Skip to Content

Composition of Human Personality

May 31, 2001 

Civilisation can be described as the history of development of skills, capacities, abilities, talents in the physical, vital, mental and spiritual parts on the basis of vital energies released and mental understandings developed. Their effectivity is determined by the spiritual values one possesses. They are in a gradation of successive development, though subconsciously they are simultaneously developing. An exhaustive cataloguing of all these faculties in various parts and various shades will be a complete Thesaurus. Here it will be of interest to note that vocabulary and diction have developed as and when any skill acquired one more distinct shade. This will mean for our project to be complete, no word listed in the dictionary that describes human skill, emotion or any faculty can be omitted. Maybe this is a lifetime work for a devoted scholar who is an original thinker. Once compiled, the work will reveal the integrality of human nature. To extend our quest, there is the social collective, if not in the vegetable and animal kingdoms, which contains an equally exhaustive and corresponding list of skills, etc. To launch on both may be formidable. But, if anyone undertakes it, it will be an original contribution to the human thought that is subconsciously organising itself. Even if the first part of it is completed, it enables the compiler to aim at a few things.

1. The Laws of Life Response will have a fertile field of precise demonstration.

2. If the list of endowments is sufficiently exhaustive, one's accomplishment - past, present, and future - can be calculated by a formula.

3. The potential of anyone can be known precisely.

4. It will exactly show how, at a given moment, the person has left about 75 to 85% of his possibilities unused.

All these faculties are only secondary circumstances that serve the Prime Mover, the inner individual who makes the choices at every moment. This will be best understood when we take a literary figure and evaluate his performance, incidentally commenting on Life Responses. One's own life is the very best field, as all inner movements are well known. For the same reason, one is blind about oneself. We can start with others and end with ourselves. This will only provide an outline, not a comprehensive endowment. A comprehensive endowment can emerge when the subtle vision of life opens.

Discussion on faculties:

  • Wood cutting is physical work needing primary skills.
  • It is better than a man trying to break a branch like a monkey. The knife personifies his primary skill. To use the knife, one needs further skill.
  • To someone asking "where is the cement company?" one points out the direction without speaking. Another asks him to go north and find it. A third says, "The cement company is in a two-storied building. Go north, you will come to a road junction, turn left, opposite to a tree will be two 2-storied buildings. The cement company is the first building."
  • One acts physically, the other expresses primary understanding; the third, for the work in question, exhibits a developed skill.
  • This developed skill here goes with observation, memory, capacity to describe, willingness to be of use, readiness to forget his work for a while.
  • Describe to yourself several acts, you will see your powers of understanding exhibit their limitation.
  • In Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth is the second daughter of a gentleman whose estate is entailed. She is not particularly handsome, but is intelligent, independent and always cheerful. She values culture, is unselfishly devoted to Jane, shrewd enough to know the world, if not like Charlotte endowed with worldly wisdom. She is able to laugh at the ungentlemanly remarks of Darcy. She has that strength but has the weakness of women for a handsome face and the prejudice of one whose inheritance makes her ineligible on its strength for a great match. This is a list of her major traits. Now let us go through a sequential list of her part in the story and, roughly, put it against another similar list of what happens to her. When we come to the end, we see the role of each of her faculties influencing life and producing reactions. The end, as the author has chosen, bears out the composition of her personality. There are crucial points and the choices she made at those points. At every moment, there is a choice. We can consider only the major ones. The choices vary in their strength depending from what depth they issue -- behaviour, character, personality, Nature. Whether they were imposed on her from outside or self-chosen determines the direction as well as the intensity of its outcome. That gives us some life material to work with.

From the beginning her mind is on Jane getting well married

As she is oblivious of her own interest, an attitude of selflessness, life brings Darcy to her.

Darcy's unpalatable comment

A weak character will resent, react, and all her energy will be absorbed by that reaction. She laughs, is unmindful. That strength attracts Darcy.

Has solicitude for Jane

Life, Mrs. Gardiner have similar attitude to her.

Has no idea that Darcy admires her, even when Charlotte points it out.

Strength can be oblivious.

She is not mercenary.

Her strength is in her prejudice.

Goes after Wickham

What she seeks eludes her.

His desertion does not hurt her.

She swallows Wickham's fabrications.

Very partial to Wickham which leads to the elopement.

Refuses Collins

A magnanimous act for one in her position.

Abuses Darcy

She is more offended by Darcy's act than flattered by his proposal.

Sees through Lady Catherine's hollow character. Not subdued by her wealth and status.

Wealth and status seek her.

Abused by Darcy, she is truthful in seeing the facts. She reverses her prejudice.

This is transformation which transforms Darcy uncharacteristically. Life as Response gives the meeting at Pemberley.

When she is about to be crowned, the elopement comes.

Her weakness for the handsome face of a villain takes it toll on her, because this is a flaw in her character and strength.

She overcomes Caroline's manoeuvres, but not Wickham's treachery.

Caroline is underhanded. Lizzy is always aboveboard.

Darcy is insufferable for her. Such an intense hate is really subconscious attraction.

Her hatred makes her obliged to Darcy as she herself uncharacteristically discloses to him the elopement.

Her fond admiration of Wickham makes her give him her own money through Lydia lifelong.

To her, Pemberley is more of Wickham's place than Darcy's.

She stands up to Lady Catherine and defends herself stoutly.

Her strength brings Darcy to her and before that, Jane gets Bingley.

Elizabeth exerts her choice when she

  1. refuses to be cowed down by Darcy's comment.
  2. refuses his hand for dancing.
  3. refuses Collins.
  4. refuses Darcy's proposal.
  5. reverses her mind about her family.
  6. responds to Darcy's attentions.
  7. discloses to him the elopement.
  8. defends herself against Lady Catherine.
  9. apologises to Darcy before thanking him.
  10. remains partial to Wickham forever.

What is contemplated by the article, even outside life response, is on a par with compiling a dictionary. Only that a dictionary has linguistic life, if it has any life. This directory is of life, a TOOL to improve life, a rich product of life's sweet energies.



story | by Dr. Radut