Dictionaries TOEIC TOEFL GMAT SAT GRE MCAT PCAT ASVAB Interviews

Tests Grammar Articles Stories Shop Services English for winners Speaking

Home Top 100 Start your FREE email English course now! Audio Lessons Jobs

Username
Password
Remember me?

Search FAQ Memberlist Profile Private messages Register Log in

'To depersonalize man is the dominant drift of our times.'

1772 English Language Exercises

Printable, photocopiable, clearly structured
Designed for teachers and individual learners
For use in a classroom, at home, on your PC

ESL Forums | English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms

Quotation: 'God has been replaced, as he has all over the West...' | Slang: smack-dab

Listening exercises

Message

Author

#1 (permalink) Fri Mar 02, 2007 13:42 pm 'To depersonalize man is the dominant drift of our times.'

Hi

Could you please explain the following to me? Does it mean that we now believe in humiliating people?

Quote:

To depersonalize man is the dominant drift of our times.

Tom

Tom
I'm a Communicator ;-)

Joined: 30 May 2006
Posts: 2061

#2 (permalink) Fri Mar 02, 2007 13:43 pm 'To depersonalize man is the dominant drift of our times.'

. Not humiliate us-- just cause us to lose our individuality. . _________________ Native English teacher at Mister Micawber's

Mister Micawber
Language Coach

Mr. Micawber

Joined: 17 Jul 2005
Posts: 7432
Location: Yokohama, Japan

English grammar exercises — improve your English knowledge and vocabulary skills

Read these English anecdotes and maybe smile today? Subscribe to free email English course

Are you a native speaker of English? Then you should read this!

Learn to use the present simple with the help of this short story

#3 (permalink) Sat Mar 03, 2007 10:49 am 'To depersonalize man is the dominant drift of our times.'

Tom wrote:

Could you please explain the following to me? Does it mean that we now believe in humiliating people?

Quote:

To depersonalize man is the dominant drift of our times.

No, I don't think it means to humiliate people or to lose their individuality. I think it's saying that the trend in our times is to strip away people's humanity and see them more for their utility. A writer who makes a statement of this sort would point to abortion, pornography and euthanasia as evidence of this trend. All of these treat humans as objects or livestock in some way. For example, it used to be unthinkable to euthanize an elderly person, and they were allowed to die a natural death. Now in some Western countries (but not my country) it's becoming more and more normal to kill them with an injection when they start to become too expensive or inconvenient.

Out of context, though, it's hard to know for sure what the author was saying.

Jamie (K)
I'm a Communicator ;-)

Joined: 24 Feb 2006
Posts: 5334
Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA

Display posts from previous:

Quotation: 'God has been replaced, as he has all over the West...' | Slang: smack-dab

	ESL Forums \| English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms	All times are GMT + 1 Hour
Page 1 of 1

Latest topics on ESL EFL Forums

Start FREE email English course now!
Join more than 100,000 learners!

Idiom: Come out smelling like a rose • Meaning of 'As long as you love me, I will love you.' • Some more questions from 'The Jungle Book' • sketch in vs. sketch out • Expression: ‘Another think coming’ • going and going to • Expression: Byzantium used to be quite a hobby with me • is it glance at or to • There's nothing to do. vs There's nothing to be done • study office vs. studies office • Use the words fail, succeed • Some more questions from 'The Jungle Book' • Pieces of caram board • Check The Poem Pls • Expression: 'How many missed calls does it take you...' • Some more questions from 'The Jungle Book' • Expression: Go back 6 spaces • Please help me with these sentences (Past Perect) • 'To depersonalize man is the dominant drift of our times.'

Discover English-test.net
What does 'plum job' and 'to take sth all in mean'? • Late for work VERSUS late at work • The meaning of 'Breath test' • identify vs. recognize, tee, understand • OBGYN -- False acronym? • TOEIC practice test: Vocabulary Quiz: List of Nouns • TOEIC practice test: Online word games: Free Noun Game • Define breadth, interview, toll, industry, pattern, quantity • Vocabulary list: Verbs nouns adjectives • Old English adjectives: Losing It (1) • English grammar quiz: Business Software Competitors • Dublin audio books, CDs, tapes, used cassettes, audio download

You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum

Provided by phpBB ©2001-2009 phpBB Group

Subscribe to FREE email English course

First name

E-mail