Tab'le De'Bah-Rye Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 Pax domini bretheren, sympathiesers and others... So i have this question for you all communally and personally. Do you believe we are born with personality or is it something that we develop over time which can be changed or altered at anytime, and is there anything on this matter that is church official ? And what are your thought's on how or what personality is and how it develops ? Onward christian souls. Jesus is Lord. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aloysius Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 personality most certainly develops... though there are genetic or other factors that play a large role in it, those factors work with life experience. case in point is twins--they have the same DNA from birth, but develop different personalities based upon experience. regarding the soul, it is so in union with our bodies, I think it's wrong to create any kind of dualist notion that considers the personality of the soul anything other than intimately connected with the personality as it develops in our physical minds as if we're just ghosts controlling our bodies as if they were machines. That said, anything which is a physical limitation or defect is not a reflection of a limitation or defect in the soul... there is certainly a huge transcendent component of the soul... such that, even for those without any physical psychological kind of defect, the vast things we will discover about ourselves in heaven are far beyond what we imagine about ourselves now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tab'le De'Bah-Rye Posted October 31, 2013 Author Share Posted October 31, 2013 So with the whole genetics thing are you saying some things about our personalities can't be changed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AccountDeleted Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 personality most certainly develops... though there are genetic or other factors that play a large role in it, those factors work with life experience. case in point is twins--they have the same DNA from birth, but develop different personalities based upon experience. regarding the soul, it is so in union with our bodies, I think it's wrong to create any kind of dualist notion that considers the personality of the soul anything other than intimately connected with the personality as it develops in our physical minds as if we're just ghosts controlling our bodies as if they were machines. That said, anything which is a physical limitation or defect is not a reflection of a limitation or defect in the soul... there is certainly a huge transcendent component of the soul... such that, even for those without any physical psychological kind of defect, the vast things we will discover about ourselves in heaven are far beyond what we imagine about ourselves now. I'm not so sure I agree with you here Al. I certainly think that life experience plays a role but even in twins, there seems to be a basic personality type at birth. One will react to loud noises by carrying, the other won't seem to mind them. As they grow, they may look alike and even do things alike in many ways, but they react as individuals. It's the old nature/nurture debate -- and both sides have good points. Even in baby animals, each one seems to have an individual personality from birth. That's why in families where the kids might all be raised basically the same way, they all responds to their upbringing differently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aloysius Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 right, but personalities definitely change. you might have those things that you do presently that your parents say "oh yeah, you were just like that as a baby as well"... but there's selection bias in all that. I don't think the perceived personality in an infant necessitates what personality one will eventually end up with... I think these things are hugely in flux during development, during puberty, all the way up especially until one's brain is fully formed (then they're much less in flux but can change over time) in regards to twins' personalities after birth, they have the same genetics but at the time of their birth they've already had 9 months worth of development in the womb. anyway what I was trying to say is that it's a combination of nature and nurture... there are elements that are nature, but those things develop throughout the course of one's life into one's personality. I don't know, maybe you start off from birth (I doubt from conception it's already set) to fit some very broad category of a personality... but the details of it develop over time, I don't think I have any doubt about that. Tab, no I'm not saying personalities can't change; I'm actually saying the opposite, I think that they can... but over the course of life as they change, they have a fixed genetic point from which that change starts that always affects it over time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhuturePriest Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 I think that once past the developmental stage, certain characteristics do not change. If you are introverted at twenty, chances are you'll be introverted at ninety. Now, you can learn to be more outgoing, but that never changes the fact that you value your precious alone time. I learned that personality and temperament are two different things. Your temperament is the way you naturally are: introverted or extroverted, passive or aggressive, leader or follower, etc. It depends on if you are referring to personality or temperament. