This is the weekly discussion for students enrolled in Humanities 2340-03 at Texas Wesleyan University, Fall 2008.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Inquiry Into Perfection
How do you see the values associated with the value system integrated by the Greek notion of "Inquiry into Perfection" in our culture today? Are those values still valid?
I think we do not necessarily inquire into perfection in our society but we do expect itof our leaders. If you look at the political campaigns today at one point you would have seen politicians caring about the issues of fixing the country, but now you can see the characters coming into question. I think our leaders point to each other explaining why the other is not perfect enough for the job. I think our society enjoys the idea of destroying each other characters in order to push closer to perfection,
The value of beauty in our culture today mostly stood out to me. When we look at our society and how vastly popular the cosmetic, fashion, and plastic surgery industries are, the ideal of perfecting beauty is certainly prominent. The value of balance is also still prominent today. Americans are constantly trying to find a balance between country and religion, especially in schools and in politics.
Today's society dose not inquire into perfection as a whole because it's composed of a mixture of cultures, beliefs, ideas and viwes. Instead of leading us into perfection as a "society", it leads us into competition. Therefore we can say that the Greek notion of "inquire into perfection" is valued only by the indiviudal who thinks that perfection must be reach and strive towards achiving personal goals.
In our society today, I believe there exists Inquiry into Perfection; however, not in all aspects. I observe some optimism still, even though there is an economic crisis; there is still hope that it will get better. Freedom takes part too, there are some things we are free to do, and other’s that there exists laws for. Depending on the beliefs and points of views of people there is humanism and hubris in our society.
Our society today does not inquire completely into the "Inquiry of Perfection". Mainly because we are made up of many different people, with many different views, values, and beliefs. However, some views of the Greek values are still valid today, such as freedom, beauty, and optimism. Of course we have those who wish to excel with their beauty, and they have many ways to achieve that goal. We are shown daily images of perfect people, whether they are in magazines or tv. Not to mention, all the cosmetics, clothes, diets, and plastic surgery to help us along. Another value that is somewhat promenient in today is freedom, although we are mostly free to do whatever we want, we are only free to do it in a certain extent.
Connie, I think your blog said it all in just a few mintues. We do not inquire into perfection as a whole because there are way too many with different values and beliefs, and ideas. So I think its a great observation when saying that "inquire into perfection" is valued only by the person who wants to reach and strive towards achieving personal goals.
Our culture does not seem to value inquiry into perfection as much as the ancient Greeks did, but certainly some of this notion still plays a role in modern societies today. I think the greatest difference is that, in retrospect, the Greeks seemed to value perfection above all else, a value not nearly as widespread today. "Perfection" is still sought in some ways, such as a society's ideal sense of beauty, but overall, there is no unifying agreement over what perfect even is. It may be that, without a unified ideal of perfection, we instead strive for perfection by means of competition. In this way we are still like the Greeks, evidenced by continued interest in competitions like the Olympic Games, or in such historical events as the space race, constantly vying to see who is the best of the best in a given endeavor.
I agree with derek that unlike the Greeks, in our society there is no unified idea of "perfection." In terms of beauty alone, some people prefer blonde hair, while others prefer brown. Some prefer tan skin, while others prefer porcelain. The list goes on and on. I also agree with derek that our society may strive for perfection by means of competition. While not everyone may be competitive themselves, I think it would be safe to say the majority of us at least likes to root for the USA in the Olympics or the Cowboys in football.
I agree with Connie that today’s society does not inquire into perfection entirely. Every individual in today’s society has different opinions as well as different ways of doing things. Beauty to many is physical appearance, exterior beauty. However, others believe in interior beauty as having a great heart, being somewhat perfect. This is having different views. Freedom and justice are other values perceived differently.
The "inquiry for perfection" is mostly seen in the beauty industry. Women buy into this notion of trying to be more perfect by investing in beauty products,having plastic surgery and in some extremes starving themselves. Men are just as bad as the women. More men are having procedures done to try to attain perfection. As far as applying it to all areas of life e.g. education, sports and family life. I think it just depends on individual completely hence the word "perfectionist." Some people strive for perfection and some don't. As far as our society as a whole, no, I don't think we strive for perfection.
