Facilitating Knowledge of the Excellent Life Through the Aesthetics of Mike Mentzers BodybuildingBrian Anderson

This essay focuses on the creative aesthetic of Mike Mentzers Integrated Man, and suggests that his notion of virtue, as expressed creatively through knowledge and imagination, links him with the virtue-ethics of the ancient Greeks. To understand Mentzer as a radically innovative bodybuilder and thinker, drawing inspiration from this ancient heritage for a virtuous and noble life, a life of excellent human flourishing(eudaimonia), it is necessary to briefly explore this ancient cultures philosophy of knowledge, art, and virtue. Knowledge is virtue, is a fundamental Socratic thesis. Succinctly, it means having the wherewithal to understand that a virtuous life, a life of excellence, is worth pursuing and requires work and dedication, i.e., training of the soul in thought and action, which expresses a living relationship to the knowledge of the interrelated cardinal virtues: piety, temperance, justice, courage, and wisdom, which assumed the role of the fifth virtue, guiding the philosophers dialectic examination of the virtues. In the case of Socrates, wisdom was not a mode of detached theoretical contemplation, which transcended mans experiential condition. For Socrates, wisdom was a form of rational, clear-sighted thought, and when employed properly, it held the potential to uncover the knowledge of virtue (or virtues) by answering the ultimate question, What is it to be a virtuous and excellent human? Similar to the Greeks, Mentzers artistic philosophy was based on the notion of virtue-ethics, for he was concerned with mans character, the habitual ways of behaving

and living (ethos), and the moral purpose, or end, motivating mans comportment in all situations. The six virtues, christened by Mike Mentzer with the acronym HUNGER, are strikingly similar in character to the virtues of the ancients. Extending beyond the realm of competitive bodybuilding, they represented for Mentzer principles of value, indicative of and essential to the pursuit of the excellent life. The values of Height, Uplift, Nobility, Grandeur, Exaltation and Reverence (HUNGER) apply to knowledge, philosophy, and character-building, inspiring man to his full human potential as a rational, moral, and creative being. In the manner of the ancient Greeks, Mentzer struck a working balance between various forms of knowledge: rational, scientific, and other modes of truth-disclosure, e.g., the intuitive knowledge that comes by way of the creative, aesthetic experience (aisthesis). Mentzer understood that knowledge exists in many forms, each holding its own distinct place in our world-epistemology. When employing this philosophical categorization, I am fully aware of the implications, for although rational and scientific to the end, Mentzer believed that art facilitated a highly complex form of knowledge, albeit sensate in nature, and further, that mans creative ability to make and remake his world and values, inspired by aesthetic knowledge, represented his most noble quality. Edith Hamiltons description of the hallmark of Greek culture in terms of the unification of intellectualism and artistic creativity mirrors Mentzers contemporary philosophy of life, art, and sport. Discussing the integrated mind-body connection in The Greek Way, Hamilton labels the Greeks spiritual materialists, for no struggle between the body, the mind, and spirit existed for them. They were clear, lucid thinkers, who refused to deny the importance of the body (and the knowledge acquired via the senses)

and ever seeing in the body a spiritual significance. Mentzer understood the significant role of the body in renewing the sense of the spiritual, or religious, in mans secular, earthly existence. For this reason, he enthusiastically worked to perfect the body and the presentation thereof. According to Mentzer, the honed and perfected physique of the bodybuilder, when presented in dramatic fashion, in affiliation with music of great power and emotion, expressed the art of living virtuously. The body, as unique work-of-art, in a moment of aesthetic attunement, transmitted and instilled the knowledge and ideal of the heroic conception of man as the exalted hero, who stands noble and tall, proud of his ability and willingness to be a creative, productive innovator. Art historian Johann Joachim Winckelmann (Reflections on the Intimations of Greek Works of Art in Painting and Sculpture) expressed a kindred notion regarding ethical knowledge and the aesthetic experience. Writing in 1755, he offered an aesthetic alternative for legitimately approaching the so-called Socratic virtues, suggesting that it was possible to learn about the virtuous Greeks, not by reading their philosophy, but rather through the analysis of their art. Winckelmann sought to learn two crucial things about Greek art: First, he examined the experience of art (spectator and work), trying to understand the way in which it communicates truth, along with the type of truth communicated. Second, when seeking the meaning of the artwork (which emerges from the experience), he recognized the importance of the artists purpose and inspiration, which provided insight into the general health, or worth, of the artists culture. Although the Greeks did not have a philosophy of art in the sense of our modern

