a b c d e Tatarkiewicz, "Ontological and Theological Perfection", Dialectics and Humanism, vol. VIII, no. 1 (winter 1981), p. 192. Kasparek's translation has subsequently also appeared in the book: Władysław Tatarkiewicz, On Perfection, Warsaw University Press, Center of Universalism, 1992, pp.9–51. The book is a collection of papers by and about the late Professor Tatarkiewicz. Tatarkiewicz, "Paradoxes of Perfection", Dialectics and Humanism, vol. VII, no. 1 (winter 1980), p. 77. a b c Tatarkiewicz, "Ontological and Theological Perfection," Dialectics and Humanism, vol. VIII, no. 1 (winter 1981), p. 188.

The first of these concepts is fairly well subsumed within the second. Between those two and the third, however, there arises a duality in concept. This duality was expressed by Thomas Aquinas, in the Summa Theologica, when he distinguished a twofold perfection: when a thing is perfect in itself — as he put it, in its substance; and when it perfectly serves its purpose. [4] Fine,” she said, sighing heavily as she climbed off the bed, not apologizing or groveling, he noted. Personally I think her ‘rambling’ was good subterfuge. Brilliant as she undoubtedly was, had she been hyper-organized as well, she would have been altogether too much for the men of her time. Her poor-pitiful-me-look-how-poorly-I-write is probably what has allowed her writings to come to us! No doubt she would hate me writing that! Forgive me dear Sister-in-faith, but I am allowed to compliment you even if humility forbids you from claiming this for yourself. ☺ One of the elements of perfection, in its new construction, is health, understood by the World Health Organization as "a state of complete physical and mental well-being". [22]

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The book highlights that societal change is needed to counter the rise of perfectionism. But, while many people may want, and advocate for, change, it will no doubt take time to work towards this as a society. Ultimately, it will require policy changes and huge collective action, such as stricter regulations for advertising and social media platforms, fewer mandatory tests in schools and colleges alongside a greater focus on development and learning, and the creation of a more level playing field through policies such as basic income (244). But, for now, Curran suggests, we must “meet the world where it is” and accept what we can’t control (211). a conjunction of many values ( Lodovico Dolce thought Raphael perfect because Raphael had manifold talent, as opposed to the one-sided Michelangelo);

Yet the curse of perpetual dissatisfaction hides in plain sight. It is not just the likes of Curran who have found themselves dismayed and self-flagellating at a moment which should have been filled with pride. Victoria Pendleton, when interviewed in 2008 after winning six cycling world championship titles and Olympic gold, told the Guardian: “I just want to prove that I am really good at something. And I haven’t quite done that yet – at least not to myself.” Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple (who famously made his family endure weeks of dinner-table discussion simply to choose the right dishwasher) was notorious for his tantrums, shouting and swearing at employees when their efforts did not suffice. Serena Williams, arguably history’s greatest tennis player, once described staying up all night as a child in tears as she tried to write the alphabet perfectly. “That’s always been me,” she recalled. Levels of perfectionism over the past 30 years and, in particular socially prescribed perfectionism, are rising at an exponential rate among college students in the UK, US and Canada. Curran takes us on a journey to better understand the nature of perfectionism, how it affects us, where it comes from, and why it is on the rise. On this journey, Curran reflects upon early theoretical writings, meets with prominent scholars, most notably professors Paul Hewitt and Gordon Flett, details key pieces of research and provides some compelling case studies. Plagued by his own perfectionism, Curran knows too well the harmfulness of the trait and gives us insight into his own personal struggles.

Top 10 Best Books on Overcoming Perfectionism

I guess the main point here is that in life we develop an idea of what we think perfect is supposed to be like. Then life shows us that perfect doesn’t look a bit like what we thought it would, and if we’re smart we’ll see the difference. That if we grab for real-world perfection we will be rewarded with wisdom and joy. Beginning with Serlio and Palladio, perfection in art had become less important, less definite, less objective. The striving for perfection no longer had the importance for men of letters that it did for the great architects. But the 17th century still revered perfection, as shown by the appearance of that word in book titles: De perfecta poesi by the Polish poet Maciej Kazimierz Sarbiewski (1595–1640); Le peintre parfait (1767 by André Félibien; and Idée de la perfection de la peinture (1662) by Fréart de Chambray. [29] Curran isn’t afraid to blame advertising companies who are well aware that discontented consumers are more profitable (117); hence the trade-off of this economic growth is our health and happiness. And while many of us continually try to perfect ourselves with the latest fashion trends, beauty products or gym regimes, Curran argues that “it’s society that’s broken, not us” (248).