A Proposed Iteration of Mercy and Justice - Personality based Juries

One of the most unusual concepts out there in my opinion is the concept of justice. It is really hard to nail down what it is.  Especially in a practical sense.  How does one go about judging whether or not something is just?  There are so many factors to consider it can make your head spin.  Then at the end of the day we are practically limited by what we are actually able to implement in practice.  A classic example of this is the question of how a person should be judged who has a mental illness and commits some crime.  Many people think of a mental illness plea as a loophole for evil.  I strongly disagree myself, but I am not going to go into why now.    Things become a bit more complicated when you look at them from the Catholic point of view and you throw in the complementary concept of "mercy."  It is really hard to say even what is merciful and what is not. I am going to illustrate what I am talking about with a recent incident that brought all this to the forefront of my mind.  The incident that I have in mind is the recent suicide of Aaron Swartz.  Aaron Swartz was a computer programmer involved with the creation of both RSS and Reddit.  In 2011 he was arrested for breaking into the JSTOR academic database so you could download journal papers and share them for free on peer-to-peer websites.  It turned out that charges were pressed against Swartz and he faced sentences on the order of 35 years in prison, and 1 million dollars in fines.  Now granted the prosecution apparently indicated that they were not going to pursue the maximum sentence.  They wanted Swartz to go to prison for six months.  Regardless, Swartz could not take this kind of stress and killed himself.  If you want to learn about the details of the story I am going to let you check it out for yourself.  Here is one link that talks about it.

www.theatlanticwire.com/technology/2013/01/guide-finger-pointing-after-aaron-swartzs-suicide/61015/

Now I could talk about whether or not the maximum sentences were just, but everyone and their brother talks about that so I will not talk about this.  I am going to talk about what I think was going on with Swartz.  First off, (based on my third hand account) Swartz was considered a suicide risk.  Now for alot of people the thought of six months in prison would not be pleasant, but I do not think it would lead them to commit suicide.  I can say however that in the time I have led various teams my observation is that there are some people that just really cannot take stress.  Even what many people would consider normal stress.  I have seen guys get really upset after having to drive past a place where they may have had a bad experience a decade earlier.  I have seen people who would almost breakdown if they could not complete what I would consider simple tasks, and I have seen plenty of others just give up on life after being subject to relatively minor medical problems.  More and more I am starting to wonder if this difficulty dealing with stress has some relation with personality type or Cognitive function preference.  

In the case of Aaron he was most likely either ENTP or INTP.  I would tend to guess INTP.  Either way these are both relatively rare personality types.  Most people would not understand their point of view.  Both of these personality types also happen to be responsible for many of the innovations and paradigm shifts in society.  Einstein for instance was INTP.  I cannot help but wonder if part of what made Swartz so scared was the thought that in his mind he felt he was doing the right thing, but he feared he would be totally misunderstood by society and a jury.  He had probably long experienced being misunderstood by most people. 

What I have found is that different personality types have very different ways of looking at the world.  They naturally have very different values even when they profess to have the same values.  This can lead to major, nearly unreconcilable arguments and conflicts.  It leads people to totally misunderstand one another.  Even when people are aware of these differences they have a hard time actually recognizing it in practice. 

This leads me to a concept I have been toying with lately.  In The U.S. we like the idea of trying people by a jury of their peers.  I would like to suggest that perhaps in the next iteration of mercy and justice we try people with juries entirely consisting of people with exactly the same personality type.  My reasoning is that people of the same personality type will be best able to apply mercy when it is called for.  They will best understand a person's point of view.  In some sense these people will be a potentially very good group of "peers."  Looking back I can say there are people who I have absolutely detested, who I thought were the most terrible human beings that ever lived.  Now I realize all I really detested was their personality.  They still do not amuse me, but I now realize that my dislike of these people was mostly due to how they viewed the world.  Their point f view has positive and negative qualities like every other, and may be more or less effective depending on the situation.  On the other side however, this group of people will also be the best on calling you out when you are acting inappropriately.  When people misunderstand you they can sometimes be too lenient. 

