يُقال عن الإنسان الذي تكون رغباته ونوازعه ملكًا له، أي تعبيرًا عن طبيعته هو كما نمّاها ثقافته وشكّلتها، إنه ذو شخصية. أما من لا تكون رغباته ونوازعه ملكًا له، فلا شخصية له، لا أكثر مما للآلة البخارية من شخصية.

“A person whose desires and impulses are his own - are the expression of his own nature, as it has been developed and modified by his own culture - is said to have a character. One whose desires and impulses are not his own, has no character, no more than a steam-engine has character.”John Stuart Mill — On Liberty, Utilitarianism and Other Essays (2015)