Controlling Assents Over Time

This is a structured analysis by Claude.ai of a passage from Grant Sterling's email message to the International Stoic Forum, which I call "I receive impressions." Grant's passage follows that.

"The key Stoic theorems and principles contained in the given text are:

1. We don't have direct control over our initial impressions/thoughts (phantasiai), but we can indirectly shape them over time through controlling our assent (sunkatathesis).

2. By assenting to certain impressions, we reinforce and strengthen similar future impressions. By rejecting impressions, we weaken and reduce the frequency of those types of impressions.

3. Careful regulation of assent over a long period is how one builds a virtuous character. The Stoic Sage has mastered this to the point of no longer receiving false impressions that externals are good or bad.

4. While we can't control initial impressions, we can formulate new rational propositions to assent to instead of the initial irrational impression.

5. Example of formulating a new rational impression: Instead of "Someone entered my office - this is bad", reformulate as "Someone entered my office, but this is neither good nor bad."

6. Example of Epictetus' advice - when criticized, don't defend yourself but say "They don't know my other faults" - reframing the impression positively.

7. Highlighting the importance of not assenting to irrational impressions which can lead to feuds, overreactions etc. But instead questioning impressions."

 Grant C. Sterling:

"One final thing. I said above that we would assume that
the original impressions are not in our control. Directly, that's
true. But indirectly, it isn't, for two reasons:

a) Our impressions are closely connected to our character.
If you reject an impression, then it makes that same type of
impression less common and weaker. If you assent to it, it becomes
more common and stronger. If it seems to me that it would be good to
punch someone in the nose for insulting me, and I assent, then it
becomes more likely that the next time something annoys me it will
seem to me that I should lash out at someone, and that 'seeming' will
be more compelling. If I refuse to assent, if I tell myself "hitting
them won't solve my problems", then I will have fewer "I should punch
someone" impressions, and they will be weaker (more easily resisted).
So, in this way, by being careful with our acts of assent (which are
in our control), the impressions that we receive will be altered over
time. This is a long process, but is critical for the Stoics--this
is building a virtuous character. The Sage is simply someone who has
controlled their assents so carefully for such a long period of time
that they no longer receive the false value impressions (that externals
are good or bad) in the first place.

b) While our impressions are not in our control, we do have
the ability (suggested in above examples) to formulate new ideas.
I receive the impression "Someone has been in my office--that's a
very bad thing." If I manage to refuse assent to this impression,
I can choose to formulate an alternative impression--"it seems
that someone has been in my office, but that is neither good nor
bad." This proposition I can correctly assent to. I receive the
impression "I should punch this guy in the nose". If I reject
it, I can formulate some alternative idea. One of my favorite passages
in Epictetus is where he says that if you hear that someone has been
criticizing you, don't try to defend yourself, but instead say
"Obviously he doesn't know my other faults, or he wouldn't have
mentioned these." I wonder how much gossip and how many feuds would
have been prevented if people reacted like that.

Making Correct Use of Impressions and Character Development