Original Virtues Are Good

¶ … Virtues of Originality

Originality is far from overrated. Originality should be pursued in almost all endeavors and facets of life. Originality is a valuable quality because it is directly related to creation. Without originality, creation would have little meaning because it would have already been done before, and nothing new and substantial would be brought about. Originality should be pursued because it is the foundation of all things substantial in this life, particularly in regards to art, learning, and culture.

Originality is the basis of artistic expression and one of the most vital qualities that helps to determine whether or not a work of art has value. It is exceedingly easy to simply duplicate a work of art. Similarly, it is exceedingly easy to simply duplicate a style of art or to work within an established artistic genre. However, one is able to actually add to the field of art by embracing originality and producing works -- and styles of work -- that are original. This ability to add to the field is one of the most compelling reasons for creating artistic work. Artists strive to break through barriers and push the vanguard of artistic expression. However, they cannot do so if they are not embracing originality. Virtually any revered piece of art work was initially prized for its originality and the sense of novelty it brought to its field.

Originality is also extremely important to the realms of science and learning that are prized among western culture, and among most cultures in some way or another. It is through the manifestation of originality that learning is enabled. Quite simply, original theories, proofs, and innovations add to the body of knowledge that exists in the world today. Without originality as it applies to learning and knowledge, man would have never discovered that gravity exists, or created vital inventions such as the telephone or record player -- which continue to impact today's generations in the form of mobile computing and mP3s. Originality is necessary to add to a body of knowledge. Without originality, the fields of science and scholarship would not progress.

Finally, originality is necessary to help civilizations grow, and to continue to grow. Everyday, there are new inventions that are patented and released that help to redefine Western culture. In most cases, these inventions take the form of either products or services that help to provide conveniences. For instance, there are an assortment of services that people can have done at their homes that were not previously available a generation ago. There are companies that will come to people's homes to wash their cars, place their goods in storage, and even walk their dogs. All of these services were original at some point in time. That aspect of novelty helped them to fulfill a need within society for people who were too busy with their lives to accomplish these tasks on their own. Without some degree of originality, these new services would not have been created. Similarly, without originality new products -- such as the plastic hat supports that allow people to wash their baseball hats in washing machines -- would not be created. In this regard, originality is part of the advance of civilizations. Western civilization was able to evolve from the Renaissance era to the Industrial Revolution to the so-called current technology or internet revolution because of innovations that spawned from originality. Without these innovations, Western culture would become stagnant and possibly even replaced as the dominant culture in the world today.