Website owner:  James Miller

Character ---- and lack of it. Personality patterns




   Character is a personality pattern.  A large number of traits 
   and tendencies tend to occur together in a pattern that we call 
   character.  Lack of character is also a personality pattern.  
   Again, a number of traits and tendencies tend to occur together 
   in a pattern that we call lack of character.  Why certain 
   traits and tendencies tend to occur together and form patterns 
   is an interesting question.  One reason is probably that 
   certain traits and tendencies tend to reinforce each other. 
   Another reason is probably that certain traits and tendencies 
   all have a common cause.  There is some basic element in the 
   person's makeup that is causing them.  At any rate these 
   patterns do occur and often very strongly and distinctly.  What 
   are the traits and tendencies that tend to occur together in 
   the pattern that we call character?  What are the traits and 
   tendencies that tend to occur in the pattern that we call lack 
   of character? 



   Traits and tendencies often found in the personality pattern 
   that we call character:

         integrity                      justness
         honesty                        fairness
         rectitude                      diligence
         sense of honor                 carefulness
         high moral standards           prudence
         conscientiousness              restraint
         trustworthiness                tidiness
         sense of duty                  willingness to accept blame
         courage                        principled conduct
         intelligence                   foresight
         common sense                   perseverance
         self-discipline                stick-to-itiveness
         self-control                   determination 
         self-denial                    unselfishness
         self-reliance                  seriousness
         self-sacrifice                 caution
         thriftiness                    chastity



   Traits and tendencies often found in the personality pattern 
   that we call lack of character:

         lack of integrity              laziness
         dishonesty                     refusal to accept blame
         lack of scruples               lack of seriousness
         lack of honor                  lack of morals 
         deceitfulness                  lack of conscientiousness
         unreliability                  lack of perseverance
         untrustworthiness              lack of self-discipline
         knavery                        lack of self-control
         impulsiveness                  cowardice
         selfishness                    spendthriftiness
         prodigality                    wastefulness
         unchastity




   Let us look over the list of traits and tendencies that appear 
   as part of the pattern we call character and ask how they might 
   relate to one another and if any are consequences of others.  
   Many are closely related to a strong moral sense, a strong 
   sense of right and wrong.  Could a strong moral sense, a strong 
   sense of right and wrong, be an underlying root in a person's 
   character that gives rise to all of these traits?  Living true 
   to one's moral sense requires self-discipline and self-control.  
   Perhaps this is the source of self-discipline and self-control 
   in such people.  Living true to one's moral sense also requires 
   courage.  Perhaps this is the source of courage in such people.  
   Perhaps traits such as self-discipline and courage are habits 
   acquired through hard effort and continual practice.  And if a 
   person doesn't have a moral sense perhaps it is because he 
   didn't have the self-discipline or courage to live up to it and 
   as a consequence lost it.  What causes a strong moral sense?  
   Perhaps we all start out with a healthy one in the beginning 
   and some of us just lose it.  Underlying a strong moral sense 
   don't we find a love of Right, Justice and Goodness?  And a 
   dislike for Badness?  And underlying a love of Right, Justice 
   and Goodness don't we find a belief in God, reverence for God, 
   a commitment to God and his divine law?  Isn't it all religious 
   at the bottom? 


   May 1987




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