science of aesthetics, such philosophers as Plato and Aristotle inspired philosophys future movement along this path, for they wrote much concerning the transformation of worldly understanding in the unique moment of the aesthetic experience, e.g., according to Plato (The Phaedrus), in the presence of beauty, both natural and created varieties, man was elevated to the heights of his creative, philosophical potential. The work of art for the Greeks was a unique, created object. It was the culmination of knowledge (techne) and production (poiesis), and when completed (ergon), it stood outside the dominion of both the knowledge and the processes of production necessary for its existence. For example, the meaning of a sculpture, in a special sense, transcended the material and formal qualities of the work. However, this is not to indicate that for the Greeks the sculptures material form was wholly separable from its meaning, as though the role of the particular representation in stone was somehow inconsequential to the true meaning of the work. This is because Greek art was not symbolic in the modern sense of the term. It did not convey the entirety of its meaning through metaphor or metonymy, in the manner of pointing beyond the actual, physical representation depicted by the artist. Meaning was never divorced from the unique, particular form of the artwork; the form, in fact, served as the origin of the works meaning. For example, Winckelmann viewed the statue, Laocoon as the embodiment of the values it communicated, and not merely symbolic of valor under extreme duress. The statue depicts the Trojan Priest and his sons in the death-grip of sea snakes, and coveys in a particular, unique representation this man and his story. However, according to Winckelmann, since the statue idealizes the virtues of Laocoon, it

simultaneously projects, from this unique, particular incarnation, the virtues in their universality, speaking to the spectators of the overarching heroic sense of beauty linked with such an event, i.e., the last moments of the valiant, courageous (human) struggle against an unthinkable, horrific fate. From this statue, Winckelmann distilled the dominant characteristic of both Greek art and their society. Analyzing the noble simplicity and serene greatness in the pose as well as the expression, he concluded that the statue embodied the greatness of mans soul and the clarity of his mind, conveying the excellence of heroic composure in the face of every overwhelming passion:

The pain of body and greatness of soul are equally balanced throughout the composition of the figure and seem to cancel each other out. Laocoon suffers, but he suffers like Sophocles Philoctotes; his misery pierces us to the soul; but we should be able to bear anguish in the manner of this man.

In Mentzers unique philosophy, the body functions as paradigmatic work-of-art, and this idea relates to Winckelmanns understanding of sculpture and its power to convey aesthetically the knowledge of virtue. It is evident from the photographic and written documentation of Mike Mentzers successful competitive career (including his one piece of fictional writing) that his training and posing routines were designed with the purpose of forging the idealized human figure, which served as the origin for the communication of higher moral truths about life. The six virtues of HUNGER sprang from Mentzers art of bodybuilding, which he deemed the indispensable medium for the

communication of a moral ideal. Much like the Greeks of antiquity, the body for Mentzer was not merely symbolic of human virtue, but rather served as the very embodiment of human excellence, for all to see, experience, and (hopefully) emulate. For Mentzer, the bodybuilders physique and countenance worked synchronically with the music chosen for the posing routine, projecting virtuous ideals and testifying to the long, arduous years of preparation and self-sacrifice required for this fleeting moment on the posing dais. In addition to modeling and exemplifying the virtues of the excellent life, the bodybuilders physique also illuminates his self-understanding, which includes the knowledge of his art and culture. Mentzer powerfully expressed this very notion when he stated, Let your muscles serve as an expression of your glorious will and your glorious reason. It is legitimate to draw the analogy between competitive bodybuilding and the high arts of sculpture and dance, while recognizing that each art form is unique in its own right, retaining aesthetic elements unique to the respective genre. As a living and breathing sculpture, the body is a proportioned, symmetrical work of art in which various aesthetic properties exit harmoniously. The bodybuilder is also similar to the dancer, in that his art demands assuming the role of both artist and finished art form, and these aspects of bodybuilding, as an art form, represent two sides of the same coin. Interestingly, sculpture during the classical period rose to the heights of its creative power when sculptors observed and analyzed the movements of choral dancers. The majestic pose of Laocoon, representative of the good, true, and the beautiful, articulates a single moment within times linear progression, and was selected to express the illusion of continuous movement. Great classical sculpture was concerned with the

perception of temporality, intimating the events that gave rise to the frozen moment captured by the sculptor, while at once calling up the spectators anticipation of the natural progression of that movement, and in this way, classical sculpture never sacrificed the sense of motion, which heightened and intensified the perception of dramatic urgency. In the following passage, classical art historian J. J. Pollitt describes the style of choral dance from which sculptors of the period drew their inspiration. The characteristics associated with the majestic style of posing incorporated by Mentzer are nearly identical in nature to the typical features of Greek choral dance.

A (choral) dancer, moving in time with the music, performed specific steps in time with the beat of the music. Between each step there were momentary stops (called ereimiai) in which the body was held for an instant in characteristically grand positions.

The principles of high art (and fine art) are readily employed by champion bodybuilders when assessing their physiques and structuring their training regiments. Mentzer demonstrated the acute awareness of the principles of design (e.g., the aesthetic notions of symmetry, proportion, and balance) when working to carve out the perfectly honed physique. He also recognized the importance of the expressive properties associated with the experience of art, i.e., the sensory and emotional qualities, which are influenced in great part by the elements of design. Mentzer was exceptionally diligent when preparing for the presentation of his finished physique, as the posing routine was the event that supported the emotional and noetic weight of his art. Importantly, he writes

