucible of time, those who live after individuals can better attribute honor to individuals. Mainly because of two reasons, contemporaries cannot attribute deserved value to individuals. First, wider information is provided when the time goes by. For example, a founder who has provided jobs for local citizens of a city might be regarded as a great man. When the time goes by, with the pollution and the diseases the industry brings on the local citizens they no more recognize that person as a great individual because of the disadvantages overshadowing the benefits of his act. Hence, time gives people better resolution to determine the value of individuals.

Secondly, the person might be so ahead of his/her time that contemporaries cannot perceive his/her magnitude. In this case the individuals even become the victims of their time. For instance, think about Van Gogh. His paintings are traded with millions of dollars nowadays, but during his life, he had become so desperate that cut off his ear to draw the attention of society toward his art. Hence we see that ones who are much ahead of their time cannot be regarded deservedly and there are future people to aver individuals’ greatness.

In short, greatness and fame are not necessarily in a firm correlation, as the statement claims so; people can achieve greatness without being known by anyone. However, when the magnitude of individuals are considered through the recognition of others, people who live in the future can better determine the greatness of individuals decidedly because with the passage of time, better resolution can be achieved.