(T/F)'Negative character traits are actually their positive traits turned up to 11'

[DokiDokiTsuna]

Hostility -> A trait of a survivor in rough circumstances who has had to learn to be suspicious of strangers. This would work best in a setting where such tactics can be easily presented as beneficial

Oddly enough, the character I was thinking of when I wrote that first thing has a backstory exactly like that. They've spent most of their life basically being trophy hunted, so 'attack first, ask questions later' works out pretty well for them. ^^;

The 'salesperson' example is a really good deconstruction, though, although I don't know if there's a word for that in English...I'd say 'firm' or 'no-nonsense', but those things don't carry the same aggressive vibe...

If someone gets on their bad side, they could use their emotional intelligence to really hit them where it hurts and their short temper would spur them to actually do so.

I don't know if 'emotional intelligence' is really the core of cruelty...I used it to basically mean 'having a desire to hurt others' and you don't have to have a high EI to possess that. It just makes you better at satisfying the urge.

Again, "rude" can manifest in a lot of ways

When I added that, I was thinking 'having a desire (specifically) to insult people and make your judgements about them known'...and it was hard to find a word that reflected that. ^^; Although, now that I define it that way, I feel like that could have a positive core, too. Dunno what it would be, though.

Just because the idea of "punishment" isn't inherent to sadism doesn't mean it can't be part of the background of why a character became sadistic.

Yes, but that doesn't make it a fundamental element of sadism itself, which is the point of the OP.

Someone jealous of another's successes/privileges/accomplishments can have that tied into a generally ambitious personality that drives them towards achieving great things.

That's it! Ambition! That's what I was what I was thinking of!
I use jealousy as motivation all the time, and yet somehow I couldn't figure it out for myself. ^^;

[rajillustration]

I definitely think that flaws and positive traits can be two sides of the same coin--because often you can't have one without the other. I don't know if I agree that they have to be opposites, but I do think that all the traits in a character have to make sense as part of the same web. Like all the traits should relate to eachother.

[AmysGames]

I agree with Doki. While I do generally agree with the philosophy, saying that ALL negative traits are just exaggerated positive traits is a bit absurd. Some negative traits are just negative traits.

Honestly, I find the whole "positive vs. negative traits" thing to be a bit overstated. Sometimes a trait can be positive or negative just depending on who you ask—e.g. Character A might admire Character B for their bravery in combat, while Character C thinks of them as a heartless killer. I just give my characters traits and let context decide which ones are positive or negative.

[Kaydreamer]

The true/false binary is too limiting as a response to such a question because the answer is not binaric, but I went with true because the philosophy which inspires it is mostly true. Though that school of philosophy deals with too much and too little of a trait!

(By the way, you may find the philosophy in question - Aristotelian virtue ethics - fascinating! It's my favourite, and is easily applicable to modern life.)

Aristotle argues that most traits in excess can be bad, and that we should instead strive for balance. Think of positive and negative extremes as weights existing on a set of scales. For instance, courage. Too little, and you are a coward. Too much, and you are reckless. But if you balance the scales, there lies true courage.

I'll try to apply this to your examples.

Rudeness/Bluntness: In many ways, rudeness is honesty taken to an extreme. You're not wrong in suggesting assertiveness either, since you need that in order to be truly honest. But, if a person has too little of either, they become a doormat who can't be honest in voicing their true feelings about something.

Jealousy: The word 'jealousy' has two meanings - the desire to have what others possess, and the desire to guard what belongs to oneself. (We really should have two words!) Both meanings stem from selfishness, and indicate a lack of generosity. If a person is overly generous, they may ultimately undermine their ability to maintain their own livelihood. They are also easily taken advantage of. If they are not generous enough, often because they jealously guard what is 'theirs', they become greedy, and through this, undermine the livelihoods of others.

Cruelty: Cruelty is the opposite of kindness. Too much kindness, you can again be easily taken advantage of, to the detriment of your own wellbeing. (Notice the pattern here, that tilting the scale too far to one side typically harms the self, while tilting it too far to the opposite typically harms others.) Too little kindness, however, makes you cruel. (This is treating cruelty in its passive form. Active, deliberate cruelty done for pleasure is...)

Sadism: Sadism and cruelty are twins. While cruelty can be passive, or at least emotionless, sadism is active and deliberate cruelty inflicted for pleasure. So I would argue that sadism is merely the deliberate embracing of an imbalanced extreme (cruelty) for personal pleasure, and therefore is on the scale of kindness.

So, to summarise, the traits you couldn't find answers for within the framework of the question you posed were because they are symptoms of a trait turned down, with the exception of rudeness. But, while they may not fit neatly within the question you posed, but they do fit within the philosophy of virtue ethics, which is the philosophical 2300-year-old bedrock inspiring questions like these.

[DokiDokiTsuna]

Rudeness/Bluntness: In many ways, rudeness is honesty taken to an extreme.

YEP, THAT'S IT
THAT'S THE OTHER ONE

So, to summarise, the traits you couldn't find answers for within the framework of the question you posed were because they are symptoms of a trait turned down, with the exception of rudeness.

So basically, you went in the negative direction...very interesting.
I have to disagree with the jealousy/generosity continuum, though: becoming more generous might help you overcome the kind of jealousy that makes you possessive of a loved one, for instance, but not the kind of jealousy I was thinking of (e.g. 'I wish that were me').

In order to get over that feeling, you usually have to learn to be accepting of your situation, which is why I think it pairs better with ambition. But (in the absence of a separate word to distinguish both types of jealousy...thanks English) I guess it's fine to have both. ^^;

[Shredder]

This is exactly a story I have planned specifically the overprotectiveness, it's a story focused on the mental health of the main character and how they justify their escalation and obsession to protect, its a slow burn trying to convince the reader that the main character is being logical the entire time but their actions begin to contradict their beliefs towards the end.

[jcmraz]

Depends on the trait. Negative character traits can be just traits that specific people don't like or get along with. It could also be bad traits that the character thinks are good and places value in.

As an example of potentially both simultaneously: I'm the kind of guy that questions things. I'm very skeptical and if something you say sets off my bells a bit I won't just agree with you or move on, I'll point it out. I'll also do my own short research into it or expect you to explain to me why I should believe whatever the thing is that you say. I don't mean anything negative by it. I'm interested in truth and will admit when I've been shown wrong without any negative feelings. Problem is that most people don't take it that way whether or not they know my intent. It can come off as abrasive. I find value in this. Most people do not. I also probably do it too much.

Maybe this is a positive trait turned up to 11. Maybe this is a negative trait that I find value in. Maybe it depends on who you ask. I've spoken to people with all 3 viewpoints about myself. It depends on the person's perspective.

[skippyjoeskilling]

If we're talking about writing advice from Tumblr posts, I remember seeing another one that said a tragic flaw can also be a trait that would be a benefit in another story. As in, the character who gets taken advantage of by a villain would, in another story, be the character who is rewarded for his kindness. I think the way they put it was to make a character who would be perfect in one genre, and then drop them into the opposite one. As in, the kind of ruthless attitude that lets you survive a slasher movie would make you a total dick in a high school comedy. I always thought that was very interesting.

Though I think most of these tips really depend on how much you want the audience to sympathize with your character. All of these are great if you're making a protagonist who's arc is overcoming their flaws. Maybe not so good in an antagonist. I think a pure evil character is good sometimes.