of selecting poses that best displayed his worldview, and through his physique and proud, noble countenance, his values radiated. For example, Mentzers signature pose is beyond anything arising from the immediate tradition of bodybuilding, and in fact, the pose recalls the Greek tragic hero, who in the moment of experiencing a catastrophic reversal of fortune demonstrated moral fortitude and physical endurance, bearing with heroic resolve, lifes greatest adversities. This dramatic pose calls to mind Aeschylus poetic words from the Oresteia regarding mans relationship to the Gods. According to the chorus, the gods have set mortals on the path to understanding their world by laying down the ultimate tragic law of existence, Man must learn by suffering! It is possible to imagine Mentzers response to this Greek truism, as suggested by his perfectly modeled heroic demeanor, that a full and authentic life is one in which joy, elation, and intense suffering coexist. We can perhaps imagine mans suffering as redeemable through a form of art that serves a higher purpose art, as conceived by Mentzer - art that is vigorous and formidable, powerful enough to not only allow for the endurance of suffering, but further, to inspire its transfiguration. As stated, Mentzer embraced art as the medium for the communication of higher values. Thus, it is crucial to understand the manner in which the body works in communion with powerful, uplifting music, for it is through the art of posing, the medium of art (body-in-motion to music), that the contemporary ideals and values of excellence (HUNGER) are transmitted to the spectators in a moment of ecstatic, communal attunement. From the moment the bodybuilder takes the stage, he is communicating nonverbally with the audience, and, in the words of Mentzer, By being

keenly aware of this phenomenon you can purposely control what you communicate. The revelation and communication of arts truth occurs, as the faculty of rational cognition is temporarily suspended. Describing this moment of aesthetic attunement, Mentzers terms and concepts are nearly identical to those employed by Kant when analyzing the aesthetic experience of the beautiful and the sublime (The Critique of Judgment). We imagine this type of collective attunement occurring for the Greeks during the rhapsodic performances, choral dances, athletic competitions, and the great tragic performances at their religious festivals. In such moments, a transformation of mood occurred, man stood outside of the normal, everyday ways of existing, and within this ecstatic experience, mans capacity for understanding the world was enhanced as the faculties of perception and imagination were set in motion. Mentzer believed that this aesthetic phenomenon, as described above, transpired in the auditorium of the bodybuilding competition. Praising musics unparalleled power to alter the waking conscious state, Mentzer philosophized musics enormous appeal and power in all cultures, and with this in mind, he devoted close attention to the choice of not only poses he selected for displaying the physique, but as well, to the choice of music that accompanied the routine. Mentzer expressed a profound understanding of music as a viable aesthetic medium for collectively communicating higher values with others. According to Mentzer, in this following quotation, music represented a shared form of art.

Music is the only form of art that bypasses the human critical/conceptual faculty entirely, directing affecting the emotionsThe music and posing had to be

integrated, that is consistent and non-contradictory, since both would express my art - my view of man through my sense of life emotions, as displayed in my movements on stage and through the music I chose.

In this moment, the body speaks like the sculpture of Laocoon, and in the presence of perfected physical, moral, and emotional ideals, the spectators are collectively raised beyond themselves. It is the body as work-of-art that serves as the origin of truth, facilitating the intuitive movement of the spectators perceptual comprehension from the embodied, highly concentrated, particular manifestations of the noble virtues, to the universal understanding of these virtues in idealized forms. However, the so-called forms of the virtues are never complete abstractions, as their universality ultimately depends on the particular representations portrayed in the work-of-art. Arts power of transfiguration lies in its ability to perfect nature, to perfect the idea of mans existence, e.g., rather than merely re-presenting a mimetic copy what life is, art strives to go one better, and show us what life ought to be. For this reason, Winckelmann believed that created beauty was (always) superior to natural beauty, Nature, he once quipped, must yield the palm to art. According to Mentzer, it was the task of art and the artist to concretize the values in abstraction, through personifying the moral ideals of man and communicating these ideals via the agency of aesthetic intuition, a state of insight that reveals truth in a manner that eludes the workings of the discursive intellect. As Mentzer reasons,

rather than have to read an undue lengthy passage to know how to act in certain

situations, summoning the image of the human ideal would serve to provide the individual automatically with the knowledge of how one should act.

In closing, I return to Winckelmanns belief that art expressed the general well being of the culture from which it emerged. It is the case that our contemporary culture, if measured against the elevated standards of excellence that Winckelmann so stringently applied to the Greeks, would fall short of the mark as a culture of great worth. A great number of modern philosophers (e.g., Martin Heidegger) have quite convincingly argued this very point, that our historical age lacks the potential to visualize, form, and actualize our ecumenical objectives. In more accessible terms, we lack a genuine sense of historical destiny that emerges only in relation to our authentic heritage, or collective living ethos. I think Mike Mentzer would have agreed with the foregoing statement, and for this reason, his philosophical stance regarding the pursuit of moral, intellectual, and physical excellence is so unique, refreshing, and inspirational! To a great extent, his creative thought sets him apart from the social complacency, which inhibits man from adopting a question-worthy attitude toward life, in the manner of the ancient Greeks. As shown, Mentzer was not deterred from asking the difficult questions concerned with meaning, virtue, and the excellent human existence, for he was ever in search of a valuerich life through the endeavors of philosophy, science, and art. His work reminds us to hold fast to our noble visions and to make every effort to give the ideas we have of the excellent life, as perfected through art and the creative intellect, shape, reality and purpose.