6. The Sonic Circle

Entry “Diversity,” Merriam-Webster Online [last accessed: Nov. 10, 2017].

I recommend studying the field of human ethology to readers who would like to dive further into this subject—e.g., see Eibl-Eibesfeldt [85], Schmitt et al. [239].

Absolutus is the latin term for “independent.”

Of course, from a scientific point of view, these personality types are outdated, partly because modern psychologists realized that the human mind is too complex to be confined to four static categories. This insight, however, proves the point of promoting internal diversity. Another reason this personality classification was disbanded is the unfortunate depiction of the phlegmatic character as passive and listless. The online version of the Collins English Thesaurus (2018), for example, provides negatively charged synonyms for the term phlegmatic including: unemotional, apathetic, dull, frigid, lethargic, and listless. Due to its perceived weakness, it is often treated as the most undesirable of the four character types. I never really shared this view, because one could also view this character type as the most balanced among all. I thought the sanguine type, typically seen as the most positive character among the four, also represented somebody who was so outgoing that it appeared to be unnatural.