I view character flaws as intrinsic, negative traits. But is there another way to see them?
Do I truly believe that flaws are concrete, that people can’t change?
A part of me wants to see all character traits, flaws or otherwise, as permanent and unchanging. Then people are easier to predict and deal with. Everything is simpler. But that’s a false feeling of knowing
If everyone wrote down a list of character flaws no one’s list would be the same
What is a character flaw anyway?
I think that there are traits that I would consider to be a flaw that might be actually beneficial to that person and their particular situation
Many people would agree that selfishness is a flaw, but if a person has been overly giving to others to the point of harming themselves, wouldn’t a bit of selfishness actually be a good thing for them?
Besides, selfishness is a tricky one. People usually call someone selfish when that person isn’t doing what they want them to do
I suppose a character flaw is an undesirable trait
Undesirable to who?
Maybe it would be better to say a character flaw is a characteristic that doesn’t serve you.
Though, this would capture many things that our society considers to be good things, I think
Actually, I think that just the idea that someone can be flawed is at the root of many problems
