Physique And Character: An Investigation Of The Nature Of Constitution And Of The Theory Of Temperament

by Ernst Kretschmer

First Published in 1999. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Genres: Psychology

282 pages, Hardcover

First published December 31, 1970

Reviews

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

It never ceases to amaze me how these 20th century social scientists could make such piercing insights regarding the nature of humanity without even knowing what "pleiotropy" or “multiomics” is.

Physique and Character is a well-thought out and insightful read that makes far more nuanced observations of the relationships between anthropometry and temperament than the over-simplified “endomorph, mesomorph, ectomorph” that concept we are more familiar with.

I personally perceive that there is a silent cultural and psychological war between cyclothymes (generally good) and schizothymes (generally evil). The increasing societal chaos we are seeing is in part due to the two sides clashing more than ever. This is largely thanks to the rise of the internet and social media (schizothymic culture) clashing with civilized mainstream society (cyclothymic culture).

This war may currently be abstract, but in its final form, I do believe it will culminate in physical violence. Already we are seeing it. Mass shooters, sociopathic TikTok pranksters, and violent incels fit the profiles of several schizothymic “subtypes” described in the literature.

I genuinely believe exposing this literature to many could help to abate undue harm/suffering and wake us up by better identifying, categorizing, and mitigating threats and risks. By no means is this book the finality of research in this field, but could be one of the stepping stones that leads more in-depth research that utilizes modern scientific and technological capabilities in addition to human observation.

This book should be reintroduced into the mainstream and made into a required read for psychologists and medical practitioners everywhere. Elucidating the (undeniable) relationships between physique and behavior could be crucial in domains ranging from human health and culture to law enforcement and public safety. Society should stop deluding itself that “you cannot judge a book by its cover” when, so often, the cover reveals the contents.