Laws of Human Nature
Great book by Robert Greene
MJ review on Amazon. Amazing work. This is like reading many biographies in one book. The framing is through character and psychology of interactions - which makes this compelling. The part that disturbs me is a sprinkling of inaccurate fatalism throughout - for example - in the 4th chapter on character. "This law is simple and inexorable: you have a set character." This statement is inaccurate - the latest in psychology states that both personality and character change over one's lifetime. Thus, in places, this book appears to discourage the reader - by proposing inaccurate mental models of reality. Most of the mental models here are excellent interpretations of reality and I learned a lot - but be wary as you read so you don't trap yourself in the models that are bs.
Communications
Hi Robert,
Excellent book, I rated it 5 on Amazon. But - one thing that disturbs me - in the 4th chapter on character you mention "This law is simple and inexorable: you have a set character." This statement appears to be inaccurate - the latest in psychology appears to state that both personality and character change over one's lifetime. Thus, this seems to have a chilling effect on human possibility and does not appear a just interpretation. Can you help me understand how your interpretation matches the latest science regarding the moldability of character?
Marcin