i think the inquiry to perfection has taken a vain turn for the worst. The beauty industry is out of control with products and procedures that instantly do this or that. Every one has their own idea of perfection but people of all backgrounds and color are indulging in all sorts of different cosmetic practices.I hate it when women and men look at a small framed person like me and say things like you have a kid and your so small, what's your trick? They admire what's natural like it's a major accomplishment or something. You would think I invented the light bulb. Especially when mouths get quiet to hear my answer. When I first lost the weight and still, people look and ask if I'm anorexic or a work out bulimic and start to compare our post baby bodies. They ALL want to know how I lost the weight so fast and keep it off. I still get offended sometimes that people would think me to be as vain as those to put my body through such torture to look "good" but truth is I don't care enough and would never do my body like that. I eat what I want and don't work out. That's just the way society thinks everyone to be, vainly pushing for "perfection". This value illuminated by the Greeks perfectoin, evident in their art and literature, is still around today . It's seen in the airbrushed magazine covers to the botox and plastic surgery commericials you constantly see blatsed all day on TV. With enough money nearly everything can be perfect and porportinate in all aspects of life.
I disagree with connie, martinette,derek etc. all those who disbelieve. In our global society as a unit there's always the best something/ inquriy to perfection. The Olympic games is the greatest global agreement of what it means to strive for perfection in those areas (sports). All of these athletes train for years just to bring the tittle of the best back to their country in the end. It's not just an individual value. Globally everyone would like to be the best nation, the smartest, richest, etc. Places like Dubai pour tons of money into building projects that are like no other in the world. China did this with the Olympic complex and opening ceremony. The athtletes said that they were the best pools and track that they had run or swam in. America is quickly losing it's place as the best. People used to come here to see our Empire State building and bridges etc. now we are being outbuilt by competing economies. Soon we will be touring them in awe like they did us if we can afford it again. Many are gaining in the area of knowlege and other fields while we are losing. The value is universal socities as diverse as they may be still possess it.
Ok, I complettely take back what I said earlier. Society does strive for perfection. I agree with Danielle in everything that she says. The beauty industry is out of contel but not only that, we strive for perfection in what cars we drive, what schools we go to and what grades we make. The list could go on and on.
I agree with connie on how we strive for perfection on a more individual basis, because of all the varying beliefs and ideals present even within the same country. Everyone has a different idea of what perfect is, which, in hindsight, is probably not how the Greeks saw things. Certainly they were not all drones who saw the world the exact same way, but their legacy obviously suggests that there was a general idea that most would agree upon concerning what perfect might be for any given aspect of life. Today, everyone still seeks perfection in some way, but I think that overall, there is little agreement on what that perfection really is. We are just not as unified in our beliefs as the Greeks were, and that is the major difference.
14 comments:
I think we do not necessarily inquire into perfection in our society but we do expect itof our leaders. If you look at the political campaigns today at one point you would have seen politicians caring about the issues of fixing the country, but now you can see the characters coming into question. I think our leaders point to each other explaining why the other is not perfect enough for the job. I think our society enjoys the idea of destroying each other characters in order to push closer to perfection,
The value of beauty in our culture today mostly stood out to me. When we look at our society and how vastly popular the cosmetic, fashion, and plastic surgery industries are, the ideal of perfecting beauty is certainly prominent. The value of balance is also still prominent today. Americans are constantly trying to find a balance between country and religion, especially in schools and in politics.
Today's society dose not inquire into perfection as a whole because it's composed of a mixture of cultures, beliefs, ideas and viwes. Instead of leading us into perfection as a "society", it leads us into competition. Therefore we can say that the Greek notion of "inquire into perfection" is valued only by the indiviudal who thinks that perfection must be reach and strive towards achiving personal goals.
In our society today, I believe there exists Inquiry into Perfection; however, not in all aspects. I observe some optimism still, even though there is an economic crisis; there is still hope that it will get better. Freedom takes part too, there are some things we are free to do, and other’s that there exists laws for. Depending on the beliefs and points of views of people there is humanism and hubris in our society.
Our society today does not inquire completely into the "Inquiry of Perfection". Mainly because we are made up of many different people, with many different views, values, and beliefs. However, some views of the Greek values are still valid today, such as freedom, beauty, and optimism. Of course we have those who wish to excel with their beauty, and they have many ways to achieve that goal. We are shown daily images of perfect people, whether they are in magazines or tv. Not to mention, all the cosmetics, clothes, diets, and plastic surgery to help us along. Another value that is somewhat promenient in today is freedom, although we are mostly free to do whatever we want, we are only free to do it in a certain extent.
Connie, I think your blog said it all in just a few mintues. We do not inquire into perfection as a whole because there are way too many with different values and beliefs, and ideas. So I think its a great observation when saying that "inquire into perfection" is valued only by the person who wants to reach and strive towards achieving personal goals.
