What is arete

TIP : Speaking of the Republic , a good analogy for arete is a the cave metaphor. Innate essence in any and all things, in its most exalted form, is arete. See our page on essentialism vs. It is a somewhat idealist concept when applied to morality, but can also be used to describe the mundane and rational like the knife is only a knife with a handle, the handle is a essence of sorts; if the knife cuts well and the handle is sturdy, the knife has arete. Doing good for others and healing pain, because it is right, not seeking lower things just because they feel good.

There are many ways to describe this on a number of atheistic, ethic, and moral levels. This can be understood by looking at the concept of the polis. Aristotle describes political science the ultimate technology with which to spread virtue [3] and the concept of rhetoric as a tool to achieve this.

Aristotle describes persuasion, politics, and influence as technologies with which one can achieve arete. The video below describes goodness and the virtue as understood by Aristotle in regards to the self and state. The word arete is never explicitly said, but if you wrap-up every idea in the video into one overarching concept of virtue, goodness, ethics, and higher meaning, you could describe that overarching concept as arete.

Homer, Plato, and even some lesser known philosophers discussed arete along with other related concepts. Since Aristotle is one of the later teachers we will start with him. The term arete encompasses the related to telos purpose , ethos ethics , and the minor and major virtues. Since there is no English equivalent to arete, we have to rely on examples and semantics. Below are some different ways to understand arete.

The term implies this is done altruistically and not begrudgingly, but the Greeks knew there were different tiers of goodness and defined them. Evil intentions and the pursuit of material possessions at the expense of others were the lowest kinds of these tiers, and the pursuit of excellence was the highest.

My name is Jakob Gollon. I have a background in athletics, but have recently found a passion in writing and teaching. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. What is arete? Virtue in Greek philosophy — Definition of arete. Cite this page: Carr, K. October 25, From the grot of Calypso he passes to the home of Arete ; both woman and man are in an ethical relation. Still she withholds her sympathy at first for a good reason; Arete is not wholly impulse and feeling, she has thought, reflection.

Pallas and Nausicaa, he first goes to Arete and clasps her knees in supplication, begging for an escort to his country. Altogether too sudden; Arete would not have said that, though the woman be the natural match-maker. How to say arete in sign language? Popularity rank by frequency of use arete Select another language:. Please enter your email address: Subscribe. Discuss these arete definitions with the community: 0 Comments.

Notify me of new comments via email. Cancel Report. Create a new account. Log In. Powered by CITE. Are we missing a good definition for arete? Don't keep it to yourself Submit Definition. The ASL fingerspelling provided here is most commonly used for proper names of people and places; it is also used in some languages for concepts for which no sign is available at that moment.

There are obviously specific signs for many words available in sign language that are more appropriate for daily usage.