Response to blog post #2

One cannot fully appreciate a victory or success without enduring significant challenges and struggles.  You could almost go as far as to say that true success is not experienced until the person vying for it suffers, either physically or emotionally.  This is the concept between the Greek concepts of agon and arete.  Agon is the struggle that must take place for arete, or virtuosity and quality, to be attained.  In other words, arete cannot be had without going through agon first.

It could be argued, on one hand, that arete must be a self-centered pursuit.  This is because if one is to truly achieve arete, they must focus solely on improving their own quality.  If they focus on other people, they siphon energy and effort away from themselves, and this is lost onto others who may in fact not be striving for their own arete.  Additionally, others may not reciprocate the actions of an individual, resulting in a net loss.  True arete may not be able to be achieved if someone doesn't put their own pursuits and drives above all else.

However, there is a flip side to this.  The concept of being the best you can be could include the practice of being good to and caring about people other than yourself.  If you are to be seen as someone full of quality and virtuosity, you need to take actions to make others see you in this way.  If you only take actions to better yourself, you may be seen as selfish, no matter how much arete you possess.  If you want others to recognize your pursuits and ultimately your arete, you must engage in selfless, virtuous actions to help and lead others so that they recognize you for who you are.

In my personal opinion, the pursuit and cultivation of arete is definitely something that goes beyond the "self".  You can be an extremely virtuous and high quality person in the eyes of yourself, but it means nothing if you don't commit public, selfless acts to make these qualities known.  Selfish, self-loving people often view themselves as great people, and they definitely lack arete.  On another note, I believe that rewards for achieving arete can be enjoyed by more than the individual.  Since arete goes beyond the self, if someone has truly achieved it, they will spread their influence and do things to enrich the lives of the people they surround themselves with.  Lastly, I believe that pursuing pleasure and happiness in life contributes to the quality of our lives, but is not the same thing as pursuing quality in all that one does.  There are many other aspects, often not comfortable or desirable, that are required for someone to achieve all-around quality in life, or arete, something we should all strive for, not only in ourselves but in the communities we involve ourselves in.