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AccountDeleted Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 right, but personalities definitely change. you might have those things that you do presently that your parents say "oh yeah, you were just like that as a baby as well"... but there's selection bias in all that. I don't think the perceived personality in an infant necessitates what personality one will eventually end up with... I think these things are hugely in flux during development, during puberty, all the way up especially until one's brain is fully formed (then they're much less in flux but can change over time) in regards to twins' personalities after birth, they have the same genetics but at the time of their birth they've already had 9 months worth of development in the womb. anyway what I was trying to say is that it's a combination of nature and nurture... there are elements that are nature, but those things develop throughout the course of one's life into one's personality. I don't know, maybe you start off from birth (I doubt from conception it's already set) to fit some very broad category of a personality... but the details of it develop over time, I don't think I have any doubt about that. Tab, no I'm not saying personalities can't change; I'm actually saying the opposite, I think that they can... but over the course of life as they change, they have a fixed genetic point from which that change starts that always affects it over time. Well Al I think we are in agreement after all, but we just express it differently. You say that personality is genetic, but even twins with identical genes end up with different personalities BEFORE they start living life. What I mean is that they react to stimuli differently from birth, which implies to me that they have a personality at birth that is independent of genes. But then you mention the 9 months in utero, which I imagine could have an influence on the development of personality, but I still wonder if HOW they react in utero isn't already something they have (independent of identical genes) which could be considered 'personality'. Anyway, I do concur that it is a combination of genetics and environment/experience. I do wonder if our personalities change much over the course of our lives, or just the way we react to experiences. I definitely still feel like 'me' but I know I don't react the same way I did when I was younger. But I have an open mind about that conclusion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tab'le De'Bah-Rye Posted October 31, 2013 Author Share Posted October 31, 2013 (edited) I think that once past the developmental stage, certain characteristics do not change. If you are introverted at twenty, chances are you'll be introverted at ninety. Now, you can learn to be more outgoing, but that never changes the fact that you value your precious alone time. I learned that personality and temperament are two different things. Your temperament is the way you naturally are: introverted or extroverted, passive or aggressive, leader or follower, etc. It depends on if you are referring to personality or temperament. amesome bro good thinking, and how and what is temperament and how does that effect personality and can temperament be changed or is it something your born with, i know temperance is a virtue that is a gift from the holy spirit, does this have to do with temperament also ? Edited October 31, 2013 by Tab'le De'Bah-Rye Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tab'le De'Bah-Rye Posted October 31, 2013 Author Share Posted October 31, 2013 And another good one that i'm respecting at the moment which i believe has to do with personality and temperament is, Is it possible that some gifts of the holy spirit are present at conception or are we only gifted them at baptism or do we all have these gifts from God at conception and baptism magnifies these gifts and they start to grow more rapidly ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tab'le De'Bah-Rye Posted October 31, 2013 Author Share Posted October 31, 2013 (edited) or i should say all the gifts. I'm leaning towards that where conceived with all personalities and temperances, not one or the other though and have access to all of Gods gifts individually and communally with grace over time. Sorry, naughty multi post, i am trying my best not to do this regularily or to excess like more then 3 in a row. I'm a small talker and don't usually get it all out in one go. Edited October 31, 2013 by Tab'le De'Bah-Rye Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhuturePriest Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 amesome bro good thinking, and how and what is temperament and how does that effect personality and can temperament be changed or is it something your born with, i know temperance is a virtue that is a gift from the holy spirit, does this have to do with temperament also ? Temperament and temperance are different, as far as I am aware. Your temperament is a part of who you are as a person. Your temperament can never change, whereas your personality can. If you are truly extroverted, you will always be extroverted, unless something in your life (Most commonly something negative) causes you to go against your natural inclination and hate people. This is where things get tricky, because you can actually be a natural extrovert but you act like an introvert because of negative experiences during childhood. Your personality is changeable according to your temperament. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tab'le De'Bah-Rye Posted October 31, 2013 Author Share Posted October 31, 2013 (edited) I meant' that i'm leaning to that we are all conceived with all personalities and Temperaments. And babies learn/grow very quickly not necessarily physically but they have to learn much very very quickly from the moment there born. Even something as simple as facial expressions and sounds. Edited October 31, 2013 by Tab'le De'Bah-Rye Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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