About
Pronounced mostly as [ahr-i-tey] and [a-rhet] in English, arete is the Greek philosophical ideal of striving for, or being possessed of 'excellence'. It was applied to nearly everything, such as the excellence of a song, a wrestling match, a tree, or even a sunset. However, it was refined by philosophers, such as Plato and Aristotle, to represent an ultimate goal in humans and our constructs. Therefore people pursue arete in our lives to fulfill our ultimate purpose, just as a society or country pursues arete in their government and institutions to fulfill the society's ultimate purpose.
Notably, early philosophers are not proscriptive of exactly what these ultimate purposes are, but the edict was usually that these must be uncovered through a combination of contemplation, exploration, and logic.
This is the purpose of this site, to explore and document a pursuit of arete in areas such as a personal and interpersonal life, government and politics, data science and artificial intelligence, physical and mental health, leadership and management, and philosophy.
about the Author
Joel
Joel has decades of experience in the public sector in several domains. He has consistently pursued opportunities to improve how government works and how it serves the people it is designed for, especially when they may need it most. He holds a doctorate in public administration with a research focus on applied data science, including artificial intelligence and machine learning, to reduce administrative burdens in government programs. His academic and research interests also focus on leadership and organizational decision-making, behavioral science, evaluation science, and philosophy.
The writing on this site represents his personal research and exploration and is separate from his professional work. Therefore, it doesn't represent the views of his employers or the government.
