Nobody's Perfect... But what is?

[Revasser]

I'm sure we've all heard and used the expression "nobody's perfect."

Okay, but what's "perfect?" If none of us are perfect human beings, what would the traits of a perfect human being be? What are we trying to measure up to here? Is there some kind of perfect being that you put on a pedestal and try to live up to, or are we just groping in the dark? Is "perfection" possible? If it is, is it even desirable?

Now, I know many of my Christian friends here on RF will offer Christ as an example of a perfect human being, which is a-okay, but please list the traits that you think made/make him perfect.

So, let's see you what all think!

 

[Mr. Hair]

This topic puts me in mind of a short story I read a while back. I'll see if I can remember it properly...

Once, there lived a man called Bert. Now Bert wasn't a particulary popular, strong or intelligent man. He wasn't known for his looks. He held down an ordinary office job, and every night went home to his unremarkable wife and son. Bert wasn't very rich, and he hadn't really done a lot with his life. All in all, there was nothing really exceptional or special about Bert.

Yet Bert was a perfect man. He had just the right amount of friends he wanted, and was neither too concerned with popularity nor was he a loner. He was neither too strong or too weak for what his daily life required of him, and he was neither too smart or stupid for his position in society. Bert was exactly as nature intended. Bert was, in essence, perfectly himself.

I'm also reminded of one of my favorite fragments of the Tao Te Ching: (It's the only bit I can remember )

True perfection seems imperfect,
yet it is perfectly itself.

I don't know any better way of saying what I think, so I'll just let other people's words speak for me.

 

[Sunstone]

I believe the notion of perfection is supeficial. It commonly rests on abstractly maximizing one or a few perceived virtues over the wholeness of a person or thing. Furthermore it seems to me a human construct, an ideal, rather than a property of anything natural. It may, however, be a useful concept in cetain applications.

Having said that, I am curious about the claims of certain mystics to have direct, tanscendental experience of a "perfect" Ultimate Reality. Their usage of "perfect" seems in some ways to be different from more common usages of the term.

 

[Buttercup]

I'm sure we've all heard and used the expression "nobody's perfect."

Okay, but what's "perfect?" If none of us are perfect human beings, what would the traits of a perfect human being be? What are we trying to measure up to here? Is there some kind of perfect being that you put on a pedestal and try to live up to, or are we just groping in the dark? Is "perfection" possible? If it is, is it even desirable?

Great question Vass but I guess I don't think of people in terms of achieving personal perfection. Nor anything non human for that matter. Too much stress involved and the idea of perfection is also a thought of something you can control. And there's just too much in life that we can't control.

I do think we humans should strive to be kind, honest, loving, giving, and everything else good you've ever heard of. Problem is we are all quite capable of much less than that five minutes after the best deed we've ever commited. So in the end....you just do the best you can. And I think most people do that..... The best they can and then you give others the benefit of the doubt that they are trying their best like you are.

Now, I know many of my Christian friends here on RF will offer Christ as an example of a perfect human being, which is a-okay, but please list the traits that you think made/make him perfect.

I'm going to leave the answer to this for another thread....I could really go off topic on this one. So, if you don't mind I'll just leave my answer about the human aspect of attaining perfection.

 

[standing_on_one_foot]

I suppose it would involve a person having all the characteristics we consider virtues and none of the vices, who always behaves in the best possible way in every situation. That tends to be how it gets used (you say it when someone fails to have a virtue, has a vice, or behaves in an inappropriate/less-than-ideal way).

 

[c0da]

I'm sure we've all heard and used the expression "nobody's perfect."

Speak for yourself

Nah, you're right. I think perfection is an opinion and one person's idea of perfection would be different from anothers.

 

[d.]

little things. like the weather can be perfect to me. or the temperature of the water. but in a wider context, the weather might not be perfect for someone who wants to waterski, or something. the temperature of the water might be less perfect for the fish.

so the answer is i find it hard to use 'perfect' - a very rigid word - on more complex things like 'a person' or 'a life'. you're making a huge generalization. in everyday language this is fine, of course. but problematic in a discussion such as this.

 

[Snowbear]

I don't know any better way of saying what I think, so I'll just let other people's words speak for me.

I think you said it perfectly !

At least one person understood what you are trying to say