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Types of Purity

Purity is a concept that is applied in very different ways when it is used in differing contexts. While one person may be concerned with moral purity, a concept that implies important and potentially controversial social implications, another person may be concerned solely with utilitarian purity, as in the case of metallurgy.

  1. Moral Purity

    • Moral purity is something that is preached and sought in many spiritual traditions. While each tradition has its own interpretation of this subjective term, most would agree that it involves not hurting others, attempting to be humble and altruistic, and trying to do good deeds that help others and the world. Concepts of moral purity often involve the subjection of one's individual will to that of a higher power. Moral purity is often invoked in the attempt to overcome phenomena that are seen as social evils, including pornography, usury, smoking, gambling and adultery.

    Purity in Food

    • Individuals who are concerned with the health of the food they eat often seek pure food in the form of products that have been grown without chemical pesticides and fertilizers, and foods that have not been irradiated, genetically engineered or otherwise altered. Most people who seek what they see as pure food believe that the human body should eat food in the form that it grows from the Earth, since this is what the human body has evolved to eat. This philosophy could be seen to equate nature with purity, and human tampering with food as impure.

    Purity in the Arts

    • Many theorists have explored the idea of purity in art as a means of accessing the true meaning of an artwork. The Abstract Expressionists, who dominated the art world in the 1940s, saw abstraction as a path to purity because it was concerned solely with personal expression and didn't use paint to reflect physical reality. Similar movements have existed in music, dance, architecture and other fields. In different ways and using different media, all of these movements attempt to develop a pure means of access to the soul of the artist that is free of ulterior motives such as money, fame and adulation.

    Sexual Purity

    • The notion of sexual purity is a contentious one. Usually entangled with religious beliefs of one sort or another, sexual purity is aligned with notions of virginity, innocence and freedom from polluting thoughts. While some people deride this notion as reactionary and archaic, others see it as a cure for many social ills such as broken families and teenage pregnancy. Sexual purity is also associated with monogamy and with the idea that sexual activity should not be engaged in outside of a close emotional relationship with a sexual partner.

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