The Ordinary Ennobled


Published February 1, 2021

The New Criterion - January 2021 issue

“Self-actualization,” which sounds dismal and pretentious, usually deserves well the abuse it commonly gets. Yet it needn’t always be crass, grasping, or stupid. For all the inanity achieved in its name, it continues to represent a high-minded longing for the democratic ideals of variety and freedom that were celebrated by John Stuart Mill and Walt Whitman. And for those many today unburdened by the demands of a soul, to become “one’s best self” might be the worthiest available ambition.

Maybe if one were to call self-actualization by another name, its stigma would be reduced. And if an exemplar more honorable than its typical advocates could be found, that would bolster its reputation. So call it self-perfection instead, and think of Goethe as its finest embodiment.

Click here to read the rest of this piece at the New Criterion’s website (subscription required).

Algis Valiunas is a fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center and a contributing editor of the New Atlantis.


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