Epictetus' Three Disciplines in terms of "Core Stoicism"
Epictetus' Three Disciplines in terms of "Core Stoicism"
ChatGPT,
In the text which follows, Section Two concerns the Discipline of Desire, Section Four concerns the Discipline of Action and the ideas surrounding the concept of "judgment" concern the Discipline of Assent. Please use all of the following text to explain Epictetus' three Disciplines.
"Section One: Preliminaries Th 1) Everyone wants happiness. Th 2) If you want happiness, it would be irrational to accept incomplete or imperfect happiness if you could get complete [continual, uninterrupted] happiness. 2*) Complete happiness is possible. [To be proven below.]
"Section Two: Negative Happiness Th 3) All human unhappiness is caused by having a desire or emotional commitment [I will henceforth say "desire" for simplicity] to some outcome, and then that outcome does not result. 4) Ergo, if you desire something which is out of your control, you will be subject to possible unhappiness. If you desire many things out of your control, the possibility of complete happiness approaches zero. 5) By 4, 2*, and Th2, desiring things out of your control is irrational [if it is possible to control your desires]. Th 6) The only things in our control are our beliefs and will, and anything entailed by our beliefs and will. Th 7) Desire[s] are caused by beliefs (judgments) about good and evil. [You desire what you judge to be good, and desire to avoid what you judge to be evil.] 8) Ergo, Desires are in our control. 9) By 5 and 8, desiring things out of our control is irrational. Th 10) The only thing actually good is virtue, the only thing actually evil is vice. 11) Ergo, since virtue and vice are types of acts of will, they are in our control. 12) Ergo, things that are not in our control are never good or evil. 13) [cf 9, above] Desiring things out of our control is irrational, since it involves false judgment. 14) Ergo, if we value only virtue, we will both judge truly and be immune to all unhappiness.
"Section Three: Positive Happiness or Appropriate Positive Feelings 15) Ergo, if we truly judge that virtue is good, we will desire it. Th 16) If you desire something, and achieve it, you will get a positive feeling. 17) Ergo, if we correctly judge and correctly will, we will have appropriate positive feelings as a result. Th 18) Some positive feelings do not result from desires, and hence do not result from judgments about value. [E.g., the taste of a good meal, the sight of a beautiful sunset, etc.] 19) Ergo, such positive feelings are not irrational or inappropriate. [Though if we desire to achieve them or desire for them to continue beyond the present, then that would involve the judgment that they are good, and hence that would be irrational.] Th 20) The universe is, or is governed by, Nature, Providence, God or the gods. [Different Stoics approach this idea differently.] Th 21) That which is Natural, or is governed by Providence, God, or the gods is exactly as it should be. [Zeus is just, or however you wish to express this.] {Nota bene that this produces a problem for those stoics who are strict determinists, since it would mean that even acts of vice were somehow correct, and are not actually in our control in any important sense. But I don't think strict determinism about internal states is a core belief of Stoicism.} Th 22) If you regard any aspect [or, better, all aspects] of the world as being exactly as it should be, you will receive appropriate positive feelings. 23) Ergo, the Stoic will be positively happy, will have positive feelings, in at least three ways: appreciation of his own virtue, physical and sensory pleasures, and the appreciation of the world as it is. The last of those three is something that the Stoic could experience continually, every waking second, since at every waking second one can perceive something as being what it is, and hence what it should be.
"Section Four: Virtue Th 24) In order to perform an act of will, the act of will must have some content. The content is composed of the result at which one aims. Th 25) Some things are appropriate objects at which to aim, although they are not genuinely good. Th 26) Some such objects are things like life [our own, or others'], health, pleasure, knowledge, justice, truth- telling, etc. Th 27) Virtue consists of rational acts of will, vice of irrational acts of will. 28) Ergo, any act that aims at an [external] object of desire is not virtuous, since all desires [for externals] are irrational. 29) Ergo, virtue consists of the pursuit of appropriate objects of aim, not the pursuit of the [external] objects of our desires . Such virtuous acts will give us good feelings [by 17], and since we have no desires regarding the actual outcome, they will never produce unhappiness for us. So now the threads of the sections can be tied together. "Someone who judges truly will never be unhappy, will in fact experience continual uninterrupted appropriate positive feelings, and will always act virtuously. Anyone would agree that someone who led a life like that was happy. Judgment is in our control. Hence, not only is prefect continual happiness possible, it is actually in our control--we can actually guarantee it by simply judging correctly, and acting on those judgments" (Grant C. Sterling, International Stoic Forum).
"ChatGPT"
"Epictetus, a Stoic philosopher, outlines three disciplines that are essential for achieving happiness and leading a virtuous life. These disciplines are the Discipline of Desire, the Discipline of Action, and the Discipline of Assent. Let's explore each of these disciplines based on the provided text.
