Basic definitions in understanding temperament
Temperament is a way of describing and understanding a person’s basic physical and psychological makeup. The theory of temperament rests on a few basic concepts, each of which builds on the other. It’s just a matter of understanding the terminology. Let’s dive in.
Polarities
The first thing is polarities, or opposites, like yin/yang. In temperament theory, all things can be broken down in to polar components of hot/cold and wet/dry.
Element
In the traditional sense of the word, elements are not classified in terms of number of protons, electrons, and neutrons like they are in the periodic table. Rather, elements are derived in terms of combinations of the polarities. Any substance can be described in terms of its innate temperature (hot/cold) and moisture (wet/dry). The matrix of possibilities looks like this:
air - hot and wet
fire - hot and dry
earth - cold and dry
water - cold and wet
Humor
Humor is another word for fluid. The humors were thought to be physical and energetic fluids that circulate in the body, each corresponding to an element. In modern way of thinking, they correspond to the building blocks of the human body.
air - blood - peptides (protein fragments)
fire - yellow bile - fat
earth - black bile - residual molecules
water - phlegm - proteins
The balance and proper flow of these humors was thought to be the determinant of disease vs health. If we take the humors to be an early classification of body fluids and substances that we know about now, this system is not too far off. Let’s take fat, for an example. We know that too much fat in the bloodstream, in the form of high LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, is associated with heart attacks and strokes. People who suffer from a lot of stress and are type A (choleric) individuals have an increased risk of heart attack.
Temperament
Each person has a unique blend of humors, like a fingerprint, that is optimal for the functioning of their body and mind. Some people have air predominate and are called sanguine. When fire dominates, they are choleric; earth dominant is melancholic and water dominant is phlegmatic.
So those are our basic definitions. Curious about your temperament, get a report here!
