Personality.

Touching briefly (hah) on the topic of Christian constructs and the issue of being a ‘bad’ or a ‘good’ person, I have to address the obvious underlying issue here – the soul. Which, for all intensive purposes, we shall consider synonymous with the concept of personality – a concept I’ve blethered on many times in the past.

Here’s the basic summary of my beliefs on the issue at present:
We are not unique. There is no underlying soul or entity which will determine how we will act in a given situation, based on permanent, pre-determined characteristics.

I think the concept of the soul has come about because of this illusion of originality* that people have about themselves. Which is just that – an illusion. We are all driven by the same motivations – basic requirements e.g. food, shelter, company, as well as higher motives such as desire for respect amongst ones peers, power, money, which are just extensions of the basic ones.

I’m not saying people aren’t different from one another – different people do have different behaviours. But it’s not because we’re inherently varied or wonderful. It’s not because we’re different as ‘people,’ but because the human race is unique for its greater – hence varied – intellectual development compared to other species. Our perceived characteristics reflect our upbringings. As some of us have been brought up in different environments from others, and have consequently been exposed to different influential factors during the key stages of intellectual development, different people will react differently to different stimuli. It’s basic behavioural habituation.

For example, you’re walking down the street, and a stranger approaches you and, unprovoked, slaps you in the face. Keeping to the theme of our Biblical references, whether you ‘turn the other cheek’ or take the ‘eye for an eye’ approach will depend on how you have been taught to react, or how you have observed others react e.g. parents, in similar situations.

Another example – apparently, 75% of convicted child abusers were abused themselves.

So, the way we react to certain stimuli is not a prescribed behaviour caused by our being ‘nice’ or ‘impatient’ (or some other adjective) people. As far as I’m concerned, none of the inherent values commonly associated with the soul technically exist. If someone is described as ‘nice’ (I can’t say I’ve ever had the pleasure), it is because they have acted nicely in the past, not because they necessarily will in the future.

I know I’m beating the dead horse here, but for some reason this issue has been really bugging me.

*I got a copy of Girl, Interrupted for Christmas – “Whatever we call it – mind, character, soul – we like to think we possess something that is greater than the sum of our neurons and that ‘animates’ us.”

End.