Dr. David West Keirsey, Professor Emeritus, outlines his theory of human action.
Category Archives: Four Temperaments
Super Brawl
A Justice League of America film will now officially compete directly with The Avenger’s 2 in the summer of 2015. Warner Bros. green lit the project and will reportedly ramp up development on it following a decisive legal victory involving the rights to Superman. Opening the door for competing super squads of epic proportion. A CLASH OF TITANS if you will. Okay. Maybe I got a little excited there. It is looking pretty legit though as DC/Warner Bros. has made it clear they want a high caliber director at the helm. As for the cast, let’s hope they go for a little more depth than Megan Fox. Why does WB want a super-squad of it’s own? Perhaps a better question is: Why WOULDN’T they want a super-squad of their own.
Can Batman go toe-to-toe with The Hulk? Could Superman beat up Captain America? I don’t know. I’m not a rocket scientist. The two superhero teams will indeed clash at the box office in the summer of 2015, as Warner Bros. looks to sign a director and all star cast within the near future. Having had talks with The Wachowski Brothers and Ben Affleck about directing, it seems they are willing to spend a pretty penny on bringing a Hall of Justice to the big screen in top class fashion. Why are all the cool kids making movies about superhero teams these days? Because effective team synergy is a powerful thing. Let’s take a look.
A Gentle Lion
Once upon a time, in the land of Oz, four characters set out on a strange and difficult journey. Each was lacking something essential in life, and each wanted to find the mighty Wizard of Oz and ask him for his help.
• Dorothy had lost her way home, and she wanted the Wizard to return her safely back to her Aunt and Uncle’s farm. “There’s no place like home,” she said.
• The Tin Woodman was stiff with rust, and he wanted the Wizard to give him a warm, loving heart beating in his chest. “No one can love who has no heart,” he sighed.
• The Scarecrow’s head was stuffed with straw, and he wanted the Wizard to give him a brain. “Brains are the only things worth having in this world,” he said.
• The Lion had lost his nerve, and he wanted the Wizard to give him back his courage. “As long as I know myself to be a coward I shall be unhappy,” he said.
Home, Heart, Brain, and Courage. The Four Temperaments: Home for Guardian, Heart for Idealist, Brain for Rational, and Courage for Artisan.
He was big man.
He was courageous.
He was fun loving.
He was an All-Pro Defensive Tackle.
He once was a Lion too. A Detroit Lion.
************************************************************************************************************* Continue reading A Gentle Lion
Symbiotic Justice
Warner Bros. is ramping up their JLA efforts after Ben Affleck recently shot down reports that he might direct the film. The studio has reportedly reached out to The Matrix Trilogy writers’ and directors’ Andy and Lana Wachowski to take the reigns of a Justice League of America film;
“According to Moviehole, the sibling directors behind the Matrix trilogy, Speed Racer and the upcoming sci-fi epic Cloud Atlas are on the studio’s list of possible contenders to helm JLA, which was scripted by Gangster Squad’s Will Beall. The site claims the studio is “apparently jazzed with Cloud Atlas, and love that it’s as much a spectacle as it is a showcase for the immense ensemble involved, so it makes sense the W’s are under consideration. Justice League needs to be as big on character, as it does bells & whistles, and the Wachowski’s could probably offer that.”
It’s no secret that Joss Whedon put a large emphasis on “character” in The Avengers, and given the films success, it seems WB will be attempting to follow suit. Given DC’s roster, it seems like they’ll have a good shot at giving Marvel a run for it’s money. What roster? You ask? Let’s take a look.