I sometimes wonder if Aaron Swartz would have acted differently if he knew he was going to be tried by a jury consisting of other people with the INTP personality type.  He may have felt much less stressed out and may have felt like he would be understood.  Having the same personality type does not necessarily mean you hold the same positions.  It just means you tend to look at and influence the world and self in a similar manner.  It would not necessarily mean everyone would get off Scott free.  Actually in some cases I wonder if the effect lawyers have to spin stories would be diminished simply because everyone would be on the same page.  Expecially if the lawyer had a different personality type from everyone else in the room.  People might just ignore the lawyer. 

I will be the first to say there are some problems with this concept, but I do think it is worth further reflection. 

My ENTJ Dog

It is often said that dogs adopt the personality of their own.  I think this is true.  My guess is that because dogs are pack animals they are trying to maximize relationship happiness, and being of a similiar personality helps make this happen.  As a result they adopt the personality of their owner in order to better relate to them.  Sometimes you hear about a person complaining that their spouse hangs out with their dog more than them.  I think what is going on is that the spouses have different personalities and the dog adopts one of their personalities and so the person relates more easily to the dog than to the spouse.  Anyways after some thought I realized my childhood dog actually became an ENTJ like myself.  It turns out I realized this all along. 

When I was in 3rd grade a dog showed up at our house.   We lived out in the middle of prairie and it turned out a neighbouring farmer had picked the dog up at the pound and brought him to his farm to be a watchdog.  Well no one was usually at the farm so apparently the dog got lonely and decided he had had enough so he broke his chain and left the farm to look for some friends.  We lived not too far away and were probably noisy because there were 7 people in my family at that time.  So he decided to come live at our house where the action was.  We decided to keep him.  I named him Cody after one of my elementary school friends.  This got expanded by my dad to Cody Ack Bear (middle name Ack, last name Bear.)  I think he intended Kodiak bear (my dad loves bears), but I did not know what a kodiack bear was so it remained Cody Ack Bear.  Cody was some kind of german shepard mutt. 

Cody was my constant companion until I left home for college.  I thought he was the best dog ever.  He was a very fast runner and very smart.  He liked to be with people.  He was quite brave and in some ways even contemplative.  I remember one time we locked him in a shop during a party at our house so he would not get in people's way.  He did not care for this and wanted to be with everyone, so he figured out a way to open a window and got out to join the party.  He figured out numerous ways to escape from cages.  One time I even saw him open a screen door.  He loved hunting animals.  If he found a rabbit he would chase it and if it went in a hole he would dig and dig and dig to get it.  One time he dug a hole so deep only his tail was sticking out of the ground.  He could be very tenacious.  He liked to get in fights with snakes too.  Sometimes he would bark and bark at then and then he would lunge at them grab them with his mouth, shake them around, and throw them in the air.    It was pretty entertaining to watch.  When he got the chance he liked chasing antelope too and he would chase them for a long time.  One thing about Cody that stuck out was that he had a bit of an independent streak to him.  He hated wearing collars.  If you put a collar on him he would find a way to take it off.  He really was not very trainable.  He knew how to "sit" and how to "come," but other than that he would not learn any other tricks.  He also liked to go on trips out into the prarie to look for things to eat.  He would drag all kinds of crazy stuff back.  In alot of ways he also had a serious persoality.  He did not play fetch or any other dog game like that unless other dogs were doing it.  Then I think he only took their ball to be difficult.  He really was not too interested in those kinds of games.      If you tried to get him to play a dog game he would look at you skeptically.  Cody was also very emotionally stable.  He was very patient.  I do not think I ever saw him actually get mad about anything even when people perturbed him.  I also remember Cody was also very noble.  He used to sit o the dirt next to our house and stare out at the prarie watching what was going on.  I do not think dogs know how to think, but he was probably contemplating the mysteries of the world as best as dogs can.  Cody was also very sociable but he was no pleaser.   I really thought Cody was the perfect dog and I admired him.

