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- Sanguine, Choleric, Melancholic, and Phlegmatic redirect here; for other uses, see Melancholia, Cholera, and Sanguine (disambiguation).
Under the ancient medical theory of the four humours, the four temperaments are personality types or moods ascribed to the imbalance of certain bodily fluids in each person. Temperament was closely-related, or synonymous, with complexion.
Sanguine
Sanguine indicates the personality of an individual with the temperament of blood, the season of spring (wet and hot), and the element of air. A person who is sanguine is generally optimistic, cheerful, even-tempered, confident, rational, popular, and fun-loving. They can be daydreamy to the point of not accomplishing anything and impulsive, acting on whims in an unpredictable fashion. This also describes the manic phase of a bipolar disorder.
Choleric
Choleric corresponds to the fluid of yellow bile, the season of summer (dry and hot), and the element of fire. A person who is choleric is a doer and a leader. Many great charismatic, military and political figures were cholerics. On the negative side, they are easily angered or bad tempered.
In folk medicine, a baby referred to as "cholic" is one who cries frequently and seems to be constantly angry. This is an adaptation of "choleric," although no one now would attribute the condition to bile. Similarly, a person described as "bilious" is mean-spirited, suspicious, and angry. This, again, is an adaptation of the old humour theory "choleric."
The disease Cholera gained its name from choler (bile).
Melancholic
Melancholic is the personality of an individual characterized by black bile; hence (Greek μελας, melas, "black", + χολη, kholé, "bile"); a person who was a thoughtful ponderer had a melancholic disposition. Often very kind and considerate, melancholics can be highly creative - as in poets and artists - but also can become overly obsessed on the tragedy and cruelty in the world, thus becoming depressed. It also indicates the season of autumn (dry and cold) and the element of earth.
This temperament describes the depressed phase of a bipolar disorder.
Phlegmatic
A phlegmatic person is calm and unemotional. Phlegmatic means pertaining to phlegm, corresponds to the season of winter (wet and cold), and connotes the element of water.
While phlegmatics are generally self-content and kind, their shy personality can often inhibit enthusiasm in others and make themselves lazy and resistant to change. They are very consistent, relaxed, and observant, making them good administrators and diplomats. Like the sanguine personality, the phlegmatic has many friends. But the phlegmatic is more reliable and compassionate; these characteristics typically make the phlegmatic a more dependable friend.
Within an individual, the phlegmatic personality is considered to be compatible with the sanguine and melancholic traits -- the melancholic personality is too perfectionist, and the choleric is too controlling. Combinations of two incompatible traits may be evidence of masking.
When the theory of the temperaments was on the wane, many critics dropped the phlegmatic, or defined it purely negatively as the absence of temperament. This, however, made it available for the German philosopher Immanuel Kant to reclaim as the temperament appropriate to freedom and virtue. In five-temperament theory, the classical Phlegmatic temperament is in fact deemed to be a neutral temperament, whereas the "people-liking introvert" position traditionally held by the Phlegmatic is declared to be a new "fifth temperament" (see below).
Modern adaptations
A few psychologists use the four-temperament model even today, some also recognizing twelve mixtures of the four temperaments: Mel-Chlor, Chlor-San, San-Phleg, Phleg-Mel, Mel-San, Chlor-Phleg; and the reverse of these: Chlor-Mel, San-Chlor, Phleg-San, Mel-Phleg, San-Mel, and Phleg-Chlor. These represent people who have the traits of two temperaments. The order of temperaments in these pairs was based on which temperament was the "dominant" one (this is usually expressed by percentages). A person can also be a blend of three temperaments.
In Steiner (Waldorf) education and anthroposophy, the temperaments are used to help understand personality. They are seen as avenues into teaching, with many different types of blends, which can be utilized to help with both discipline and defining the methods used with individual children and class balance.
See also
External Links
References
"Four temperaments"