Core Stoicism: Theoretical Framework for Personality Types

Source: Grant Sterling, "Core Stoicism" (International Stoic Forum, September 19, 2005)

The Central Distinction

Existentially, agents face the decision whether to pursue appropriate objects of aim or the external objects of our desires.

Appropriate Objects of Aim (Preferred Indifferents)

Theorem 25-26: Some things are appropriate objects at which to aim, although they are not genuinely good.

Life (our own, or others')
Health
Pleasure
Knowledge
Justice
Truth-telling
Social connection
Achievement
Etc.

These are "preferred indifferents" - reasonable to pursue but NOT to desire or treat as genuinely good.

External Objects of Desire (False Goods/Bads)

Things not in our control that we falsely judge to be genuinely good or evil:

Reputation, honor, status
Others' approval/disapproval
Wealth, material resources
Achievement outcomes
Control over external events/people
Relationships, social connection
Pleasure, pain
Safety, danger
Independence, autonomy

Core Stoic Principles

On Desires and Judgments

Theorem 7: Desires are caused by beliefs (judgments) about good and evil.

You desire what you judge to be good
You desire to avoid what you judge to be evil

Theorem 6: The only things in our control are our beliefs and will, and anything entailed by our beliefs and will.

Theorem 10: The only thing actually good is virtue, the only thing actually evil is vice.

Theorem 12: Things that are not in our control (externals) are never good or evil.

On Virtue and Vice

Theorem 27: Virtue consists of rational acts of will, vice of irrational acts of will.

Conclusion 28: Any act that aims at an [external] object of desire is not virtuous, since all desires [for externals] are irrational.

Conclusion 29: Virtue consists of the pursuit of appropriate objects of aim, not the pursuit of the [external] objects of our desires.

Application to Personality Disorders

The Corruption Pattern

Each personality disorder represents a systematic corruption where:

Appropriate objects of aim (preferred indifferents)
Are falsely judged to be genuinely good or evil
Become external objects of desire/aversion (false goods/bads)
Generate irrational needs (vices)
Produce characteristic behavioral patterns (personality disorder symptoms)

Examples of Corruption

Schizoid Type:

Appropriate object of aim: Social connection (preferred indifferent)
Corruption: Solitude falsely judged as genuinely good; relationships as genuinely evil
False goods: Being alone, independence, emotional detachment
False bads: Relationships, intimacy, emotional involvement
Result: Complete social detachment

Obsessive-Compulsive Type:

Appropriate object of aim: Doing good work, being organized
Corruption: Perfect performance falsely judged as genuinely good; errors as genuinely evil
False goods: Achievement, correctness, control, order
False bads: Mistakes, uncertainty, disorder, leisure
Result: Rigid perfectionism, inability to delegate

Avoidant Type:

Appropriate object of aim: Being well-regarded by others
Corruption: Others' approval falsely judged as genuinely good; criticism as genuinely evil
False goods: Acceptance, familiarity, approval
False bads: Rejection, criticism, new situations
Result: Social withdrawal despite desire for connection

Why False Judgments Cause Suffering

Theorem 3: All human unhappiness is caused by having a desire or emotional commitment to some outcome, and then that outcome does not result.

Conclusion 4: If you desire something which is out of your control, you will be subject to possible unhappiness.

Conclusion 13: Desiring things out of our control is irrational, since it involves false judgment.

The Personality Disorder Pattern

Person falsely judges externals as genuinely good/bad
Forms desires/aversions for things not in their control
Cannot guarantee obtaining these "goods" or avoiding these "bads"
Experiences chronic unhappiness and behavioral rigidity
Doubles down on the false judgments (the "solution" becomes the problem)

The Stoic Solution: Bear and Forbear

Epictetus's Principle: "Bear and Forbear"

Bear the things falsely valued as bad (things for which we have an "irrational need to avoid")
Forbear the things falsely valued as good (things for which we have an "irrational need")

Applied to Personality Types

Each type must learn to:

Identify their specific false value judgments
Bear what they falsely avoid (their false bads)
Forbear what they falsely desire (their false goods)
Pursue appropriate objects of aim WITHOUT treating outcomes as genuinely good/evil
Value only virtue (right judgment, right will)

This is a matter of training and practice, not therapeutic intervention.

Key Theoretical Insight

The personality disorder IS the systematic acting out of false judgments.

Actions are "inevitable, given their beliefs, to the extent that those beliefs 'constrain' the agent to act as they do" (Seddon).

Therefore:

Identification = Recognizing the pattern of false value judgments
Training = Learning right judgment about externals
Practice = Living according to right judgment about what is truly good (virtue) vs what is preferred but indifferent (externals)

Methodological Note

Sterling's Warning: "Denying one principle may undermine support for others, and the very things in Stoicism one sought to preserve may fall apart."

This framework is systematic and interconnected:

Th 7 (desires caused by judgments) supports the entire edifice
Denying it would collapse: irrationality of external desires, controllability of happiness, connection between virtue and appropriate objects of aim
The personality types framework depends on this systematic connection

Summary: The Architecture

TRUE GOOD/EVIL (In Our Control)
└── Virtue/Vice (right/wrong judgment and will)

PREFERRED INDIFFERENTS (Not In Our Control)
├── Appropriate Objects of Aim
│   └── Health, knowledge, life, justice, social connection, etc.
│   └── Pursue these WITHOUT desiring outcomes
│
└── CORRUPTED → External Objects of Desire ← PERSONALITY DISORDER
    ├── False Goods (falsely valued as genuinely good)
    └── False Bads (falsely valued as genuinely evil)
    └── Generate irrational needs (vices)
    └── Produce behavioral symptoms (DSM criteria)

For the Personality Styles Project

This framework provides:

Theoretical grounding for why personality disorders are false value judgments
Systematic method for deriving false goods/bads from DSM criteria
Philosophical language to replace clinical terminology
Educational direction (training in right judgment about externals)
Explanatory power for why these patterns are so rigid and resistant to change

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Wednesday, January 21, 2026