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THE LION KING (1994) Scene: "Run away..."/Simba escapes.

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but all I've ever learned from love, is how to shoot somebody who outdrew ya"

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"The derivation of the word "character" comes from an ancient Greek term referring to the indelible marks stamped on coins. Once character was pressed into your mind or soul, people assumed it was fixed. But what modern science repeatedly shows is that this just isn't the case. As we discuss in our book, everyone's moral behavior is much more variable than any of us would have initially predicted." - David DeSteno

In this excellent talk from Northeastern's Insights series, DeSteno reveals some of the fascinating research behind the book and the illuminating insights that came from it.

"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

Ultimately, Out of Character: Surprising Truths About the Liar, Cheat, Sinner (and Saint) Lurking in All of Us makes a compelling case for seeing human character as a grayscale continuum, not a black-and-white dichotomy of good and bad, enlisting neuroscience and cognitive psychology to reaffirm the age-old Aristotelian view of virtue and vice as fluid, interlaced existential capacities.
This post also appears on Brain Pickings
Image: Library of Congress

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'Out of Character': The Good and Evil in All of Us

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"The derivation of the word "character" comes from an ancient Greek term referring to the indelible marks stamped on coins. Once character was pressed into your mind or soul, people assumed it was fixed. But what modern science repeatedly shows is that this just isn't the case.

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Spider-Man Movie (2002) - Peter vs. Flash Scene (1/10) | Movieclips

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Many of Hesse's novels (including Demian), centralize around the theme of self actualization. It's not talked about a lot, so this quick summary video helps!

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What is Self-Actualization | Explained in 2 min

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Inside Out: Joy and Sadness Embracing the Opposites

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Inside Out: Joy and Sadness Embracing the Opposites

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PIXAR - INSIDE OUT - JOY REALIZES WHY SADNESS IS IMPORTANT EMOTION TO RILEY'S MENTAL HEALTH HD

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Doctor Strange: Mentor and Enlightenment

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Doctor Strange: Mentor and Enlightenment

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Rapunzel: Excitement and Regret for coming out the tower

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Rapunzel: Excitement and Regret for coming out the tower

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https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1946/hesse/biographical/

Author’s background: christianity family

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The Nobel Prize in Literature 1946 was awarded to Hermann Hesse "for his inspired writings which, while growing in boldness and penetration, exemplify the classical humanitarian ideals and high qualities of style".

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Common figure of Abraxas, implying both good and evil.

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Book written by C.S. Lewis.
The satan writes letter to teach how to become a satan.
The differences though, is that in this book, it seems like it’s favoring the “good” side and God even if it is written in satan’s POV.

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In this song, Finneas sings about the isolating and depressing feeling that comes with achieving success and remaining unhappy. Similar to Sinclair in Demian, they both see the good and the bad to things that are typically portrayed as perfect.