Invisible Hand - Personality Aspects

Invisible Hand - Personality Aspects

Today, after helping teach class I went and took shots. It was raining so all the shots I took were taken either in a moderately heavy rain or during a full-fledged storm. While taking some of the shots I began thinking back to a time when a friend of mine at the University of Saint Petersburg (back then it was Leningrad) and I were working together on a new Theory of Personality.

We never finished our work together but a large part of my contribution of the work involved Personality Aspects. (I used and use the term differently than it is commonly applied.) Not fragments of personality but the idea that each person has different Aspects of Personality, or to use Greek and Latin influenced interpretations, Mask Faces. (Persona means "Mask" and Aspect means "Face.")

Now the general theory was a Theory of Integrated Personality for the Normal and Abnormal Personality Typologies, or even in some respects of Personality Integration - yet as part of the overall nature of the Integrated Personality I began developing the idea of Personality Aspects not as part of a Personality, nor as personality fragments, nor even as Personality Apparancies, but rather as separate Personality Sets based upon behavioral functionality. That is my view of Personality Aspects was that each separate Personality Aspect was, in Normal and Abnormal (originally Abnormal did not mean sub-normal, but Hypernormal, or "Beyond Normal Functioning") individuals, a set of personality traits related to function. A persona might have numerous Personality Aspects, all of which act together or even integrate seamlessly into a general harmonious Personality Whole, but each Aspect might operate as a personality sub-set based upon function. A person might seem like a totally different person in any given set of different circumstances, yet this did not in normal or abnormal people entail or display a fracture within the personality, merely a recognition in the individual that different circumstances required different Personality Aspects, or a set of personality behaviors peculiar to a given situation.

For instance at work a certain set of personality traits might be obviously displayed and in evidence within a given individual's behavior range, because at that time a particular "Personality Aspect" might need to be emphasized as signified by that aspect set. But at home another Personality Aspect might either be required, or even encouraged by a different environment. These differences in behavioral range (even if seemingly extreme to an outside observer) might be entirely normal or even desirous given the demands of the separate environments, but did not at all necessarily imply any type of psychological or even personality fragmentation or disturbance or disorder. (The same might not be said of subnormal personality types and individuals where different personality aspects might be either diagnostic cues or clues to underlying personality disorders of a pathological nature.)

In any case, today, while out taking shots in the rain my mind drifted back to this work I did years and years ago, almost 15 years ago now, to my old Russian friend (I wish I could find him again) and what these ideas might imply. Something about being out in the rain, the darkness of the storm, the early fall of the sun as the seasons shift, all of this spurred on my thoughts. So in my head I began to make notes on my own individual Personality Aspects, the way each Aspect functions, and what kinds of basic "sets" of behavior are associated with each Aspect.

Below I have listed each Aspect, or what I would call Major Personality Aspects (The Major and Most Important components of my overall Personality). I haven't listed any particular Aspect in any order, I have listed them as they occurred to me and as I was able to lodge them in my memory until such time as I could reach my daypack and retrieve my notebooks and tape recorders to record what I had been thinking about.

Inventor/Scientist - This aspect prefers to work alone and in isolation, without input from other individuals, though occasionally I will seek out advice from others or wander around in crowds just for the noise and because watching people and animals gives me ideas about functionality and how my inventions might best be designed and employed. Also occasionally by watching people, animals, insects, and biological systems I can get ideas for experiments to conduct or theories to pursue. Most of the time I prefer to work in isolation, or to make observations from a place where I will not be observed, especially in the early stages of any design, experiment, or creation.

Investigating/Analysis/Manhunting - These things I definitely prefer to do alone, both because of the danger and because I operate best alone in this kind of environment and at this type of activity. Manhunting sharpens my senses, makes me far more keenly observant and focused, heightens my mental and psychological faculties, and is intensely enjoyable to me. Hunting criminals and conducting investigations, interviews, and interrogations is also an intensely concentrated psychological activity to me and therefore I prefer to engage in these types of activities completely focused and without any outside distractions. Also in investigating or manhunting it is important to remain intensely focused upon one's goal and being alone helps me to devise a wide range of possibilities and to analyze these possibilities logically and without interfering prejudice. Sometimes though I will seek the advice of others when making an analysis of an investigative or intelligence matter.

