Human Perfection

[bentHnau]

Lately I have been noticing how often people post (all over the Internet) that "no one is perfect." It occurred to me that one can only know that "no one is perfect" if one has some idea of human perfection, and decides that everyone falls short of that ideal.

But what is that ideal? What is human perfection? Why would anyone have such an ideal if no one lives up to it; what purpose would it serve? If it's true that absolutely no one is "perfect," then isn't imperfection part of human nature, and therefore obvious and unnecessary to mention, rather like saying "no body of water is dry" or "no mountain is flat"?

 

[hurtloam]

What a good question. The times when I find myself saying, "no one is perfect" is when I feel like someone is trying to push themselves too hard or if they seem to be expecting too much of other people.

I think that the "perfection" in those cases is an imagined standard that they hold themselves or other people to. Like a friend will complain that her other friend didn't call her when she was ill. If her friend behaved exactly how she imagined they ought to then they would be the perfect friend in her eyes, but I would say to her "well no one is perfect" meaning that people don't always do what we think they should. Perfection is relative.

I think that a trully perfect person isn't someone who does everything absolutely correctly, like getting a hole in one the first time they play golf, but someone who accepts people for who they are and understands that life is full of challenges and if at first you don't succeed then you try again, but I don't think that my standard of what perfection could be is how other people see it.

 

[Judge]

As an act of faith, I believe this is strictly a secondary plane of existence, specifically designed for us to be mortal and therefore fallible where while we make mistakes, we also learn lessons.

Lessons which cannot be achieved on our primary plane of existence, where we for all intents and purposes are "perfect".

That in essence, "Human Perfection" is an oxymoron.

 

[Ereth]

Perfection doesn't exist. Human beings invented the concept.

 

[wyverary]

What precisely constitutes "perfection" will, I imagine, vary quite considerably from culture to culture, religion to religion, any sub-group you can possibly think of. The phrase "no one is perfect" is a mere idiom, one is quite like despite how trite it sounds, meant to convey that we all have our qualities and flaws, strengths and weaknesses, and that we are all different.

 

[Vanilla]

I suppose the saying is more for the sake of wisdom, as opposed to simply stating fact. It is of course a fact, but as we are in fact imperfect, we don't always acknowledge what is in fact obvious to others.

It reminds us not to place too much pressure on to ourselves. If we mess up, we can forgive ourselves. It allows us to relieve some of the anxieties behind trying to be perfect.

It also teaches us not to view others as perfect; even if they appear very near so. Putting people up on "pedestals" (believing them to be perfect), can backfire, as it means that the moment they mess up, and stop being perfect (in your eyes), you may suddenly loose respect for them; even though they've probably done nothing wrong. Many people who strive for perfection, can often fall victim to this kind of trap, as others can expect nothing but the best from them. Suddenly, trying to be the best that they can be, can become they're biggest weakness, as others suddenly have higher expectations from them; which is ironic, as you would assume they'd simply be congratulated for their efforts.

 

[StephF]

Tyrannosaurs and the Alien are as damn close to perfection as can be !

 

[Shiznown]

Perfection doesn't exist. Human beings invented the concept.

There is something that exists that is perfect, it's called the metric system.

 

[zurb]

There is something that exists that is perfect, it's called the metric system.

I think the term for the metric system would actually be arbitrary, as with any system of measure, though I must admit it sure beats it's predecessors!

 

[GFHandel]

As an enthusiast of classical music, I consider some renditions as "absolutely perfect". They contain nothing that I would like to be improved or changed. Also, many musical pieces by G. F Handel are perfect - I cannot imagine better music. The music seems very natural and spontaneous - nothing is contrived, far-fetched or trite. In fact, if I could imagine better music than Handel's, I would write it down and my fame would trump the Handel's one. Of course, not every piece of this composer is perfect, some of them are merely very good. But this is only my subjective view of perfection. Other people may consider perfection something that I do not appreciate.

 

[SyAn]

I guess perfection is like beauty - in the eye of the beholder.

Example:
* Waking up to nature sounds,
* spending the day in silence,
* on a soft couch,
* with a good book,
* then going to bed and falling asleep to nature sounds . . .
a perfect day for me,
a perfectly horrid day for someone else.

 

[AsheSkyler]

I was expecting a thread about the Borg. My recent Star Trek binge is affecting me.

The Taoist in me says the perfect human is imperfect, a complicated mix of middles and extremes in near-equal amounts, rational about some things and irrational about others, because a person of all middles is unbalanced with no extremes present to offset the overabundance of middles, and a person of all extremes (pure good, in example) is too unbalanced and inexperienced. And a perfect person must be predominantly ruled by being kind. Hey, gotta have my standards! =)
And then that cascades into more literal thinkings about perfection. Would that then mean a person would be kind, and also be at peace with themselves and accept what they are? But that's an extreme, all acceptance, therefore there must be unacceptable parts of them they are trying to fix. And then Ashe has a headache and gets distracted by a raisin on the floor. When did my kid last eat raisins in here? Must clean raisin from floor... Oh look, a peanut! Oo, a cracker! Gah, messy little eater! *wanders off*

 

[apsie]

I vieuw it as a very personal ideal to strive for but can never be achieved. I don't think I've personally ever used the phrase "No one is perfect".
Only you can set your own standard.