Can we really change ourselves, or can we only change the circumstances (the company we keep, our jobs etc)?
When I meet people who claim to have changed (after, say, a foreign trip) it always strikes me that they are exactly the same and that they are just indulging in vanity.
2006-08-30 11:04:06 · 18 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ Philosophy
They might change the way they feel about themselves and their goals for the future may have changed as a result.
There are going to be things that have an effect on you as you age but the "type" of person you are is going to remain fairly similar.
2006-08-30 11:12:31 · answer #1 · answered by bambam 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i used to be a shy, introverted person in elementary & jr high, but started becoming more of an extrovert in jr high & definitely more so in high school. i think it does take a long time for those kinds of changes, though- i don't think a person can change after a foreign trip- that is vanity!
i have a friend who went to a foreign county & when she came back we went to dinner. she felt it necessary to point out the fact that since she'd been overseas she now eats with her fork in one hand & knife the other without switching, just like they do overseas. when you have to point out the things to others you say you've changed you're only pointing it out because you want to get noticed. btw- she also now feels the need to say 'chow' all the time :P
2006-08-30 11:10:55 · answer #2 · answered by funy 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The short answer is yes. For example, give almost any person enough love and they will become more loving. Develop a Guru-disciple relationship and you will become more wise and kind. Character is strongly influenced by environment. Experiences also change people - as one person said, trauma can.
I suggest you put questions like this in Psychology rather than philosophy.
2006-08-30 11:54:52 · answer #3 · answered by MBK 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There veiw on life may have changed. I don't personally think we change, we progress we make changes with those progressions yes, and it may be hard for others to see untill it smacks them in the face. Like when you get a hair cut, you see it happening so when it's done it's not a huge change but everyone else sees.
2006-08-30 11:10:45 · answer #4 · answered by LoveLife 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
People change their characters all the time. I've never witness one happen overnight, but the change happens gradually even if some are more quicker than others. the simple change of maturing is common enough. so yea, people can change character, just don't expect it over night.
2006-08-30 11:25:54 · answer #5 · answered by angelof2worlds 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think it's possible, but I don't think that it happens with much frequency. It takes a lot of work or very extenuating circumstances to change someone.
2006-08-30 11:12:39 · answer #6 · answered by Oracle at Delphi 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes.. people change all the time not in the way that they are no longer their previous self.. but in that they have found some new awareness of their self..... the question is if you consider that to be a change or if it was always there in you somewhere......
2006-08-30 17:13:19 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes.you can change,Although I'd say it'd take a lot of work.
redemption is good for the soul,hard on the back...
*chuckle*
2006-09-03 02:48:55 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I hear some people do after just reading a book. It's never happened to me though.
2006-08-30 11:09:03 · answer #9 · answered by jackie 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
After a tramatic experience but only temporarily.
2006-08-30 11:09:26 · answer #10 · answered by da_hammerhead 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