Our culture does not seem to value inquiry into perfection as much as the ancient Greeks did, but certainly some of this notion still plays a role in modern societies today. I think the greatest difference is that, in retrospect, the Greeks seemed to value perfection above all else, a value not nearly as widespread today. "Perfection" is still sought in some ways, such as a society's ideal sense of beauty, but overall, there is no unifying agreement over what perfect even is. It may be that, without a unified ideal of perfection, we instead strive for perfection by means of competition. In this way we are still like the Greeks, evidenced by continued interest in competitions like the Olympic Games, or in such historical events as the space race, constantly vying to see who is the best of the best in a given endeavor.
I agree with derek that unlike the Greeks, in our society there is no unified idea of "perfection." In terms of beauty alone, some people prefer blonde hair, while others prefer brown. Some prefer tan skin, while others prefer porcelain. The list goes on and on. I also agree with derek that our society may strive for perfection by means of competition. While not everyone may be competitive themselves, I think it would be safe to say the majority of us at least likes to root for the USA in the Olympics or the Cowboys in football.
I agree with Connie that today’s society does not inquire into perfection entirely. Every individual in today’s society has different opinions as well as different ways of doing things. Beauty to many is physical appearance, exterior beauty. However, others believe in interior beauty as having a great heart, being somewhat perfect. This is having different views. Freedom and justice are other values perceived differently.
The "inquiry for perfection" is mostly seen in the beauty industry. Women buy into this notion of trying to be more perfect by investing in beauty products,having plastic surgery and in some extremes starving themselves. Men are just as bad as the women. More men are having procedures done to try to attain perfection. As far as applying it to all areas of life e.g. education, sports and family life. I think it just depends on individual completely hence the word "perfectionist." Some people strive for perfection and some don't. As far as our society as a whole, no, I don't think we strive for perfection.
i think the inquiry to perfection has taken a vain turn for the worst. The beauty industry is out of control with products and procedures that instantly do this or that. Every one has their own idea of perfection but people of all backgrounds and color are indulging in all sorts of different cosmetic practices.I hate it when women and men look at a small framed person like me and say things like you have a kid and your so small, what's your trick? They admire what's natural like it's a major accomplishment or something. You would think I invented the light bulb. Especially when mouths get quiet to hear my answer. When I first lost the weight and still, people look and ask if I'm anorexic or a work out bulimic and start to compare our post baby bodies. They ALL want to know how I lost the weight so fast and keep it off. I still get offended sometimes that people would think me to be as vain as those to put my body through such torture to look "good" but truth is I don't care enough and would never do my body like that. I eat what I want and don't work out. That's just the way society thinks everyone to be, vainly pushing for "perfection". This value illuminated by the Greeks perfectoin, evident in their art and literature, is still around today . It's seen in the airbrushed magazine covers to the botox and plastic surgery commericials you constantly see blatsed all day on TV. With enough money nearly everything can be perfect and porportinate in all aspects of life.
I disagree with connie, martinette,derek etc. all those who disbelieve. In our global society as a unit there's always the best something/ inquriy to perfection. The Olympic games is the greatest global agreement of what it means to strive for perfection in those areas (sports). All of these athletes train for years just to bring the tittle of the best back to their country in the end. It's not just an individual value. Globally everyone would like to be the best nation, the smartest, richest, etc. Places like Dubai pour tons of money into building projects that are like no other in the world. China did this with the Olympic complex and opening ceremony. The athtletes said that they were the best pools and track that they had run or swam in. America is quickly losing it's place as the best. People used to come here to see our Empire State building and bridges etc. now we are being outbuilt by competing economies. Soon we will be touring them in awe like they did us if we can afford it again. Many are gaining in the area of knowlege and other fields while we are losing. The value is universal socities as diverse as they may be still possess it.
Ok, I complettely take back what I said earlier. Society does strive for perfection. I agree with Danielle in everything that she says. The beauty industry is out of contel but not only that, we strive for perfection in what cars we drive, what schools we go to and what grades we make. The list could go on and on.
I agree with connie on how we strive for perfection on a more individual basis, because of all the varying beliefs and ideals present even within the same country. Everyone has a different idea of what perfect is, which, in hindsight, is probably not how the Greeks saw things. Certainly they were not all drones who saw the world the exact same way, but their legacy obviously suggests that there was a general idea that most would agree upon concerning what perfect might be for any given aspect of life. Today, everyone still seeks perfection in some way, but I think that overall, there is little agreement on what that perfection really is. We are just not as unified in our beliefs as the Greeks were, and that is the major difference.
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