Humoral theory of temperament. The main types of personality temperament according to Hippocrates

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

The idea of the humoral theory of temperament belongs to the famous ancient healer Hippocrates. It was he who, in the 5th century BC, made an attempt to classify personality types based on their individual characteristics. Hippocrates based the differences on the amount of juices of the human body, which affects his behavior and worldview.

What is temperament

The human psyche is unique and inimitable. The specificity of its development depends on the characteristics of the biological and physiological formation of the organism under the influence of the social environment and communications. One of these biologically determined personality substructures is temperament.

Temperament - diverse mental differences between individuals, which are characterized by the depth, intensity, stability of emotions, as well as the strength of behavioral reactions.

Studying this individual feature of a person for many centuries, scientists have come to a common definition of the term. Decided by temperamentwas to name the biological basis on which the personality as a social unit is formed. This foundation is a reflection of the dynamic aspects of behavior, which are usually innate. As a result, temperament is the most stable characteristic among all the mental characteristics of a person.

Short biography of Hippocrates

Today, all doctors joining the ranks of professionals are required to take an oath in the name of the great healer of all times and peoples.

The brilliant author of the humoral theory of temperament was born in 460 BC. e. on the island of Kos, located near modern Turkey. The father of the future luminary of medicine - Heraclitus - was also a healer. The mother of Hippocrates Fenaret, apparently, was engaged in raising children.

Having received the first knowledge about medicine within the walls of his native home from his father and grandfather, the young "Horse Tamer" (that is how the name of the healer is translated) went to the temple named after the god of medicine Asclepius. In addition to the medical business, Hippocrates comprehended philosophy, rhetoric, and arithmetic. The young man's teachers were Gorgias and Democritus, who taught the young man the basics of sophistry. Such classes helped Hippocrates to improve and systematize the existing baggage of knowledge and acquire new knowledge in the field of natural science.

After studying in the temple, the healer went to travel to different countries to acquire new knowledge.

Returning to his homeland after long wanderings, Hippocrates created the doctrine of medicine, which turned the minds of the doctor's contemporaries. Until now, all diseasesregarded as the machinations of evil spirits and the punishment of the gods. The scientist, in his treatises, tried to prove that all ailments have a natural basis. Inventing new methods of treatment and compiling prescriptions for medicines, Hippocrates helped to overcome the disease of a considerable number of compatriots. He did not refuse strangers either.

During his long life, the healer had many students. Among his followers were Galen, Dexippus of Kos, Siennesid from Cyprus. The sons of the famous physician Thessalus and Dragon, as well as his son-in-law Polybius, also became healers. All the descendants of Hippocrates were named after him.

Hippocrates died in 377 BC. e., leaving behind a number of treatises and teachings. Along with the Hippocratic oath, the theory of stages of diseases, methods of examining patients (auscultation, percussion, palpation), the humoral theory of temperament is also known. By the way, it was the healer who began to study this characteristic of a person.

The emergence of the doctrine of temperament

For centuries, thinkers have tried to understand the nature of man. In ancient times, the behavior of the individual was explained by the will of heaven. However, the teachings of Hippocrates dispelled the mythical aura in the knowledge of human essence. By the way, Hippocrates' theory of temperament types is still a success today.

The scientist noticed that the reaction of a person to ongoing events directly depend on the ratio of various fluids in the body. The healer ranked among such vital juices:

• blood;
• phlegm;
• black bile;
• yellow bile.

Each of the liquids playsspecific role in the life of the human body:

• Blood carries warmth and keeps a person warm.
• Phlegma, on the contrary, cools impulses and aspirations, as it is cold juice.
• The purpose of black bile is to maintain moisture in the body.
• Yellow bile dries out excess juices.

Based on the teachings of the great healer, further studies of the individual specifics of a person were built.

Evolution of the humoral theory of temperament: from Hippocrates to Kant

So, a doctor from the island of Kos became the ancestor of the concept of individual personality traits. It was up to his followers to improve and supplement the teaching. The first adept of the idea was the most famous doctor of antiquity, Claudius Galen. It was he who developed the first typology of temperaments. His views are set forth in the famous treatise "De temperamentum" (from the Latin temperamentum - "proportionality, the right measure"). This is how the theory of temperament according to Hippocrates and Galen appeared. The classification of temperaments was later called humoral.

Based on the teacher's understanding of fluid ratios, or "blusher", the student's typology initially included 13 types of temperament. Having described each of the types of individual characteristics, Galen, however, did not bother to describe their psychological specifics. This is the individual difference in the humoral theories of temperament.

Over time, this omission was made up. Special merit in the development of the concept of temperament belongs to the German philosophereducator Immanuel Kant. Observing people, the thinker came to the conclusion that sanguistic and melancholic reactions are generated by the feelings of the individual, while phlegmatic and choleric ones belong exclusively to the sphere of human actions. Accordingly, according to Kant, sanguine and melancholic people have increased emotionality, and choleric and phlegmatic people have activity. The philosopher gave a precise definition of four types of temperament:

• The sanguine person is characterized by fun and carelessness.
• Melancholic is often gloomy and disturbing.
• Choleric flares up quickly and becomes extremely active for a short time.
• Phlegmatic has composure and laziness.

