4 ms·
So, let's define personality. I think this definition[[0] from the APA Dictionary of Psychology makes sense: Personality is any person's collection of interrel
by DEADMINCE 3y ago
So, let's define personality. I think this definition[[0] from the APA Dictionary of Psychology makes sense:
Personality is any person's collection of interrelated behavioral, cognitive and emotional patterns that comprise a person’s unique adjustment to life.
Now, let's define 'cognitive'. For that we'll rely on Merriam-Webster. Their definition[1] says:
of, relating to, being, or involving conscious intellectual activity (such as thinking, reasoning, or remembering)
So, at a minimum I think a being needs to be capable of reasoning to have a personality.
The shorter answer is I think a personality can be a combination of innate behavioral traits, but it also has to be things like temperament, likes, dislikes, to some extent skills, and similar things shaped in part by environment.
[0] https://dictionary.apa.org/personality https://dictionary.apa.org/personality
[1] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cognitive https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cognitive
- rqtwteye 3y agoHow do you know chickens aren’t reasoning about things?
- DEADMINCE 3y agoPretty much the same reason I know there isn't a pink teapot orbiting Jupiter. In this case though we have decades of research into chicken cognition and nothing to indicate they have self-awareness or an ability to reason. The simplest answer is not that chickens have personalities, but that some humans anthropomorphize chickens.
- rqtwteye 3y agoI am not anthropomorphizing chickens. I think they live in a different world, have different interests and think about different things than humans.
- DEADMINCE 3y agoThat you are assigning them capabilities that humans have, but research has not indicated chickens do, I would say you are indeed anthropomorphizing chickens. Can you support your stance with research rather than anecdotal observations?