Galen's Prophecy

Temperament in Human Nature

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Galen's Prophecy
Jerome Kagan
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Last edited by OCLC Bot
April 26, 2011 | History

Galen's Prophecy

Temperament in Human Nature

  • 0 Ratings
  • 8 Want to read
  • 0 Currently reading
  • 0 Have read

Nearly two thousand years ago a physician called Galen of Pergamon suggested that much of the variation in human behavior could be explained by an individual's temperament. Since that time, ideas about inborn dispositions have fallen in and out of favor. Based on fifteen years of research, Galen's Prophecy now provides fresh insights into these complex questions, offering startling new evidence to support Galen's ancient classification of melancholic and sanguine adults.

Two of the most obvious personality traits in children, as well as adults, are a cautious compared with a spontaneous approach to new people and situations. About 20 percent of healthy infants born to loving families come into the world with a physiology that renders them easily aroused by new experiences and, when aroused, to become distressed. A majority of these high-reactive infants become fearful, cautious children.

A larger group, about 40 percent of infants, are born with a different physiology that leads them to be more difficult to arouse, but when excited they babble and smile rather than cry. Most of these low-reactive infants become sociable, spontaneous, relatively fearless children.

  1. Galen's Prophecy suggests that each of us inherits a physiology that can affect our moods, leaving some adults dour and tense and others content and relaxed. Integrating evidence and ideas from biology, philosophy, and psychology, Jerome Kagan examines the implications of the idea of temperament for aggressive behavior, conscience, psychopathology, and the degree to which each of us can be expected to control our deepest emotions.
Publish Date
Publisher
Basic Books
Language
English
Pages
400

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Previews available in: English

Edition Availability
Cover of: Galen's Prophecy
Galen's Prophecy: Temperament in Human Nature
September 1, 1997, Westview Press
Paperback in English
Cover of: Galen's Prophecy
Galen's Prophecy: Temperament in Human Nature
June 1995, Basic Books
Paperback in English
Cover of: Galen's prophecy
Galen's prophecy: temperament in human nature
1994, Basic Books
in English
Cover of: Galen's Prophecy
Galen's Prophecy
January 1, 1994, Free Association Books
Paperback
Cover of: Galen's prophecy
Galen's prophecy: temperament in human nature
1994, Westview Press
in English

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Book Details


First Sentence

"Every age has a preferred explanation of the obvious differences among people that are always a focus of curiosity and a topic for gossip."

The Physical Object

Format
Paperback
Number of pages
400
Dimensions
9.2 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
Weight
1.2 pounds

ID Numbers

Open Library
OL9545136M
ISBN 10
0465026125
ISBN 13
9780465026128
OCLC/WorldCat
231895519
Library Thing
329215
Goodreads
6288893

First Sentence

"Every age has a preferred explanation of the obvious differences among people that are always a focus of curiosity and a topic for gossip."

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History

Download catalog record: RDF / JSON / OPDS | Wikipedia citation
April 26, 2011 Edited by OCLC Bot Added OCLC numbers.
August 12, 2010 Edited by IdentifierBot added LibraryThing ID
April 24, 2010 Edited by Open Library Bot Fixed duplicate goodreads IDs.
April 16, 2010 Edited by bgimpertBot Added goodreads ID.
April 30, 2008 Created by an anonymous user Imported from amazon.com record