What really struck me when I was young though were Cody's weaknesses because they mirrored my own.  There was one thing in particular.  Cody was a pretty brave dog but he was not a daredevil.  You could tell he wished their were some risks he wished he was more willing to take but was hesitant to do so.  In some cases it was because I think he felt he was not in the right.  I saw this in some specific cases.  I would go running down the prarie roads with Cody and we at one time had a new neighbor with two big rottweiler dogs.  The dogs saw us running by and decided to try and chase us.  There were no fences out their, but I decided just to ignore them and keep running as normal.  I could tell the who thing was kind of making Cody nervous and he got shy and went to the other side of the road.  Ultimately the rottweilers ran right up to us, but I just kind of ignored them and kept jogging.  The just ran up really close, put their heads close to the ground, barked and than ran all the way back home. I think Cody got nervous because he thought he was in their territory and not his own.  Cody was a bit of a fighter.  Even when he was old and arthritic he fought off a pit bull that came to our house and started beating up a new dog we had.  But I think Cody had some sense of where he could and could not be.  When he was in the right and when he was not.  When he can make a stand and when he should not.  Some people make stands in cases where it seems to me they have no place to do so.  I had long admired this trait because I did not have it.  Sometimes I wish I were more of a daredevil and able to take bigger risks, but I realize it is not a strength of mine.  It is something I wish I had but really do not.  Now I realize some people are just more naturally inclined to that.  I could relate to how Cody felt.  I could see he felt ashamed he was not willing to stand his ground against the rottweiers.  Espeically when he saw those rottweilers were really just all talk.   

Now looking back I am pretty sure Cody was an ENTJ dog.  He had alot of ENTJ personality characteristics.  I think he adopted my personality.  When I talk to other people about their dogs they usually sound nothing like Code.  Alot of dogs are very friendly, learn to do tricks, play fetch the ball, and so on.  Cody didn't do that stuff.  That is part of what made Cody, Cody.  After I left for college I could tell Cody had changed too.  He hung out with my other brothers and sisters more.  I did not come home much, but when I did I could tell Cody's personality had changed somewhat.  Part of it was probably that he mellowed out.  He was starting to get quite old, but I think he changed somewhat to match my brother's and sisters.  I think to the end though he still had some ENTJ in him.

Sometimes I miss Cody.  He was a really great dog. 

The dog my family later got was named Bear.  He started hanging out with my INTJ brother and I think he is very much an INTJ dog.  He really does not like to be around people much.  Mostly he just stays in his dog house ruminating about his problems.  He also is not good at controlling his emotions.  He is not a very emotional dog, but he does occasionally have emotional outbursts.  One time he bit my INTJ brothers lip in half because he got mad which escalated into an INTJ-INTJ fist fight.  He is not a happy-go-lucky dog nor is he a pleaser.  He has an independent streak to him, but he is however willing to learn a few tricks unlike Cody.  I notice INTJs tend to be more likely to adapt to into established frameworks than ENTJs.  ENTJs do it, but they also create new frameworks as needed and when the opportunities arise.  I think this is why the new dog was more willing to do the tricks.  Another odd thing he does is that he enjoys wearing a leash.  Cody hated the leash and almost never had to wear one.  Bear thinks the leash is great.  He has to whole prarie to run around totally free, but he really likes it when people put the leash on him and take him for a walk.  I think this is because INTJs have a deep desired to be loved and included by those they admire.  ENTJs have this as well but it is easier for them to ignore. Prehaps to our own detriment.

So in conclusion I think dogs really do take on the personality of their owner.  My Godmother was very friendly ENFJ and she had a very friendly ENFJ dog that loved being social, going to the park, and dressing up in costumes.  Some people have dogs that like to run away.  I think those are P-type dogs.  Do you see yourself in your dog?

My glimpse of purgatory

One morning shortly after waking up I caught a glimpse of purgatory

It looked like a small, cluttered and cramped archaic workshop.

Well lit up by sunlight.

Streaming through overhead windows.

It was light and airy inside.

A pleasant, lazy, summer day.

The door was open allowing additional sunlight entrance to the room

A warm breeze slid through the workshop.

There were lightly colored maple butcher block workbenches,

The kind that are pleasant to work on.

On each bench a person whose body was partially encased

in odd and inconvenient arrangements of stone.

Was laid down as comfortably as the stone would permit.

The poses they assumed were generally awkward as a consequence of the stone

Craftsman stood over them with chisels and hammers and angle grinders.

Chipping away at the stone

Grinding away final remnants of shale from skin

Labouring to free their patients from mineral shackles

The patients would wince in pain

Clearly the operation was not pleasant

but they did not protest

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It is things like this that give me inspiration to develop artistic talent. I wish I could paint it so I could share what I saw with others.  As I learn to be less dismissive of others opinions I feel I am becoming more receptive to the whispers of Grace.