perfectionism an ethical view according to which individuals and their actions are judged by a maximal standard of achievement – specifically, the degree to which they approach ideals of aesthetic, intellectual, emotional, or physical ‘perfection.’ Perfectionism, then, may depart from, or even dispense with, standards of conventional morality in favor of standards based on what appear to be non-moral values. These standards reflect an admiration for certain very rare levels of human achievement. Perhaps the most characteristic of these standards are artistic and other forms of creativity; but they prominently include a variety of other activities and emotional states deemed ‘noble’ – e.g., heroic endurance in the face of great suffering. The perfectionist, then, would also tend toward a rather non-egalitarian – even aristocratic – view of humankind. The rare genius, the inspired few, the suffering but courageous artist – these examples of human perfection are genuinely worthy of our estimation, according to this view.
Although no fully worked-out system of ‘perfectionist philosophy’ has been attempted, aspects of all of these doctrines may be found in such philosophers as Nietzsche. Aristotle, as well, appears to endorse a perfectionist idea in his characterization of the human good. Just as the good lyre player not only exhibits the characteristic activities of this profession but achieves standards of excellence with respect to these, the good human being, for Aristotle, must achieve standards of excellence with respect to the virtue or virtues distinctive of human life in general.
See also ARISTOTLE , NIETZSCHE , VIRTUE ETHIC. J.A.M.