Even as, for the ancient philosophers, the essence of perfection had been harmony, so for the Gospel and the Christian theologians it was charity, or love. St. Paul wrote ( Epistle to the Colossians, 3:14): "And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness". [17] The idea of human perfectibility had, however, become more comprehensive. Man would attain greater perfection, in the sense that he would live more rationally, healthily, happily, comfortably. But there was no adequate term for this new conception, as the term "perfection" had a moral coloring, while the new goal was more intellectual, physical and social. [21] See Lagorio and Sargent, p. 3075, and the listing of manuscripts, pp. 3430-31; including collections of extracts and fragmentary texts, the total given is forty-nine manuscripts. Lagorio and Sargent has the most recent account of the manuscripts; slightly different counts are given in Clark, p. 33, following information from S. S. Hussey and A. J. Bliss. Ignoring the extracts, Hussey (1992, p. 101), counts forty-one manuscripts with Book I and 24 with Book II. Clark (p. 33) suggested that the simpler treatment of the subject in Book I contributed to its greater popularity.

The form of the word long fluctuated in various languages. The English language had the alternates, "perfection" and the Biblical "perfectness." [2] The word "perfection" derives from the Latin " perfectio", and "perfect" — from " perfectus". These expressions in turn come from " perficio" — "to finish", "to bring to an end". " Perfectio(n)" thus literally means "a finishing", and "perfect (us)" — "finished", much as in grammatical parlance (" perfect"). [2] a b Tatarkiewicz, "Perfection: the Term and the Concept," Dialectics and Humanism, vol. VI, no. 4 (autumn 1979), p. 7. The Perfection Trap: The Power Of Good Enough In A World That Always Wants More. Thomas Curran. Penguin. 2023.The use of the phrase "I am nought" in Scale, Book II, chapter 21, has to do with the acquisition of humility.

In The Perfection Trap: The Power Of Good Enough In A World That Always Wants More , Thomas Curran examines the reasons for a rise in socially prescribed perfectionism and its negative mental health effects on individuals. Combining extensive research with his own experience of perfectionism, Curran makes a convincing case for why we should resist the contemporary pressure to be perfect, writes Marianne E. Etherson. Linguistic Atlas of Late Medieval English, 1:118; 3:25-26 (the linguistic profile); 4:336 (the map location). See also Hideo Yamaguchi, "A Short Descriptive Study," pp. 110-71. In The Perfection Trap, Thomas Curran brings together his academic expertise and lived experience to delve deep into perfectionism and the costs of living in a society where the pressures to reach perfection are more pervasive than ever. Physicists designate as a perfectly rigid body, one that "is not deformed by forces applied to it", in full awareness that this is a fictitious body, that no such body exists in nature. The concept is an ideal construct. [12] For the EETS, the edition of Book I begun by A. J. Bliss is being completed by Michael Sargent; Book II is being edited by S. S. Hussey; see Clark, pp. 53-54; I am grateful to Michael Sargent for informing me of the present state of the EETS edition.

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Thomas Curran is the world's leading expert on perfectionism, and he's written the definitive book on why it's rising, how it wreaks havoc on our lives, and what we can do to stop it. If you've ever found yourself fearing failure, ruminating about mistakes, or just feeling that you aren't good enough, this is a must read' Adam Grant

Some will see a radicalism to these propositions, but Curran is reluctant to over-politicise his message. He sees hope in more people simply discussing and identifying how pressures and insecurities can manifest – and where that truly comes from. “We need to recognise the societal structures that are impacting these feelings and confront them,” he says. “To talk about them. To see that this is a bigger issue than me feeling like a person who is never enough.” As far as individuals are concerned, Curran argues, the most powerful thing we can do is see the flaws in the system, accept ourselves for who we are – not what we have or achieve, and believe that there is such a thing as “good enough”. Life, after all, is imperfect. Still, the Church did not condemn the writings of the Pseudo-Areopagite, purportedly the first bishop of Athens, voicing a natural possibility for man to rise to perfection, to the contemplation of God. And so, for centuries, two views contended within the Church. [17] From a conviction that perfection was a single quality, the Pythagoreans, Plato and their adherents held that beauty also was a single quality; hence, for every kind of art, there was but one perfect and proper form. Plutarch stated ( De Musica) that, during the early Greek age, musical harmonies that were recognized as perfect were legally binding at public performances. [23] In the eclectic view of the late Renaissance, perfection in a work would require uniting the talents of many artists. Paolo Pino held that only that painter would be perfect who combined the talents of Titian and Michelangelo. [29] Plato seldom actually used the term "perfection", but the concept of " good", central to his philosophy, was tantamount to "perfection". He believed that approximation to the idea of perfection makes people perfect. [13]In classicism, especially in French 17th-century classicism, from an ideal attainable by few, perfection became an obligation for every author. And inasmuch as the criterion of perfection had been lowered, "perfection" now meant only correctness. In the ensuing devaluation, it was not enough that art be perfecta, it should be perfectissima. [30] A fascinating and panoramic analysis of perfectionism in modern capitalist societies' Grace Blakeley Just like the first book in this series, I couldn’t stop laughing. I also found myself asking questions like, “what could a person do to be put on a band list for a food delivery?” And then, ‘what can a person do for an entire family to be placed on a banned list?’ Then there’s the question, ‘what could be the reason an entire family to be banned from a all you can eat buffet?’