Character: a concept in search of an identity.

I have attempted to clarify the clinical usage of the concept of character. I have examined such terms as character trait, character, and character disorder. I have described various schemes of classification, and have proposed key definitions for the above terms. I have described the unique aspect of character, that is, its capacity to establish a relation between a superficial attribute and a deep structure. Finally, I have suggested that character represents the core of the individual from a particular point of view--a precipitate of a person's relations to the outside world.