Main Interests of the Character Styles
Keith Seddon (30) has introduced use of the ideas of "interests" and "projects" into Stoic practice:
"We need to distinguish between our interests and
projects on the one hand, and the way we carry on the business
of pursuing our interests and furthering our projects on
the other. Everything that we engage in in daily life will further
some project which in turn satisfies some interest we
have. Interests would include earning an income, gaining an
education, staying healthy, raising children, etc., etc. A project
is some activity we perform which furthers an interest,
such as taking a course at a local college, or taking up a new
diet. Notice that interests and projects concern indifferent
things (with the singular and unique exception of our interest
to perfect our characters and thereby to fully flourish and live
happily). But the way we carry out our projects — noting that
the way we act in pursuit of something is entirely distinct
from the project itself — concerns our capacity to act virtuously,
to act in ways characteristic of the person who has
perfected their character. This, say the Stoics, is what is good
or bad, and this is what is of supreme importance."
The table below contains intuitions of the 'main interests' of the character styles. If you pursue any of these interests, and you wish to fully flourish and live happily, pursue them 'with reservation' and virtuously.
Keith Seddon (2007).Stoic Serenity: A Practical Course on Finding Inner Peace. United Kingdom: Lulu.com.
___________ A Guide to Stoic Living:
A Practical Course on Finding Inner Peace
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