The Discipline of Assent
As a matter of study, Epictetus places the Discipline of Desire first, and the order of study of the disciplines is: desire, action, assent. But when one is practicing 'making proper use of impressions,' assent comes first.
The Discipline of Assent
"This exercise focuses on ‘assenting to impressions’, and continues the discussion already introduced in the section above on making proper use of impressions. ‘Assent’ translates the Greek sunkatathesis, which means ‘approve’, ‘agree’, or ‘go along with’. Thus, when we assent to an impression (phantasia) we are committing ourselves to it as a correct representation of how things are, and are saying, ‘Yes, this is how it is.’ The Discipline of Assent, then, is an exercise applied to our impressions in which we interpret and judge them in order to move from having the impression of something or other, to a declaration that such-and-such is the case" (Keith Seddon).
"Everything on the Stoic view comes down to assent to impressions" -- Grant C. Sterling.
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