§1. Individuality and its features

A Grade 7 topic in Person and Society: “§1. Individuality and its features” (pp. 6–14, M. L. Azimova, A. A. Arunova, I. V. Maslova). Individuality is the uniqueness of a person — the unrepeatable qualities and features of every human being. It is reflected in a person's outward appearance, behaviour, way of life and even in the way they dress. Individuality can appear in a person's biological (innate) and social qualities: biological ones include hair and skin colour, eye colour and shape, the form of the ears and body build, while social ones include views, beliefs, habits of behaviour and interests. A person's individuality shows itself in temperament, character and abilities. Temperament is the individual feature that determines the dynamics of a person's behaviour and mental processes; it consists of two components — activity and emotionality. The ancient Greek scholar Hippocrates divided temperament into four types: choleric, sanguine, phlegmatic and melancholic. Character is the sum of the mental and spiritual qualities that determine a person's behaviour and the way they interact with the surrounding world.