Teaching of Hippocrates: personality typology

Even before Claudius Galen, the great healer made an attempt to classify the individual characteristics of a person depending on the amount of a particular liquid:

• The predominance of yellow bile (from the Latin chole - "chole") means the presence of a choleric temperament.
• A large amount of blood (from the Latin sanguis - "sanguis") is the cause of the sanguistic temperament.
• Black bile (from the Latin melanos chole - "melanos hole") leads to a melancholic temperament.
• The predominance of mucus (from the Latin phlegma - "phlegm") indicates a phlegmatic development of the personality.

Despite the fact that Hippocrates' theory of types of temperament appeared in the fifth century BC. e., the classification of these individual differences of a person has been preserved untilour time. The difference is that the modern interpretation of the concept says that all types are inherent in a person, but with a predominance of one of them.

Hippocrates' humoral theory of temperament became the source of other equally important concepts. Scientists-researchers, studying this problem, relied on the ideas of the great healer of all times and peoples.

Constitutional theories of temperaments as a continuation of the humoral concept

The liquid idea of individual human characteristics has become a kind of prototype and the beginning of modern teachings on this issue. And although she was somewhat naive, she laid the concept of the psychosomatic unity of the individual, that is, the unity of the human soul and body.

The theory of Hippocrates found its most vivid reflection in constitutional concepts that arose at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Then German, French and Italian researchers put forward the idea of a relationship between a person's physique and his temperament.

The author of the constitutional theory of temperament is the German psychiatrist E. Kretschmer. in 1921, his work “Body Structure and Character” appeared, in which the researcher argued that each of the two diseases - manic-depressive (circular) psychosis and schizophrenia - are due to a certain type of physique. Based on numerous measurements of different parts of the human body, E. Kretschmer identified four constitutional types:

• Leptosomatic - characterized by a cylindrical shape of the body and a fragile physique. main featuretype - angular profile. The author of the theory suggested calling such individuals asthenics (from the Greek word astenos - “weak”).
• Pickwick - on the contrary, a large and obese person. The barrel-shaped torso and stoop give Pickwick apart from other people.
• Athletic - has a well-developed muscles and no body fat. Characteristic features of athletics are a wide shoulder girdle and narrow hips.
• Dysplasty - different asymmetrical, irregular body structure. They may be either oversized or disproportionately built.

At one time, E. Kretschmer argued that leptosomatics often suffer from schizophrenia, while athletics are prone to epilepsy.

Twenty years later, another constitutional theory of temperament emerged in the US. American psychologist William Sheldon, the author of this concept, designated temperament as a function of the human body, depending on the body structure. Sophisticated anthropomorphic measurements and photographic techniques helped Sheldon in 1941 to distinguish three types of body structure, or somatotype:

1. Endomorphic, which is characterized by excessive development of internal organs. Outwardly, such people look weak and have a large layer of adipose tissue.
2. Mesomorphic type is characterized by a well-developed muscular system. These are perhaps the strongest people both physically and mentally.
3. Ectomorphic type is accompanied by a fragile body and poor development of internal organs. Such people are sensitive and excitable.

There is also an additional - mixed, or average type of development of the organism. It equally combines the features of the three above species. However, this type is not common.

Based on research, Sheldon came to the conclusion that the combination of extraversion or introversion properties of a person with three somatotypes provides a basis for distinguishing three main types of temperament:

1. Viscerotonics are people who are dominated by inner feelings.
2. Somatotonics - individuals aimed at physical action.
3. Cerebrotonics are people prone to reflection and analysis.

Constitutional theories are somehow based on the teachings of Hippocrates about temperament. The healer of antiquity remains the founder of all subsequent concepts of individual human differences.

Sanguine and its specifics

The ancient Greek physician Hippocrates identified four human temperaments. Each of them has individual characteristics.

One of the brightest temperaments is the sanguine. He is distinguished by balance, optimism, cheerfulness. Sanguine people are cheerful, emotional, sociable. Such a person is quite easy to fail, is the creator of a comfortable microclimate in the group. However, when making promises, due to personal problems, he cannot always keep them.

Sanguine is the strongest of all four types of temperament. The humoral theory explains this specificity by the presence in the human body of the most noble and constant juice - blood.

The main characteristics of this type are high performance, great mental activity, a tendency to sociability and flexibility of mind. Sanguine people can make quick decisions and adapt to almost any environment. On the other hand, they are characterized by constant inconstancy. All their actions are determined primarily by external conditions.

Sanguine people are also characterized by sudden mood swings. However, they experience both joy and grief for a short time, but vividly and emotionally. All the tasks that sanguine people face, they try to simplify.

