All Things are 'Arete'

The ancient Greeks believed that everything in existence possessed an arete, a unique excellence or virtue that defined its essential nature. A bird's arete was flight, a knife's was cutting, a car's was transportation. This concept, often translated as "excellence" or "virtue," seemed to offer a neat framework for understanding purpose and meaning.

But I find this traditional view limiting.

The Problem with Fixed Purpose

The classical definition of arete feels like a conditional badge, static, singular, and unforgiving. What happens when a knife becomes dull? Does it lose its arete? When a bird's wing breaks, is it no longer excellent? This framework leaves no room for adaptation, growth, or the messy reality of existence.

Life rarely unfolds according to predetermined purposes. Circumstances change, abilities shift, and new possibilities emerge from unexpected places.

A Dynamic Understanding

I propose a different way of thinking about arete: as something that emerges from process rather than being tied to predetermined outcomes.

Consider a martial artist or dancer. Neither trains primarily to look good, yet their arete manifests through what their body and mind become after being pushed to their limits. The excellence isn't the goal, it's the byproduct of dedicated practice, of showing up consistently, of embracing the struggle itself.

This suggests something profound: excellence emerges from the doing, not from achieving a specific purpose.

The Adaptive Nature of Excellence

My conception of arete is forever adaptable. It shifts when circumstances demand it. When that knife becomes dull, perhaps its new arete lies in being a screwdriver, a paint stirrer, or even a teaching tool about the impermanence of function. When the bird can no longer fly, its arete might manifest in its song, its wisdom, or its ability to nurture the next generation.

This isn't about lowering standards or accepting mediocrity. It's about recognizing that true excellence lies in our capacity to adapt, to find new forms of mastery, to extract meaning from whatever situation we find ourselves in.

The Process is the Point

The ancient Greeks weren't wrong about arete being fundamental to existence. They were simply too narrow in their definition. Every moment of genuine engagement, every instance of bringing our full presence to what we're doing, every choice to adapt rather than surrender…these are expressions of arete.

The martial artist's arete isn't in their perfect technique but in their willingness to be defeated and return the next day. The dancer's arete isn't in their flawless performance but in their courage to express something true through movement.

Excellence, then, becomes less about achieving predetermined outcomes and more about the quality of our engagement with reality as it unfolds.

Living Arete

This understanding transforms how we relate to setbacks, aging, and change. Instead of seeing these as departures from our "true" purpose, we can recognize them as invitations to discover new forms of excellence.

The question isn't "What is my arete?" but rather "How can I express arete in this moment, with these circumstances, using what I have?"

This shift in perspective doesn't just change how we think about excellence…it changes how we live.