Doable

 

On Page 84 of his book, The Passionate State of Mind, Eric Hoffer has one entry which I will quote and then comment on.

 

Hoffer: “It is doubtful whether we can reform human beings by eliminating their undesirable traits. In most cases elimination comes to nothing more than substitution: we substitute a close relative for the bad trait we have eliminated, and the dynasty continues. Envy takes the place of greed, self-righteousness that of selfishness, intellectual dishonesty that of plain dishonesty. And there is always the chance that the new bad trait will be more vigorous than the one it supplants.”

 

My response: Undesirable traits is much of human nature is, so it would be wise and more prudent to worry less about eliminating undesirable traits and emphasize sublimating such traits, redirecting them.