By nature, such people are materialists. They are not characterized by daydreaming and fantasies. Sanguine people are very worried in a situation of lack of material pleasures. Lack of funds depresses them to a greater extent than representatives of other types of temperament. The strengths of sanguine people include excellent oratory, the ability to quickly navigate in an unfamiliar situation, lively facial expressions and expressive gestures.

What a melancholic

The author of the humoral theory of temperament claimed that the predominance of black bile is the cause of the melancholic type. This is the most touching of all other kinds of individual differences in man. Such people are extremely sensitive and easily upset for any reason. Trouble for them is a deadly, unbearable evil. The melancholic is prone to despondency and pessimism. He is jealous, suspicious, negative.

However, such individuals are extremely creative and have analytical thinking. They, like phlegmatic people, tend to see things through to the end, unless some insurmountable difficulties prevent them.

According to the theory of four types of temperament (Hippocratic classification), the melancholic is easily injured, sluggishly reacts to the environment, and is restrained in speech. However, such people have the main quality - the high sensitivity of the nervous system. This allows melancholic people to become great musicians, artists, writers and artists. Compared to phlegmatic and sanguine people, this type is more fragile and vulnerable.

Thoughtfulness, increased anxiety, anxiety - that's what distinguishes the melancholic from other people. They can be very worried about possible troubles, which, however, may never happen. Groundless despair, seeing everything in black colors overshadow the dull life of this type.

Melancholics are extremely stubborn and love to argue about anything. They are not afraid to go into conflict, from which they often come out offended by the whole world. However, this does not detract from their zeal to defend their position.

Planning ahead makes life easier for the melancholic. So he can at least have some confidence in the future. However, the slightest disturbance can unsettle them and cause panic.

Temperament test will help to identify which of the "juices" prevails in a particular person. However, even without any questionnaires, a melancholic can be calculated by quiet conversation, unhurried walking and inactive facial expressions. It will also help in determiningthe habit of this type of immersion in oneself and being in thought.

Melancholic people do not like noisy parties and prefer loneliness and dreams to any communication.

Features of phlegmatic behavior

One of the main types of personality temperament according to Hippocrates is phlegmatic. Such a person is characterized by calmness, restraint and steadfastness. The traits and properties of the "phlegmatic" temperament are such that such people find it difficult to adapt to a new environment. Passive and slow by nature, a phlegmatic in an unfamiliar environment becomes lethargic and inactive. However, he is very patient and hardy, he can survive any adversity without much loss for himself. He is by no means an alarmist. We can say that phlegmatic people have rhinoceros skin - they behave so calmly and steadfastly in disturbing situations.

They are uncommunicative, preferring to speak briefly and to the point. Their facial expressions are inexpressive, and it is often impossible to guess what they have in mind. People with a phlegmatic temperament avoid all sorts of conflicts and misunderstandings. Performing some work, they sway for a long time, considering a plan of action. However, having started the case, they will not leave it halfway, but will bring it to its logical conclusion.

Phlegmatic people do not make decisions immediately, but after much thought. And always, regardless of the conditions, they try to remain calm and unperturbed. According to their emotional state, they have a strong nervous system. Such people are often introverts and love solitude. However, they love the company of old friends-like-minded people, where you can both keep silent and have interesting conversations.

By nature, they are accommodating and slow-tempered. However, their patience can be tested for the time being. If you really piss off the phlegmatic, then there will be no mercy for anyone. They take a long time to start, but also take a long time to cool down.

The moral values of the phlegmatic are philanthropy, selflessness, mutual assistance and patience.

Emotional manifestations of choleric

The main types of temperament according to Hippocrates include choleric. These are hot, unrestrained, courageous and perky personalities. Among choleric people you can meet a lot of fanatics and gamers. Such people easily overcome difficulties, grasp information on the fly, make decisions quickly and always strive to be leaders. The choleric person regards any dispute as a challenge, and any advice as an encroachment on his freedom.

This is a human engine, a fidget and a producer of many original ideas. Passionate and impetuous, impulsive and emotional, the choleric is often unrestrained and conflicted. He is easily aroused and fights for his case.

You don't need to do a temperament test to identify choleric. A loud voice, rapid movements, lively facial expressions and pressure are the main features of this type. In their emotionality, choleric people can reach hysteria and unbridledness. They are more aggressive than benevolent, conflicting than peaceful. Instability and inconstancy often prevent the choleric from completing the work begun.

Such personalities are often brightindividualists, in any situation having their own opinion. The desire to be the first sometimes brings the choleric to a frenzy. No political action is complete without these rebels.

In his movements, the choleric is swift and impetuous. The individual temperament of such individuals endows them with speed of speech and the ability to embellish reality. For the choleric, the best defense is an attack. They prefer to destroy their enemies both morally and physically. However, their outbursts of anger disappear as quickly as they arise. Maybe that's why the choleric is not dangerous to society.

According to Hippocrates, 4 types of temperament suggest individual differences between people. It is believed that temperament is an innate phenomenon and cannot be corrected. However, self-education and the social environment are able to curb even the most unrestrained personality.