We are going to argue that the two biggest distinctions in the variation patterns of humans are differences of gender and differences of temperament and that there are two genders and two core temperaments.
Let’s rush to the largest possible arena to see if its entire character shows any traces of these fundamental distinctions. There are untold numbers of research studies into the human condition. We will take them in bulk. Large numbers of these check the data to see if the results reveal gender differences in whatever characteristic(s) they are exploring. It is now good research practice to look for gender differences. When they do look for them it is unusual not to find them to some degree, and if they do not find them, often another researcher comes along, changes the approach slightly and then finds them. Increasingly it is good practice to look for temperamental differences. When the question is asked it is again surprising how often temperament is found to be a factor even though possible explanations for the findings are often not explored. The picture here is however very blurred so seeing anything at all counts as encouraging evidence.
Gender difference is undisputed but the same is not true for temperament. There are many different ideas about what it is and different ways of assessing it. The methods involve verbal questions and hence ‘mix it’ with the mind and its thoughts and beliefs. Despite there being no clear view about what temperament is, and how to assess it, it is increasingly treated like gender in research. Whatever you are enquiring into there is a strong case for checking both gender and temperament.
The lack of a clear view about what the word temperament refers to is in part caused by the fact that there are many biological registers that affect the patterns and trends of an individual’s actions not least the activity levels of the other emotional registers.
The case for there being two fundamental temperaments rests on the fact that there are two emotions involved in the primary encounter experience with ‘the other’. This is true for all animals from the simplest to us. This primary encounter is about the physical engagement between our body and the other. A second rush towards the biggest perspective shows that threat perception and apprehension/fear and difficulty perception and irritation/anger play a big part in the reality of actual or possible physical and social encounters in human life. Emotion This is true even for those of us that now live in the glorious nursing home. For there to be these core temperamental differences between human beings, some human beings must have a tendency for irritation/anger to dominate over apprehension/fear with the remainder having a tendency for apprehension/fear to dominate over irritation/anger. Remember in every respect and for every biological register variation is essential. In no sense are we made the same (only similar) and natural variations can have widespread fundamental implications. The functional similarity, commonality of episodic structure, of the two temperaments means that in the same physical and social situation one person can be irritated or angry while their companion can be apprehensive or fearful due entirely to the different ways that their bodies interpret/model similar sensory information. This is socially helpful as then difficulty perception and threat perception are balanced within the context of the shared experience, yet again, all this with no need for a mind. One ‘hero’ sees the threats and the other sees the difficulties. One Meer Kat stays back near the den to protect the young while the other advances towards the stranger. Both genders care for the young so the choice cannot be explained by gender.