Civic/Teaching/Social - I prefer to engage in civic activities in the company of others of course, and occasionally if I lead such events, am teaching, or am taking photographs, or conducting some official function, I don't mind, may even prefer to operate in a large crowd. But usually when it comes to civic activities I prefer a small group of people as a participating audience or a small group of people with whom to operate. Often times in informal or relaxed social settings though or when going out in public I prefer large groups of people. Often, as my friends know I will also act foolishly or clownishly in public, sometimes to the point of being obnoxious. This is great fun to me and I love to clown and joke in such situations with strangers or with people whom I know I will likely never meet again. On these occasions I prefer large groups of people and to exploit humor. Often I enjoy acting this way on the internet as well, as the internet often evokes my satirical and sardonic sense of humor.

Artist/Composer/Photographer - When drawing, sketching, painting, composing or taking photographs my general preference is for solitude and even absolute isolation if possible. Very much like when I am manhunting or engaged in a particularly fascinating investigation. The two exceptions are that occasionally when sketching or drawing I prefer to go into a crowd of people to get subject matter and occasionally I also like to take other people with me when taking photographs, people such as interesting friends, or one or both of my daughters.

Family Man/Husband/Father - In these situations I prefer the company of my family, and like to play around and joke with them. I enjoy wrestling with my daughters (hopefully one day with a son as well), taking trips with them, doing things around the house, and being outdoors together, maybe tracking or playing with my dogs. With my family I am usually very sociable and my most relaxed. I am also though, at the same time, at my most intensely focused regarding security matters.

Priest - When ever I feel a deep religious or spiritual conviction I prefer to be alone. I almost always think of them as circumstances involving my priestly, or more deeply spiritual and religious nature. Strangely enough though I prefer isolation when I am absorbed in my "Priestly Aspect" or nature. I will also however often wander about alone when in these moods looking for a stranger or some lone person or small group of people I may assist. When I was younger I usually most often associated this Aspect and these moments with deep meditative experiences, powerful prayer experiences, melancholy, dreams, visions, and trances. Nowadays, as I age, I associate them more with wandering alone, and with assisting others, but on an individual or personal basis. Almost pastorally. Still, for the most part my priestly nature is solitary and contemplative. The one exception is usually Communion, in which I feel priest-like in a crowd of people or in the congregation.

Vadder/Explorer - I most often associate this aspect with activities that I psychologically consider similar in nature, such as investigations and even manhunting. Whenever I engage in Vadding or Exploring especially to places I have never been before or which I suspect to be dangerous I prefer to go alone. Always well equipped, but still alone. Occasionally I will take friends with me hiking, camping, mountain climbing, etc, and recently I have started training my daughters to Vad, but usually whether I am Rudding or Vadding I go alone. Often I go alone because of the danger. I know many people who say you should always Vad in a team, that one should never go alone to avoid disaster, being trapped, severe injury, or even death. But I have basically Vadded alone since I was about 12 to 13 years old, or even younger if you count the many expeditions I took alone when I lived in the city (a place I love to visit but hated living there), and see no reason to change my natural habits or inclination.

Businessman - This may the single most social Aspect of all my Personality Aspects. From my business experiences I learned to develop deep, rich, and extensive networks. This later bled over into the idea as I aged that I should develop equally deep and rich social, political, civic, professional, religious, law enforcement, investigative, military, intelligence, communicative, institutional, and scientific networks, and also eventually helped me develop my theory of the Modern Renaissance Man. When involved in any type of business, financial, brokerage, capital, or start-up project I prefer to be as social as possible, to work with as many different individuals and groups as possible, and to delegate out work over as wide an area of expertise and capability as possible. When engaged in business I am my most social and feel the least need for solitude.


Well, those are the most important 8 Aspects of my various Personality Aspects.
Comment if you like, either on what I said, or about your own Personality Aspects.


Today I took some very interesting shots, including shots of two animal corpses. I'll post those soon.

© JG, Jr. 2006