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Die vier Temperamente bei Erwachsenen: eine Anleitung zur Selbst- und Menschenkenntnis und ein praktischer Führer und Ratgeber im Umgange mit der Welt

Author	Bernhard Hellwig
Country	Germany
Language	German
Genre	nonfiction guide
Published	1897
Publisher	J. Esser
Preceded by	Die vier Temperamente bei Kindern: Ihre Aeußerung und ihre Behandlung in Erziehung und Schule

'Die vier Temperamente bei Erwachsenen: eine Anleitung zur Selbst- und Menschenkenntnis und ein praktischer Führer und Ratgeber im Umgange mit der Welt', which translates to "the four temperaments of adults: a guide to knowledge of the self and human nature and advice for the handling of the world" is a book published 1897 in Paderborn and written by Bernhard Hellwig. It is a more modern, practical take on the four temperament theory originating in ancient Greece. This book incorporates ideas of nature versus nurture as well as temperaments on a continuum, which can be found in 21st-century personality psychology.

The book belongs to the Jesuit collection which is in possession of Maastricht University.

Context

The book 'Die vier Temperamente bei Erwachsenen' acts as a resumption of Hellwigs preceding work 'Die vier Temperamente bei Kindern. Ihre Äußerung und ihre Behandlung in Erziehung und Schule', which was translated into English and spread in the United States of America.

The four temperament theory has mainly been inspired by the medical concept of humorism by the Greek scholar and physician Hippocrates. According to him, the nature, of a person is determined by the proportions of the four bodily fluids, blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile. Their balance constitutes good health and their imbalance leads to disease. The theory was developed and popularised by Galen, a surgeon and medical researcher of the Roman Empire. He added labels to different temperaments, or personality types that are resulting from imbalances in the four bodily liquids. As an individual, consisting of predominantly blood led to having a sanguine temperament, but consisting predominantly of phlegm led to having a phlegmatic personality type. Predominantly consisting of yellow bile led to having a choleric temperament and predominantly of black bile to having a melancholic temperament.

Content

Hellwig discusses a more modern take on the four temperament theory in his work. After a paradigm shift in science, the temperament theory is not based on fourth-parting liquids anymore. Instead, an assumption about the nature of the nervous system is the basis of classification. Human nerves are either directed inwards, so-called sensitive, feeling nerves ("sensible, fühlende Nerven"), which constitute the reception of a person, or they are directed outwards, so-called motoric, moving nerves ("motorische, bewegende Nerven"), which constitute the reaction of a person. The two types of nerves can either be strong or weak, and the particular combination of nerves defines the particular temperament of a person. The first part of the book describes each of the four temperaments and how to take advantage of them. The second part of the book describes the distribution and blends of each temperament. While the four temperament theory by Hippocrates takes a categorical approach, in which an individual is defined clearly as one of the four temperaments, Hellwig takes a more modern, continual approach. In his opinion, a person's temperament lies on a continuum and can have multiple attributes from multiple different temperament types. Schematically described is this continuum, or spectrum, as a Venn diagram consisting of four circles, each representing one of the four temperaments. He also includes a notion that temperaments are highly influenceable by the surrounding environment, such as the temperature, and warns of overgeneralization.

A stereotypical depiction of the four temperaments' appearances.

• A Sanguiniker has strong reception but weak reaction, and is described as an always happy and smiley person. They are very energetic and optimistic, but not very consistent in interests as well as in relationships. This makes them enjoyable companions but not loyal friends. They are natural poets, or musicians and have a great sense of humor, they bring joy and are appreciated members of society. However, they miss the talent of reflection, and thus, are not very successful in academia. As they are very quick with a joke, it is advised not to take comments personally when dealing with a Sanguiniker. The sanguine temperament constitutes the opposite of the melancholic temperament.

• A Choleriker has strong reception as well as strong reaction. They are described as dominant, proud, and independent. They are born leaders and crave power, however, a choleriker in a position of power is not always advantageous. While attacking obstacles, they shelter and help the weak that they are responsible for. According to Hellwig, a typical choleriker can be found in any female university student, as they need to have a certain drive and courage to pursue an academic career. When dealing with a choleriker, the appropriate interaction depends on their relative status in society; if they have a high status they should be respected and not crossed, however, if they have a lower status, one needs to make them clear that they are not as sharp as one, or one will be overthrown. The choleric temperament constitutes the opposite of the phlegmatic temperament.

• A Melancholiker has weak reception but strong reaction, so strong, that they may react to their imagination instead of reality. They are described as pessimistic and serious, they get offended quickly and find only little joy. Because they take everything so serious, they do not promise a lot, in fear of not being able to keep it. However, whenever they do promise something, they keep it under all circumstances, which makes them loyal spouses. A melancholiker tends to be a perfectionist, eager, and relatively isolated, which is why they are drawn towards the natural sciences. When dealing with a melancholiker, one should be sensitive while trying to set fire to their joy. Once a melancholiker has found interest in something, they blossom within this interest, which is why they tend to achieve high status in society. The melancholic temperament constitutes the opposite of the sanguine temperament.
• A Phlegmatiker has weak reception as well as weak reaction. They are described as cool and unbothered. This makes them important members of society, especially in leadership positions. They are not vain or eager and value a comfortable life, while entertaining many friends. Generally, it is easy to get along with a phlegamitker.