Delphic Maxim #26
Praise those having arête. (Επαινει αρετην)
In ancient Greece, the most prized trait one could demonstrate was known as arête. At its most basic, arête (pronounced ahr-ih-tay) means excellence. So lets talk about what arête means in a modern context. Be all that you can be. Live up to your fullest potential. Do your best. Excel at whatever you put your mind at trying to do. In short, do your best to kick ass at life. Remember this?
What I think is more interesting that the idea of arête itself though, is the idea that the Greeks made the praising of it one of their maxims before the pursuit of it or the possession of it.
It seems a bit like parenting–praise the good behavior, if you want to have more of it!
August 20th, 2012 at 8:40 pm
I just cant get motivated …..in a funk
August 20th, 2012 at 10:01 pm
this is so interesting to me – that the greeks praised “excellence.” there is a book called “The University in Ruins,” by Bill Readings. One of the things he criticizes is the empty obsession we have with “excellence.” Readings criticizes universities who advertise the way they strive for “excellence” in student life, excellence in academics, excellence in research etc. He claims that it means nothing without defining the terms of excellence. I’d be interested to read more how the greeks used the word – how they applied this maxim. were they similarly obsessed with an empty undefined ideal, or have we drifted away from their more specific goals of personal fulfillment? the way you put it here, to “excel at whatever you put your mind to,” gives it some context – but still, did they apply some sort of moral parameters? (what if you put your mind to something amoral, like robbing a bank?)
of course, i totally get the msg. here, that we should strive to do and be our best. but i’m fascinated if this supposed “flaw” in our way of defining terms is something that didn’t arise in the 20th C as Readings suggests, but can be traced to the greeks…
August 21st, 2012 at 8:46 am
I actually have a feeling the Greeks would have admired someone that robbed a bank with suitable flair and innovation just as much as they would have admired the guy that diligently went to work to decipher the clues and catch/arrest him…
I agree that there should be some sort of benchmark for what “excellence” is achieved, when a person/institution claims it…but I think that what “excellence” entails is individually interpreted and defined. I think the fault isn’t in the word, but in the failure of the person/institution to make their own criteria of what excellence entails for them.
August 21st, 2012 at 8:26 am
I nominated you for the Beautiful Blogger award.
Congratulations!
http://stayforaspell.wordpress.com/2012/08/21/2-awards/