Dutiful leaders attach great importance to the wealth they leave behind, and they spend a long time pondering: what impression will they leave, what will they inherit, and what ideas will people remember? These questions are really puzzling, so it is the most attractive choice for others to sing praises behind them.
Today, three biographies written by great thinkers and practitioners in their later years have been published, providing valuable insights into choices and inheritance. First, let's look at the autobiography Brief Candle in the Dark by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins. Although Dawkins is famous for challenging authority, the impetus that prompted him to write this book came from his awe. At the age of 74, he is still at a loss when facing the uncanny work of nature, and he is keen on proving, which is very infectious. He said that the biggest mistake people may make is to stop studying when they get the ideal results. Although Dawkins is talking about science, in the era of analysis as king, this warning applies to everyone.
Tiny Candle in the Dark: My Scientific Life Richard Dawkins
Ecco Press, 2015
Dawkins was disgusted with deliberate dissent for the sake of argument. This surprised me. After all, he always likes to stir up trouble. He regards traditional debate (such as court debate) as an inefficient "tug of war", in which both sides argue crazily until one side wins. He would rather everyone sit down calmly and discuss the facts together. That was the case when Dawkins worked closely with his student at Oxford, Alan Griffin, and post doctoral researcher Jean Brockman. He described it as "a magical time, one of the most constructive times in my working life". (The three of them made an economic analysis of the behavior of digging wasps, and got the sunk cost of drones' pursuit of female bees: the harder the drones dig earth to build nests and store katydids as food, the harder they will pursue female bees, no matter whether it is worth doing so.) Dawkins was also filled with gratitude and admiration and recalled the process of meeting other talented people. They include science fiction writer Douglas Adam and "new atheists" Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris and Daniel Dennett.
Therefore, when Dawkins became an honorary professor emeritus, he put forward an "ungrateful request" to scholars fighting in the forefront of all disciplines: they must have curiosity, logic and cooperative attitude.
A Full Life is written by Jimmy Carter, the former President of the United States. He is very enthusiastic about preaching, but he is not irrational. Even Dawkins sincerely respects him. In his description of his childhood on the farm, his years of service on the naval submarine, his political career and his philanthropy, Carter expressed his sincere admiration for human achievements, even for being fastidious and thankless.
A Full Life: 90 Years Old Enlightenment Jimmy Carter
Simon&Schuster, 2015
People often admire Carter's leadership after leaving office more than when he was president of the White House. He admitted that during his political career, he "reduced his commitment to human rights... it was naive and fragile", and the failure to send helicopters to Iran to rescue hostages was even worse. However, he also listed his contributions realistically, such as successfully persuading the Saudi king to control Idi Amin; Compete with oil giants, win the support of senators, and protect Alaska's large-scale land from becoming an oil field; Dialogue with leaders of many countries was initiated, such as Deng Xiaoping of China, and talks with Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin at Camp David. In addition, it is worth mentioning that Carter was still committed to solving the issue of Iranian hostages when he was seeking re-election in the 1980s, and finally released the hostages a few minutes after his successor Ronald Reagan was elected.
In today's fragmented political environment, we can use more leaders like Carter who are more patient in negotiations and diplomacy. Although cancer cells spread to Carter's brain this summer, he continued to use his afterheat to participate in humanitarian work and support the United States in carrying forward its tradition of compassion. His wealth as the greatest public servant in the world is obvious.
Oliver Sykes, a neurologist and author of On the Move: A Life, also suffered from cancer. Several months after the book was published, Sikes died in August this year. Therefore, similar to Carter's self-examination, his memories are profound and significant.
On the Move: A Life Oliver Sykes
Knopf Press, 2015
Sykes has been devoted to the treatment and research of difficult and miscellaneous diseases for many years. His classic patients include "smart Tisi Ray" and "the man who mistook his wife for a hat". Sikes insisted on recording the patient's medical history. Although he was committed to clinical treatment, he was also very interested in theory. He often looks for the connection between practice and theory. At first, his colleagues did not care about his works, but thought they were just popular science articles (when Sikes was practicing medicine, there was almost no medical history record in modern neurology). By conducting a large number of interviews and listening to the patients themselves, Sykes has promoted his discipline and the public's understanding of the discipline to a new field. In this book, Sikes also tells his medical history, and his life is full of hardships and contradictions. As a shy and blind doctor, his daily job is to deal with people's synapses. When he was young, Sikes won the weight lifting competition of "Muscle Beach" in Los Angeles, and also had low-key love with men in the age of homosexual discrimination. "As a reckless drug addict in the 1960s", he had to give up amphetamine (a series of synthetic drug prototypes with significant excitatory effects on the central nervous system), and made progress in the twice weekly psychotherapy. Until his death, Sikes had been receiving psychotherapy twice a week.
By revealing his true feelings, Sikes makes us more aware of the philosophers and artists' thinking about "being human". No matter what means you make a living and whether there are problems of one kind or another, Sikes' autobiography can awaken you from the daily mundane affairs. This book can enlighten us in our decisions, behaviors, and relationships we establish or break.
The thinking contained in the above three memoirs goes beyond any period of life, which also shows that a period of life contains too many different dimensions. The authors did not preach any truth about the ultimate meaning of life. On the contrary, they were insightful and sympathetic. After all, it was their true feelings.