People who strive for a high moral or aesthetic ideal often exalt that ideal to an absolute, which automatically generates an unsettling feeling of one’s own imperfection as well as the imperfections of others.

The Burden of Idealism: Navigating the Gap Between Aspiration and Crit

People who strive for a high moral or aesthetic ideal often exalt that ideal to an absolute, which automatically generates an unsettling feeling of one’s own imperfection as well as the imperfections of others. Due to constant comparison with an unattainable standard, such a person tends to evaluate the world and people by harsh criteria. They see themselves as merely an intermediate stage on the path to perfection, and any deviation from the ideal becomes a reason for remarks and criticism. This can be understood as follows: when the ideal is constantly presented to the mind, the will strives for its realization, and the closer one gets to it, the more clearly one feels the gap between the grandeur of the ideal and one’s own imperfection and that of others. As stated in one of the sources, “And as his mind is constantly presented with the unattainable ideal of truth, so his will strives for the realization of the ideal of goodness… But the closer they came to this ideal, the higher they saw it above themselves” (source: link txt).

Moreover, the shift from striving for the ideal to an obsessive fixation on it often leads a person not to embody sincere example but to begin criticizing those around them, attempting to impose their own point of view and worldview. In this case, criticisms turn into a means of self-assertion and an attempt to force others to meet their high standards, which is essentially a projection of an inner struggle with their own limitations. Thus, criticism becomes not so much an instrument for improvement as a reflection of the inner state of a person driven by the pursuit of an unattainable ideal.

Supporting citation(s):
“And as his mind is constantly presented with the unattainable ideal of truth, so his will strives for the realization of the ideal of goodness… But the closer they came to this ideal, the higher they saw it above themselves.” (source: link txt)

“The servant of the ideal, the servant of the true God also strives to spread his faith, but he does so by preaching, by personal example. Obsessed with utopia, he substitutes preaching with propaganda, inspiration with incitement. He aims to ‘indoctrinate’ others, ‘infecting’ them with his fanatical enthusiasm.” (source: link txt)