орган общественной мысли

English translation: best public minds

14:51 Apr 10, 2017
Russian to English translations [PRO]
History / social thought
Russian term or phrase: орган общественной мысли
This occurs in a letter from the artist Valentin Serov to Tsar Nicholas II at the time of the 1905 revolution:
Все население России, задыхаясь в тисках бюрократического произвола,
доведшего нашу родину до полного разорения и способствовавшего целому
ряду поражений нашей армии более, чем усилиями внешних врагов, ждет не
дождется того единственного выхода из невыносимого положения, который
давно уже настоятельно рекомендуется лучшими ***органами общественной
мысли*** и который признан и санкционирован верховной властью в высочай-
шем рескрипте от 18 февраля.
In his letter he asks for urgent reforms to Russia's whole administrative and legislative system.
Can anyone give me a nice, concise term for this?
John Sowerby
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:23
English translation:best public minds
Explanation:
That's what I think the intended meaning is and that's how I'd render it myself. To be sure, I thought of "think tanks" too, and that would be the perfect solution here, but come on - think tanks? At the times of Tsar Nicholas? Really?

I also think that in the end trying to follow the letter of the original here, and elsewhere, makes the writing more stilted and unnatural - more than it needs to be anyway. After all, this is not engineering or law.
Selected response from:

The Misha
Local time: 15:23
Grading comment
Thank you, The Misha; I am going with your suggestion, although I am offering the client some of the others.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +1best public minds
The Misha
3body (representative) of social thought
Maria Kaverina
3body of public opinion
erika rubinstein
3leading exponents of public thought
Frank Szmulowicz, Ph. D.
3thought leader
Steven McGrath
3 -1think tank
El oso


Discussion entries: 2





  

Answers


6 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
body (representative) of social thought


Explanation:
https://socialthought.uchicago.edu/

Maria Kaverina
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:23
Native speaker of: Russian
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8 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
body of public opinion


Explanation:
---

erika rubinstein
Local time: 20:23
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in RussianRussian, Native in GermanGerman
PRO pts in category: 28
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15 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): -1
think tank


Explanation:
It's nice and concise :-)

El oso
Russian Federation

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Susan Welsh: In 1905?? I don't think so...
2 hrs
  -> How would you know they actually didn't have those back then? :-) They would have called them something else of course, but the idea was the same, I think.
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
leading exponents of public thought


Explanation:
Proposition.

Frank Szmulowicz, Ph. D.
United States
Local time: 15:23
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in PolishPolish
PRO pts in category: 52
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3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
best public minds


Explanation:
That's what I think the intended meaning is and that's how I'd render it myself. To be sure, I thought of "think tanks" too, and that would be the perfect solution here, but come on - think tanks? At the times of Tsar Nicholas? Really?

I also think that in the end trying to follow the letter of the original here, and elsewhere, makes the writing more stilted and unnatural - more than it needs to be anyway. After all, this is not engineering or law.

The Misha
Local time: 15:23
Native speaker of: Native in RussianRussian
PRO pts in category: 8
Grading comment
Thank you, The Misha; I am going with your suggestion, although I am offering the client some of the others.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  El oso: It's reassuring to know that you thought of 'think tanks' too :-)
13 mins

neutral  Susan Welsh: What is a "public mind"?//Oh, you mean it's something like a public restroom...
17 hrs
  -> The same thing as a bleeding heart, I think. You know, hug a tree, save the world, that kind of thing:) But you are right, I like it so much less today than I did yesterday.
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5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
thought leader


Explanation:
It sounds like a neologism, but apparently the phrase was already around well before 1905 (see web references). It can refer to a person or publication.

The phrase "opinion leader" is similar, but I'm not sure if it was around back then.


    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thought_leader
    Reference: http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=31041
Steven McGrath
United States
Local time: 14:23
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
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