The greatness of individuals can be decided only by those who live after them, not by their contemporaries.Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you t

t is debatable whether the greateness of individuals can only be determined by their descendents rather than by people lived in the same period. I disagree with the statement since one's accomplishments can be recognized by their contemporaries.

To begin with, contrary to what the given statement is arguing, the greatness of people is in fact evaluated by their contemporaries rather than people who live after them. This is especially true in this day and age with the radical development of technology. These days, it became so much easier for one to promote oneself through social media. Take Michelle Phan, a successful CEO of a cosmetics company, Youtuber, and a beauty blogger as an example. She started her career as a blogger and Youtuber via promoting herself on the internet through her personal channels and websites. She instantly drew tens of thousands of people, which later enabled her to grow big enough to launch her own brand. All these was possible because a myriad of people saw her value and excellence.

Furthermore, it is entirely possible that the value of individuals can be marked during their life time. Throughout history, people were always given feedbacks in every aspects of their lives. Except for some rare cases, feats and accomplishments of an individual is most actively assessed during their life time rather than after their death. From those negative and positive feedbacks, some people modify their defects and accentuate their strengths and grow to become great, which is also observed by their contemporaries. Keith Widaman, a reknowned Psychologist, for example, was recognized after years and years of studying and career in his field. His research in Psychometrics and Quatitative Psychology is valued as great among many of his peers. This is possible since his papers and research is always reviewed by his peers and fellow researchers. Thus, the statement that one's greatness can only be decided after his or her death is not substantiated.

Admittedly, there are some instances where one's greatness is recognized only by those who lived after them. This happens more frequently is arts field. Picasso, El Greco, and many famous artists' pieces are highly valued after their death. However, these are rare cases that cannot be genaralized. There are those who are measured as excellent after their death, but a lot more people's greatness is evaluated during their life time.

All in all, because of aforementioned reasons, the excellence of individuals are acknowledged many times by their contemporaries; therefore, the given statement that one's greatness is only decided after they decease is a false generalization.