Macro-Observation: Temperament
Hippocrates: 460-370 BCE.
Claudius Galen: 129-216 CE.
We know about the Hippocratic temperaments from the works of Galen. The psychological descriptions apparently belong to Galen.
Four Temperaments
Sanguine
- Cheerful, sociable, active.
- Becomes excited quickly and calms down just as quickly.
- Easily switches between activities.
- Superficial in feelings.
- Inclined toward optimism.
Choleric
- Hot-tempered, energetic, decisive.
- Reacts quickly and is prone to strong emotions.
- A natural leader, but may be aggressive.
- Unstable in mood.
- Stubborn and inclined toward dominance.
Phlegmatic
- Calm, balanced, slow.
- Restrained in emotions and actions.
- Reliable and stable.
- Does not like change.
- Takes a long time to enter a new task, but works persistently.
Melancholic
- Withdrawn, impressionable, anxious.
- Inclined toward deep experiences.
- Sensitive to criticism.
- Has creative thinking.
- Often prone to despondency.
Scales
I reformatted these data into four scales:
- Aggression - depression
- Laughter - tears
- The most - the most
- Self-evaluation
Here is what came out.
| The most | Laughter - tears | Aggression - depression | Self-evaluation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Choleric | Fast | Sarcasm | Aggression | Inflated |
| Sanguine | Benevolent | Humor | Vigor | Positive |
| Phlegmatic | Enduring | Neutral | Imperturbability | Unclear |
| Melancholic | Sensitive | Tears | Depression | Unstable |
Note.
If a person has two temperaments, self-evaluation is determined by the leading one.
Appendix
We distinguish an instant state that repeats in a person from typical reactions of a person to typical circumstances, that is, character traits.
The set of instant states plus the list of characteristic traits forms character.
Theophrastus, a student of Aristotle, wrote a book called Characters, where he listed not 30 characters, but 30 character traits.
The four temperaments are characters.
These characters are formed from warming-up curves against the background of the educator’s typical reaction to the child’s actions.
See also: