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Tradcath women are obsessed with medieval-style galenist temperaments, so it’s not a God-shaped hole.
What's wrong with temperaments? As long as they aren't explaining the difference in people's behaviour by the imbalance of humours, of course, they are a useful shorthand for putting people in boxes based on their default mood.
Not really anything in particular; there's nothing inherently wrong with noting a choleric personality type or whatever. But it's quite clearly the same impulse as astrology, even if a less illogical and ridiculous expression.
My point was that it's not a God shaped hole. Very religious women do the same thing in a different way.
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My Greek Orthodox godmother, who was at church multiple times a week enjoyed astrology and reading fortunes in cups of Greek coffee turned upside-down. She was generally not a stupid woman.
I love Camille Paglia, can listen to her talk for hours, and agree with much of what she says. But she's also hugely into astrology.
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Somehow these temperaments seem less violently offensive to rational thought than astrology.
Astrology has an "in-your-face" stupid effect, whereas the temperaments at least attempt to explain some causal mechanism.
It's strange that people feel this way given that galenic temperaments and astrology were inextricably linked for centuries. They have the same origin (Aristotle making shit up, misunderstood by Galen which is misunderstood by arabs which are misunderstood by medieval translators) and the main purpose of astrology, for pretty much all its history save for the last 100 years, was to inform galenic physicians in how to fix humors.
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This is like staring into tear through the fabric of space and time and catching a glimpse of an alternate reality for me.
Can you elaborate a little?
Traditional western medicine held that there are four humors- or essential bodily fluids- which determine by their quality and relative quantity the properties of human health, including the expressions of personality/mental health. A person with a preponderance of blood is said to be sanguine(a people person personality), of phlegm phlegmatic(a go with the flow type), of 'black bile' melancholic(introverted, serious, artistic), and of 'yellow bile' choleric(a type A personality). Galen, a roman doctor, codified the interactions of these humors with bodily functions and Hildegard of Bingen(a medieval German Abbess) codified how they could be influenced herbally and through the diet. I think IIRC that this is kind of a steelman of the theory behind essential oils affecting your health.
What this theory gets right is health being different for each person and more or less about the whole person/body being in overall health rather than about treating the symptoms of disease- I'm sure our resident doctors can relate with frustration patients who just refuse to address their obesity/hypertension/whatever and want meds for the symptoms. What it gets wrong is that eating spicy food will not help you get more done at work.
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