The philosophy of idealism stretches back to the age of the
Cro-Magnon, the earliest anatomically-modern human. While we see idealism as a
philosophy involving finding the ideal self, as the prefix implies, most of the
time it ends up going to a form of extremism not unlike those in religious
areas. While society labels a certain type of body shape and personality as the
image of perfection, the whole idea of perfection is not something that is
viewed by another person when looking at another entity, not something that is
obtained. For instance, if a man was truly in love with a person of their
choosing, he would view them as the pinnacle of perfection, no matter their
physical appearance or personality.
By
analyzing Nathanial Hawthorne’s work ‘The Birthmark,’ we can use the
unrealistic view of perfection as seen in the eyes of a scientist as a mark for
what we should not do in our quest for obtaining perfection. A quote that
accurately describes how perfection is found: “It must not be concealed,
however, that the impression wrought by this fairy sign manual varied
exceedingly, according to the difference of temperament of beholders” (The
Birthmark, 7). Another thing that can
link to this ‘eye of the beholder’ mentality is a psychological test known as
the Rorschach test, which entails numerous white cards with randomly designed
black splotches placed in a Pollock-esq forms, and the one viewing the card
decides what the images look like. Perfection, essentially, is a Rorschach
test.
This whole form of standardized perfection is
what, essentially, leads to the self-harm and depression. While depression has
many other factors, mainly genetic, it can also be caused by a feeling of
inferiority. We see advertisements depicting things such as underwear and
clothing with models, while being photo shopped to a large extent, of such peak
physical appearance that someone who doesn’t have the motivation to do so,
whether it be due to lack of time or lack of finances to join a gym or practice
some form of physical activity, often feel insecure about themselves, leading
to sadness and inferiority and potentially self-harm. This whole image of
standardized perfection is not only false, but also destructive to the people
growing up with these messages of ‘perfection’ being thrown about. Perfection
isn’t something that is reached; it isn’t a set value. Perfection is something
that needs to be seen by another person; perfection is a Rorschach test in
modern day society.o
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