Character As Well As Personality

If nosotros desire to convey a to a greater extent than adequate theory of the usage instrumentalist ( link ), nosotros require to broaden...

If nosotros desire to convey a to a greater extent than adequate theory of the usage instrumentalist (link), nosotros require to broaden our understanding of the factors as well as capacities that impact action.  The categories of personality as well as grapheme are both relevant to the ways inward which nosotros empathize how people acquit inward ordinary as well as extraordinary circumstances. So a theory of the usage instrumentalist ought to convey a house for these concepts.

How are these concepts related? Both convey to exercise amongst persistent features of behavior, simply they look to convey somewhat distinct domains as well as convey been approached yesteryear widely separated disciplines. In particular, grapheme seems to live morally charged inward ways that personality is not.

Here are roughly examples of characteristics that look intuitively to autumn into the ii categories.

Personality	Character
Outgoing	Honest
Sociable	Capable of carrying out commitments
Introverted	Slippery
Shy	Deceptive
Perfectionist	Manipulative
Careless	Courageous
Ambitious	Pays attending to principles
Short-sighted	Opportunistic
Agreeable	Kind
Secure / insecure	Cruel
Curious	Self-directed

Both sets of characteristics larn beyond (or below) rational calculation as well as utility. (In fact, nosotros powerfulness tell that the purely rational private lacks both personality as well as character; his/her actions are dictated yesteryear electrical current estimates of costs as well as benefits of diverse lines of action.) Both personality as well as grapheme convey to exercise amongst features of conduct that are non-purposive to an of import extent. They convey to exercise amongst who the usage instrumentalist is, non then much amongst what he/she wants to accomplish. Rational calculation is sometimes at odds amongst roughly of these features -- sometimes principles as well as commitments stand upward inward the agency of self interest, then grapheme dictates a dissimilar course of written report of activity than prudence.

Personality falls within the domain of empirical psychology. There is a long tradition of enquiry as well as theory inward the surface area of personality psychology. Psychologists look to favor to usage the vocabulary of "personality traits" (Jerry Wiggins, "In Defense of Traits," Handbook of Personality Psychology, edited yesteryear Robert Hogan et al). And a cardinal destination of personality psychology has been to unwrap a taxonomy of personality types that permit classification of all normal human beings. Along amongst such a taxonomy, the dependent champaign has sought to exercise mensuration tools that permit application of the scheme to ordinary human subjects.

The written report of grapheme has tended to live a preoccupation of philosophers, who approach the enquiry inward a to a greater extent than theoretical as well as apriori way.  Philosophers extending dorsum to the ancient Greeks convey attempted to position the features of a person's inner life that elevate or diminish the person's moral worthiness. Part of the moral connotation of features of grapheme is captured inward the linguistic fact that many of the features nosotros attribute to grapheme are virtues (or vices). We praise people who own a release of virtues, as well as nosotros criticize them if they lack these virtues (or own the opposite vice). This champaign of written report powerfulness live called "moral psychology," simply it has tended to live non-empirical. In the yesteryear ii decades at that topographic point has been a score of convergence betwixt the empirical written report of conduct as well as the philosophical written report of moral determination making, inward the topic surface area of evolutionary moral theory (Moral Psychology: The Evolution of Morality: Adaptations as well as Innateness (Volume 1), Moral Psychology: The Cognitive Science of Morality: Intuition as well as Diversity (Volume 2)).  

There is academic as well as pop disagreement nigh the score to which personality traits are acquired or innate.  Some argue, along the lines of the sociobiologists, that at to the lowest degree roughly features of social conduct are controlled yesteryear our evolutionary history. The underlying rationale for this hunch is the likelihood that personality traits convey effects on reproductive success; individuals who convey traits that permit them to live to a greater extent than successful inward eliciting cooperation from others are to a greater extent than probable to reproduce successfully. (This is the underlying idea inward Allan Gibbard's Wise Choices, Apt Feelings: Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 Theory of Normative Judgment.) And others hold that the private is highly plastic at birth, then the developmental environs is the primary causal cistron inward the evolution of personality.

We powerfulness essay to depict a distinction betwixt personality as well as grapheme along these lines. Personality has to exercise amongst the psychological "hardware" amongst which the private is equipped. Just equally a snappy Mustang has corking acceleration as well as so-so gas mileage (determined yesteryear the scheme of its constituent systems), roughly individuals convey affable, agreeable interactions amongst other people (determined yesteryear the scheme of their affective systems). Character has to exercise amongst moral capacities inward embodied human beings: the powerfulness to proceed a promise, tell the truth, or stand upward resolute inward the aspect upward of threat. Character has to exercise amongst the ways nosotros conceive of ourselves as well as sculpt our actions to stand upward for our expectations; personality has to exercise amongst reactive features of our psychological systems.

And hither is roughly other possibility that powerfulness live considered: grapheme traits (courage, truthiness) are themselves traits of personality. They are non a dissimilar psychological category. But non all personality traits convey to exercise amongst character. Moreover, nosotros powerfulness speculate that grapheme traits convey the additional characteristic that they tin live deliberately cultivated, yesteryear oneself as well as yesteryear others. This approach has the payoff of simplifying our theory of the mental yesteryear i score of complexity. Whether nosotros are interested inward personality or grapheme is primarily a enquiry of methodological perspective rather than mental ontology.

(Here is a rattling expert essay on "Moral Character" yesteryear Marcia Homiak inward the SEP; link.)