Do Not Follow Suit Analysis

Do Not Follow Suit
What do we need for life? It is one of the questions that poets and philosophers frequently ask about. Some people need money; some need fame；some need beauties. The answers to this question abound and there is no universally right one. American historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr. gives an answer, he says that “If we are to survive, we are to have ideas, vision, and courage. These things are rarely produced by communities. Everything that matters in our intellectual and moral life begins with an individual confronting his own mind and conscience in a room by himself.” We need to maintain our own values and ways of seeing the world and dare to utter them out. But yet as people living in the modern world, living in certain social
Opponents may say that accepting the agreed-on conceptions allows us to fit into the community better. When several people gather together and participate in certain activity, some sorts of commonly received knowledge should be required to start the activity. Without the foundation of mutual agreement, confrontations may occur from time to time due to internal distinction of ideas, which will eventually result in people’s inability to adapt into the community. For example, if someone wants to join a local poker-game club, he would have to adjust himself to local rules and regulations, or otherwise he may not be welcomed and probably conflicts will take place. Agreeing and receiving public ideas is one easy and indispensable way people engage in social life because we are more likely to adapt into social groups in which we have mutual understandings. However, there is a flaw in the statement. From an evolutionary perspective, It might be beneficial to follow the commonly accepted values and thoughts because
If individuals are satisfied with existing theories and receive them as common sense, things which seem right and which can sometimes be mistaken will never be corrected and revised. Only when people don’t reconcile with currently accepted knowledge and maintain their own understandings can further improvements be possibly made. For example, in the 16th century, led by the ideas of the church, it was widely accepted that the earth is located in the center of the universe. But astronomer Copernicus did not compromise with the theory commonly accepted and had his own understanding of the structure of the universe: he believed that the sun, instead of the earth, is in the center of the universe which actually involved more general truth about the universe. Confronted with everyone else’s common sense, he made his assertion about the structure of the universe and eventually significantly developed the whole field of astronomy. Had Copernicus drifted along and received the geocentric model as universal truth, he would not have contributed so much to astronomy. Moreover, if Einstein had no doubt toward Newton’s system of physics which was popular at his time, he wouldn’t have come up with the brilliant theory of relativity. It is because of not following suit that numerous breakthroughs are made and a better world is constructed, therefore we should all have our own