The analogy of color is an interesting way to think about [character]. Most of us think that colors are very discrete things — something’s red, it’s got redness; something’s blue, it’s got blueness. But we are creating these categories. They’re not natural kinds, they’re not given in ways that represent fundamentally distinct things. Ultimately, what determines what colors we see are the frequencies of light waves entering our eyes, so it’s along a continuum. It’s kind of the same with character. Things blend. We assume that if someone is good, that we’ve characterized them as good, that’s a discrete category, they can’t be bad. And when they are, our categories shatter. That’s because we have this illusory, arbitrary idea of what vice and virtue mean.
- David DeSteno, Out of Character: Surprising Truths About the Liar, Cheat, Sinner (and Saint) Lurking in All of Us
- David DeSteno, Out of Character: Surprising Truths About the Liar, Cheat, Sinner (and Saint) Lurking in All of Us
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