Areté

www.lorenzkraus.com

www.taxfreesociety.comLorenz Kraus 2012

Consider a Flower

Rise and Fall of Areté

Rise and Fall of Areté

1. Bud 2. Bud Opens3. Flower presents itself4. Flower at maximum glory5. Flower weakens6. Flower wilts7. Flower falls apart

Peak

WiltBud

Areté is Natural and Real

Consider Fire

1. spark2. spread3. engulfed4. peak heat and flame5. dying down6. coals smolder7. ash

Consider Fire

Inferno

AshSpark

Areté is the peak of a process

Areté Peak

ExhaustionBaseline Rest

Areté is all around us

Areté notes something real.

It is an objective concept.

Areté 1. the prime expression of

an entity;2. the peak moment of a

process or experience

Ecce Panis “Behold the Bread!”

Ecce Homo “Behold the Man!”

Not every moment is equal; not every example is a prime example.

Buddhists are Mindful

….the Ancient Greeks were mindful of areté.

Signifies

QUALITY

PrimeBest

EpitomeExcellence

Crescendo

Climax

AretéThe most important concept in history.

Pursuit of Areté is

Western Culture

Western Institutions

Defined by

Prime-Selection

Western Institutions:

Individualism—Pick the Best People

1. Romance—Pick your best available mate 2. Democracy—Pick the best leader3. Olympics—Picks the best athletes4. Meritocracy—Pick the best people for the job5. Freedom of association—right to work—hire and

fire—pick your best friend 6. Banking—4c’s of credit—prime versus sub-prime—

pick best credit candidates

Western Institutions: “Pick the Best!”

Areté—Pick the Best Things

1. Free Market—Pick the best products at the best price2. Free speech—Pick the best ideas3. Science & Medicine—Pick the best explanation and the best cure

4. Law—Rules of evidence pick the facts; facts are best5. Calculus—reveals the optimum rate6. Stock Market—pick the best companies

Man

SlaveBarbarian

Areté was God of the Greek Consciousness.

…and maybe yours!

Areté is Everywhere! NYSE listings ISO 9000/UL Valentine’s Day Consumer

Reports Barbie Dolls Miss Universe Mr. Universe NASCAR NBA Draft

AMA Board Certification

Microsoft Certified

NCAAs Bonus Pay Hedge fund

rankings Portfolio MGMT American Idol

Speed Dating Nobel Prize Super Bowl Spelling bees GPAs SAT, GMAT Oscars Wine Tastings Bar Exams Currency trading

Areté is Everywhere! NYSE listings ISO 9000/UL Valentine’s Day Consumer

Reports Barbie Dolls Miss Universe Mr. Universe NASCAR NBA Draft

AMA Board Certification

Microsoft Certified

NCAAs Bonus Pay Hedge fund

rankings Portfolio MGMT American Idol

Speed Dating Nobel Prize Super Bowl Spelling bees GPAs SAT, GMAT Oscars Wine Tastings Bar Exams Currency trading

25 Ways

we celebrate

areté!

Areté in Music and Novels

Western music builds up to a crescendoWestern novels build up to a climax

Classical music is “rock and roll”

Non-western music is flat-lined…drones on. Listen for it.

Areté in Music and Novels

Western music builds up to a crescendoWestern novels build up to a climax

Classical music was the original “rock and roll”

Non-western music is flat-lined…goes on and on. Listen for it.

Meditation

versus

Excitation

What if we didn’t have an eye for areté?

Or a dedication to Quality?

How barren would the world be?

The Eruption Reveals the Volcano

Areté Reveals the Essence of Man

Man

Areté reveals Essence

Could you know what a flower bud is for, if you never saw its peak moment?

Areté shows you the point of living things, their functions, and their true potential.

Would you know LIFE by birth and death, alone?

Or a flower is by its bud and wilt, alone? Or man by his diapers?

The alpha and the omega do not reveal the essence. Areté reveals the essence.

You cannot know without knowing areté.

