Perfectionism

2. Theoretical and practical perfections

Different versions of perfectionism can differ in their particular claims about the good. (Among narrow perfectionisms, these differences rest on deeper disagreements about human nature.) Some perfectionists, notably Plato, Aristotle and Aquinas, take the highest human good to be the development of theoretical reason, found especially in the contemplation of knowledge. Others value most, or only certain, practical excellences of acting on the world. Marx equates the human good with productive labour, especially in cooperation with others, while Nietzsche values large-scale, world-transforming creativity. A third view, found in Bradley, values theoretical and practical perfections equally and characterizes them in parallel ways. On this view the best knowledge is explanatorily integrated, with general principles explaining more particular known truths. The greatest practical goods involve a similar integration, with many subordinate ends achieved as means to a single overarching end. This grants perfectionist value to any life that is highly unified, and to particular activities that are complex and difficult.

More specific perfectionist claims find intrinsic goodness in political activity, either by government leaders or democratic participants; in love, friendship and other interpersonal relations; and in the creation or appreciation of artistic beauty. There can also be intrinsic perfectionist evils, such as false belief and failure. A more difficult question is whether moral virtue should be a perfectionist good and vice a perfectionist evil. This connects to the larger issue of how perfectionism accounts for other-regarding duties.