4 ms·

They will care. His contributions will still be remembered, but history doesn’t forget transgressions. Nor should it.

coldtea 7y ago
>His contributions will still be remembered, but history doesn’t forget transgressions We don't care for the transgressions (including much more serious, down to murder, slave ownership, and other things) for 99% of historical figures...
- mercurysmessage 7y ago
  Some of us actually do care, and we should actually care about this. Don't put people up on pedestals that don't deserve it.
  - zentiggr 7y ago
    Then there will be very very few pedestals, and small ones when there are at all. I have no trouble believing that everyone has done or said or caused something that could be called out. I am not making excuses or forgiving anyone. I'm just trying to point out that using today's "acceptable" to judge the past will devalue everything that's ever been accomplished. E.g., no doubt Salk had ideas about male/female roles in society that would be considered poorly today. That should be acknowledged as part of his time. Does that affect the success of the polio vaccine?
    - mercurysmessage 7y ago
      "Then there will be very very few pedestals" And? Why does that matter to you? "I'm just trying to point out that using today's "acceptable" to judge the past will devalue everything that's ever been accomplished" I disagree, even in the time of the Founding Fathers it was common knowledge that slavery was bad, they just didn't care. Is that not wrong? And in this case, clearly Asimov knew that what he was doing was wrong. We can call out what these figures did as being wrong, while also acknowledging the work that they have done.
- jhbadger 7y ago
  While I personally believe that you have to understand historical figures in the context of the time and society they lived in and not judge them by modern societal rules (even if these are improvements), I think we are seeing an increase in judging historical figures. For example, in terms of American Founding Fathers, John Adams is rising in estimation and Thomas Jefferson is falling. Obviously a large part in this is that Adams didn't own slaves.
  - mercurysmessage 7y ago
    Historical works to a point. There were people who obviously knew that slavery was bad back then. It's more controversial to think that everyone thought it was OK.

>His contributions will still be remembered, but history doesn’t forget transgressions We don't care for the transgressions (including much more serious, down to murder, slave ownership, and other things) for 99% of historical figures...

mercurysmessage 7y ago
Some of us actually do care, and we should actually care about this. Don't put people up on pedestals that don't deserve it.
- zentiggr 7y ago
  Then there will be very very few pedestals, and small ones when there are at all. I have no trouble believing that everyone has done or said or caused something that could be called out. I am not making excuses or forgiving anyone. I'm just trying to point out that using today's "acceptable" to judge the past will devalue everything that's ever been accomplished. E.g., no doubt Salk had ideas about male/female roles in society that would be considered poorly today. That should be acknowledged as part of his time. Does that affect the success of the polio vaccine?
  - mercurysmessage 7y ago
    "Then there will be very very few pedestals" And? Why does that matter to you? "I'm just trying to point out that using today's "acceptable" to judge the past will devalue everything that's ever been accomplished" I disagree, even in the time of the Founding Fathers it was common knowledge that slavery was bad, they just didn't care. Is that not wrong? And in this case, clearly Asimov knew that what he was doing was wrong. We can call out what these figures did as being wrong, while also acknowledging the work that they have done.
jhbadger 7y ago
While I personally believe that you have to understand historical figures in the context of the time and society they lived in and not judge them by modern societal rules (even if these are improvements), I think we are seeing an increase in judging historical figures. For example, in terms of American Founding Fathers, John Adams is rising in estimation and Thomas Jefferson is falling. Obviously a large part in this is that Adams didn't own slaves.
- mercurysmessage 7y ago
  Historical works to a point. There were people who obviously knew that slavery was bad back then. It's more controversial to think that everyone thought it was OK.