Character is not a fixed trait but a freely chosen project the self maintains.

Evidence

Similarly what we call a person’s temperament or character but which is nothing but his free project in so far as it is-for-the-Other, appears also for the For-itself as an invariable unrealizable. Alain has perceived correctly that character is a vow. When a man says, “I am not easy to please,” he is entering into a free engagement with his ill-temper, and by the same token his words are a free interpretation of certain ambiguous details in his past. In this sense there is no character; there is only a project of oneself. — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness, 1284

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines character as a free project rather than a fixed substance — the ontological status of ‘temperament’ in Sartre’s system.
• XREF: Directly sets up Beauvoir’s ethics — the denial of fixed character underpins her refusal of a predetermined feminine ‘nature’. — connects to: Character and temperament differ only by the project of interpretation, not by substance.; Motives are freely constituted rather than psychologically forced.; The for-itself’s project is a concrete individual choice, not an abstract universal — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness: An Essay on…, 1384 (+7 more)

Broader Connections

• Human beings create their own essence through action rather than inheriting a fixed nature #corroborates (0.95) — Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café, 27
• Human beings are processes of their own actions, not fixed essences #corroborates (0.92) — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 1256
• Freedom requires choosing one’s own essence, not merely one’s acts #expands (0.90) — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness, 1126
• Moral standards are personally constructed, not passively absorbed #corroborates (0.85)
• Motives are freely constituted rather than psychologically forced. #corroborates (0.82)
• Innate qualities constrain but do not abolish freedom within a situation #qualifies (0.80) — Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café, 717
• The for-itself desires to be its own foundation without annihilating its consciousness. #expands (0.78) — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness, 361
• The for-itself’s project is a concrete individual choice, not an abstract universal #expands (0.75) — Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and Nothingness, 1384
• Grandeur in character requires an open future, not innate virtue #complicates (0.72) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1745