• Discipline of Desire: Epictetus asserts that all human beings naturally desire happiness (Th 1). He argues that complete and uninterrupted happiness is possible (2*) and should be the goal rather than settling for incomplete or imperfect happiness (Th 2). However, he identifies a major source of human unhappiness: having desires for outcomes that are beyond our control (Th 3). According to Epictetus, if we desire things that are not within our power to control, we subject ourselves to possible unhappiness (4).
"To counteract this, Epictetus suggests that we recognize and focus our desires only on things that are within our control. He states that the only things in our control are our beliefs and will, along with anything that follows from them (Th 6). Since desires are caused by judgments about good and evil (Th 7), Epictetus argues that by controlling our judgments and aligning them with reason, we can control our desires (8). Therefore, desiring things outside of our control is considered irrational (9), as it involves false judgment (13).
"Epictetus concludes that the only truly good thing is virtue, while vice is the only genuine evil (Th 10). Since virtue and vice are acts of will, they are within our control (11). Thus, things that are not in our control are neither good nor evil (12). By valuing only virtue, we can judge correctly and be immune to unhappiness, achieving true happiness (14).
• Discipline of Action: The Discipline of Action focuses on the appropriate choices and actions that align with virtue. Epictetus argues that pursuing external objects of desire is not virtuous because all desires for externals are irrational (28). Instead, he suggests that virtue consists of rational acts of will (27). The pursuit of appropriate objects of aim, rather than the external objects of our desires, leads to virtuous acts (29). By acting virtuously and pursuing what is truly good, we experience good feelings and avoid unhappiness (17, 29).
• Discipline of Assent: The Discipline of Assent pertains to the judgments we make about the world and our perceptions of it. Epictetus asserts that the universe is governed by Nature, Providence, God, or the gods (Th 20). He suggests that if we regard all aspects of the world as exactly as they should be, we will experience appropriate positive feelings (Th 22). By cultivating an understanding and acceptance of the world as it is, we can attain a state of positive happiness (23).
"In summary, Epictetus' three disciplines are interconnected and provide a framework for achieving happiness. The Discipline of Desire emphasizes controlling our desires by aligning our judgments with reason and valuing only virtue. The Discipline of Action involves acting virtuously by pursuing appropriate objects of aim rather than external objects of desire. Finally, the Discipline of Assent focuses on cultivating a positive perception of the world and accepting it as it is, thereby attaining happiness through appropriate positive feelings" (ChatGPT).
"ChatGPT"
"Epictetus, a Stoic philosopher, outlines three disciplines that are essential for achieving happiness and leading a virtuous life. These disciplines are the Discipline of Desire, the Discipline of Action, and the Discipline of Assent. Let's explore each of these disciplines based on the provided text.
• Discipline of Desire: Epictetus asserts that all human beings naturally desire happiness (Th 1). He argues that complete and uninterrupted happiness is possible (2*) and should be the goal rather than settling for incomplete or imperfect happiness (Th 2). However, he identifies a major source of human unhappiness: having desires for outcomes that are beyond our control (Th 3). According to Epictetus, if we desire things that are not within our power to control, we subject ourselves to possible unhappiness (4).
"To counteract this, Epictetus suggests that we recognize and focus our desires only on things that are within our control. He states that the only things in our control are our beliefs and will, along with anything that follows from them (Th 6). Since desires are caused by judgments about good and evil (Th 7), Epictetus argues that by controlling our judgments and aligning them with reason, we can control our desires (8). Therefore, desiring things outside of our control is considered irrational (9), as it involves false judgment (13).
"Epictetus concludes that the only truly good thing is virtue, while vice is the only genuine evil (Th 10). Since virtue and vice are acts of will, they are within our control (11). Thus, things that are not in our control are neither good nor evil (12). By valuing only virtue, we can judge correctly and be immune to unhappiness, achieving true happiness (14).
• Discipline of Action: The Discipline of Action focuses on the appropriate choices and actions that align with virtue. Epictetus argues that pursuing external objects of desire is not virtuous because all desires for externals are irrational (28). Instead, he suggests that virtue consists of rational acts of will (27). The pursuit of appropriate objects of aim, rather than the external objects of our desires, leads to virtuous acts (29). By acting virtuously and pursuing what is truly good, we experience good feelings and avoid unhappiness (17, 29).
• Discipline of Assent: The Discipline of Assent pertains to the judgments we make about the world and our perceptions of it. Epictetus asserts that the universe is governed by Nature, Providence, God, or the gods (Th 20). He suggests that if we regard all aspects of the world as exactly as they should be, we will experience appropriate positive feelings (Th 22). By cultivating an understanding and acceptance of the world as it is, we can attain a state of positive happiness (23).
"In summary, Epictetus' three disciplines are interconnected and provide a framework for achieving happiness. The Discipline of Desire emphasizes controlling our desires by aligning our judgments with reason and valuing only virtue. The Discipline of Action involves acting virtuously by pursuing appropriate objects of aim rather than external objects of desire. Finally, the Discipline of Assent focuses on cultivating a positive perception of the world and accepting it as it is, thereby attaining happiness through appropriate positive feelings" (ChatGPT).
Core Stoicism by Grant C. Sterling
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