Telos

Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines telos as “an ultimate end”. In other terms, telos can be referred to as having a goal or purpose. In “The Beautiful and the Ugly are One Thing, the Sublime Another: A Reflection on Culture” by Stanley Diamond, the word telos is used in the following sentence, “For culture is itself a transcendence, making available a commonality of language that can be combined and recombined into the most illuminating construction of the human telos”. In this statement I believe Diamond is conveying the message that human beings will alter cultural practices to better suite their own goals, or telos. Throughout this section, Diamond describes how culture itself is being diminished in society due to either “productive-reproductive routine”, or “mechanical materialism”. Meaning that some humans are currently living with the notion of simply reproducing and surviving on a day to day basis , or satisfying their materialistic wants. These can both kill a society’s cultural values and goals. Are goals set for just individuals, or for entire groups? Are all goals deliberately made? All over the world people are heavily influenced by different platforms of media: television, magazines, social media, etc. Using beauty as an example, in America there has been an increasing trend in having bigger lips, which sky rocketed after reality star and entrepreneur Kylie Jenner had her lips enlarged. This even caused the viral Kylie Jenner Challenge which actually caused some participants to have permanent damage to their mouths. Overall, a telos is an ultimate goal that can either be one set for an individual or group by the individuals themselves or influencing factors.