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The Desire for a Designer


At first glance, everything appears perfect. Perfectly designed, perfectly aligned, perfectly consigned. As we look upon each other, we assume that the human form must be the work of a creator. This belief often prevents them from accepting the empirically established fact that our species is a part of the universal process of evolution, replete with numerous internal inconsistencies, both psychological and physical. But the eye is perfect, so it must be designed, right? They believe that every functioning aspect of animals, because it works, must be designed.

The fallacy of perfection isn’t exclusive to our biological nature. It manifests as a societal issue, and a personal one. Moreover, there’s the question of where perfection stands in the universe. Is there such a thing as perfection? Society often promotes the idea that perfectionism should be pursued, that it might even be a virtue or an ideal. People genuinely believe that perfectionism is achievable. But one must ask a simple question: what constitutes perfectionism? What makes something, anything, perfect? We can indeed use the word ‘perfect’ in a colloquial and non-literal sense, to describe something that appears pristine, wonderful, and grand to the senses. A literal type of perfection is utopian, and an exotic, faultless perfection can evoke a sense of eerie unease. Utopias are subjective. Anyone’s idea of a utopia, an ideal of a perfect world, and the subjective perfection required to achieve said utopia, is never objectively attainable. The desire for such perfection leads to mental incongruity, a well-studied phenomenon in the field of psychological health. As I delve beyond the metaphysical problems with the concept of perfectionism, it’s worth highlighting its implications, especially for those who may lack experience in mental health suffering.

Perfectionism, in everyday life, inevitably leads to habits and behaviours that inhibit good mental health. What’s worse in this fiasco is that society promotes this unattainable idea of perfection. Keeping up with your neighbours, possessing what you see people possess in the media, becoming the ideal contributor to society. All societies have their ideal way of life, and one must flaunt it accordingly, or else be deemed unworthy. As life has become less private and more intrusive due to certain aspects of online pomposity and social media vanity, the pursuit of perfection has intensified. Comparison and perfection go hand in hand, as does poor mental health. When it’s inevitable that you attempt to climb the social ladder, collectively constructed by society itself, the comparison never ends, as someone is always a step ahead of you in some way. It seems that this constant competitiveness is permeated by society, and encouraged by the human beings within it.

From the book, Denial of Human Nature.

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