by Robert Lambert

Created on: April 09, 2009

There are two objections that I frequently hear to the idea of a perfect world. The first is that the world is not or cannot be perfect, and the second is that the world should not be perfect. Both often involve descriptions of what a perfect world would be like, which usually amounts to there being no war or violence, no crime or greed, no hatred or fear, and in general no unhappiness. Those that make the first argument stop here, and claim that due to human nature (a nebulous concept generally used to mean "things I don't like about humanity") these things are impossible. Those that make the second argument take the extra step and realize that such a world would be devoid of many of the things that make our world interesting and that that kind of everlasting peace would require there to be no differences between people, so they argue that such a world wouldn't actually be desireable. It would be a world without conflict, where nothing would ever happen and no person would have the capability to make something happen.

I think they are right that the common idea of a perfect world is actually undesireable, but by definition a perfect world would be desireable. Therefore, what this actually means is that most people are mistaken in what they believe would be a perfect world. So, we must start from the beginning and be more rational about it this time. What makes a world perfect? Well, what makes a knife perfect? A knife is for cutting, therefore a perfect knife is one that cuts perfectly and can cut anything. What makes a bowl perfect? A bowl is for holding things, therefore a perfect bowl is one that holds things perfectly and doesn't leak or spill. Thus, a thing is perfect by performing its purpose perfectly.

Now we have a greater question. What is the purpose of the world? Let us look to smaller things again. Why is a knife for cutting and a bowl for holding, and not the other way around? The reason is obvious, of course: a knife is sharp, which is a trait ideal for cutting, and a bowl is concave, which is a trait ideal for holding. There are other things you can use them for though, for example a cook can crush a clove of garlic with the flat of a knife and a child can wear a bowl as a helmet while playing, and if a knife or bowl were better at one of those purposes than at cutting or holding, then that would be its purpose. In any case, it is clear that an object's purpose is that thing which it is best at.

So what is the world best at? Well, there are different

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