Areté reveals what a thing really is.

Areté reveals true reality, when distraction, distortion, and disability is washed away.

Areté is both momentary and timeless.

1. Prime Moment2. Prime Example

Olympics:Momentary excellence for eternal fame

"All my life I have loved sport. You have to love sport to compete at it. There is a truth to sport, a purity, a drama, an intensity, a spirit that makes it irresistible to take part in and irresistible to watch. In every Olympic sport there is all that matters in life. Humans stretched to the limit of their abilities, inspired by what they can achieve, driven by their talent to work harder than they can believe possible, living for the moment but making an indelible mark upon history.

Sebastian Coe London 2012

Art Captures Areté

Man gravitates to the prime moment because it stands out.

We want areté in pictures and stories. We enjoy areté. Areté is exciting.

Art captures and celebrates areté so we can experience areté even when areté is gone.

Art makes areté eternal.

Areté is Secular Divinity

Areté is real, objectively-evident to others, and transcendent across time.

Areté is the Western man’s god

To value areté is a choice.

Areté

Picture of

• Health • Proportion• Purity of soul• Harmonious• Happy• Inviting• Object of worship• Best of self • Someone to live up to • What life is all about

Anti-areté Revolting Fool Monster by choiceDisgusting garbage Self-hater Beast / Animalistic Water buffalo Slave to fads Devoid of sense & values Destructive Heap of Infamy Insult to mankind

People are not equal.

Man’s Areté WILL TO LIVE puts Free Will

in service to your life

Man thrives in a culture of areté

Fusing Essence to Excellence

Civilization is a permanent expression of values conducive

to human development

Western Civilization stands on areté

Will to Live

Civilization

Areté Liberty

Values Diamond

Will to Live

LIBERTY

CIVILIZATION

Areté

War on Areté

Modernism is a jihad against areté

Areté versus Modernist Monstrosities

1. Music versus rap; art versus modern art smears 2. Olympics versus Special Olympics3. For-Profit versus not-for-profit 4. Christmas versus Kwanza5. History versus Black History6. Femininity versus Feminism7. Marriage versus anal marriage8. Gold versus FED mafia-money9. Grammar versus ebonics; phonics v. look-say10. Industrial civilization versus Earth Day

Areté versus Modernist Monstrosities

1. Music versus rap; art versus modern art smears 2. Olympics versus Special Olympics3. For-Profit versus not-for-profit 4. Christmas versus Kwanza5. History versus Black History6. Femininity versus Feminism7. Marriage versus anal marriage8. Gold versus FED-mafia money9. Grammar versus ebonics; phonics v. look-say10. Industrial civilization versus Earth Day

Authentic versus Fake Values

Areté versus Modernist Monstrosities

1. Music versus rap; art versus modern art smears 2. Olympics versus Special Olympics3. For-Profit versus not-for-profit 4. Christmas versus Kwanza5. History versus Black History6. Femininity versus Feminism7. Marriage versus anal marriage8. Gold versus FED-mafia money9. Grammar versus ebonics; phonics v. look-say10. Industrial civilization versus Earth Day

Capitalism versus Socialism

Prime Versus Sub-Prime

Capitalism is the right to buy and sell solutions (Areté) to life’s problems so you can live long and prosper.

Socialism outlaws solutions. You suffer in misery until you die.

Socialism outlaws money, trade, property rights, subversive technology, ideas, movement, associations to make sure you suffer deeply—in famine and deprivation.

ALGORESUCKS!

Areté

Liberty

CommunismTheocracy

Liberty seeks secular areté; communism is a reactionary state religion of aggressive envy upon success produced in liberty.

Where is Areté?

You can’t redistribute areté without destroying it.

?

Where is Areté?

If is areté is God, communism is godless.If areté is God, theocracy is godless.

?

Socialism is sin against Areté

America is the ONLY industrialized nation

meant to be A FREE COUNTRY

The will to live seeks

Areté

Teach aretéTalk areté

Demand areté

Exert Your Will to Live!

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