Synergetic Justice
Ben Affleck may direct a Justice League of America film as he has reportedly been sent a script by Warner Bros.: “Affleck is the only candidate who’s been sent Will Beall’s Justice League script.” The Bostonian actor/writer/producer/director has recently only directed movies that he also stars in. Leading some to believe that he might even don some superhero tights if he takes the project on. Sources add that the JLA movie would be slated for summer 2015, meaning it would go toe-to-toe against it’s direct competitor The Avengers 2. Speaking of The Avengers 2: Joss Whedon has signed on to write and direct the film, as well as an Avenger’s TV show of some kind for ABC. Though Affleck’s camp is trying to downplay the news story; Warner Bros. does well for itself to put the idea out there that a JLA film is indeed happening and all they need now is a Director. Why does Warner Bros. want a JLA film so badly? Why. Because anyone who’s anyone has their own well-balanced Super-Squad. Super-Squad, you ask? Let’s take a look.
People are different in fundamental ways. They want different things ; they have different motives, purposes, aims, values, needs, drives, impulses, urges. Nothing is more fundamental than that. They believe differently, they think, cognize, conceptualize, perceive, understand, comprehend, and cogitate differently. And of course, manners of acting and emoting, governed as they are by wants and beliefs, follow suit and differ radically among people.
— Please Understand Me p. 2
American Temperament
“There are strong minds in every walk of life that will rise superior to the disadvantages of situation, and will command the tribute due to their merit, not only from the classes to which they particularly belong, but from the society in general.”
So wrote Alexander Hamilton in Federalist Paper #36, one the founding articles of the United States of America.
If this is not one of the best arguments for the importance of Temperament in the Human Wealth of Nations, then I don’t know what would be.
A Viking Reader
http://keirsey.wordpress.com/2011/08/16/be-a-viking-bystander/
Keirsey Temperament Awards
The Keirsey Temperament Awards for 2011
Each year an individual is awarded from each of the Four Temperaments: Artisan, Guardian, Idealist, and Rational.
The awards are given to individuals who are “famous” (if possible) and have significantly impacted the world, to illustrate and highlight the Four Temperaments. Keirsey Temperament Theory maintains all four Temperaments play important roles in society and we need all kinds of people use their talents.
The selection is difficult, for sometimes Temperament is hidden because we are looking at these individuals from a far. We don’t know the individuals personally, and only through the media are we familiar with these people. The Keirsey Temperament Forum serves as a nominating committee. I am the judge and jury.
Be A Viking Bystander
“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view – until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” spoken by Atticus Finch, in To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee.
How do you “truly” climb into another’s skin and walk around? It is a hard thing to do, well. For that person may be a different kind of person from you, from a different time, and from a different place.
My avocation since I was a child was as a Viking bystander. My vocation lately has been as a Viking reader of books and people.
One can try to “climb into another’s skin” through watching a movie or play, or reading a book. This is something we can do as humans. We can visit different lands and different tribes – the modern words for “lands” and “tribes” is countries and cultures. We can also visit different “ages” – through movies and living in cultures that are “slower” than your “culture” – although there are limitations and there is a possibility to not really get the “gestalt” of that age and place.
Mostly, we don’t understand “truly” – the Temperament, the Tribe, the Age that is not like us
But we can try.
Here are some autobiographies of the various Temperaments, many from a different time and different place. Climb into the person’s skin, and walk around in it – at least for awhile.
Rationals
Ben Franklin (Inventor)
Mark Twain (Inventor)
Margaret Thatcher (Fieldmarshal)
Ulysses S. Grant (Mastermind)
Charles Darwin (Architect)
Linus Torvalds (Architect)
Idealists
Jane Goodall (Counselor)
Mohandas Gandhi (Counselor)
Jane Fonda (Teacher)
Albert Schweitzer (Healer)
Karen Armstrong (Healer)
Joan Baez (Champion)
Artisans
Katherine Hepburn (Crafter)
Lance Armstrong (Crafter)
Donald Trump (Promoter)
Neil Simon (Composer)
Jim Cramer (Performer)
Bill Clinton (Performer)
Guardians
Barbara Walters (Provider)
Sam Walton (Provider)
Andrea Mitchell (Inspector)
Mike Wallace (Supervisor)
George H. W. Bush (Protector)