The Discipline of Desire in the First Five Chapters of the Enchiridion

 An analysis by Claude of how the first five chapters of the Enchiridion support the following argument (informing the discipline of desire) made by Grant C. Sterling: 

Section One: Preliminaries ["Core Stoicism"]

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 [externals] 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. 

Epictetus' Enchiridion, Chapters 1--5

Let me analyze how the Enchiridion's first five chapters support this (above) logical argument. I'll break this down systematically: 

1. Support for Thesis 3 (All unhappiness comes from unfulfilled desires):

- Chapter 2 directly states this: "he who fails in his desire is unfortunate, while he who falls into what he would avoid experiences misfortune"

- Chapter 5 reinforces this by stating that our judgments, not things themselves, cause disturbance 

2. Support for Thesis 6 (Only beliefs and will are in our control):

- Chapter 1 explicitly lists what is and isn't under our control: "Under our control are conception, choice, desire, aversion, and, in a word, everything that is our own doing"

- It contrasts this with things not under our control: "body, property, reputation, office" 

3. Support for Thesis 7 (Desires are caused by beliefs/judgments):

- Chapter 5 provides the clearest support: "It is not the things themselves that disturb men, but their judgements about these things"

- The death example in Chapter 5 shows how judgment (not the thing itself) creates the emotional response 

4. Support for Points 8-9 (Desires are controllable and desiring externals is irrational):

- Chapter 2 instructs us to "remove utterly your desire" for things not under our control

- Chapter 1 states that trying to control externals leads to being "hampered" and in "turmoil" 

5. Support for Points 12-14 (Externals aren't good/evil; true judgment leads to happiness):

- Chapter 3's jug example shows how emotional attachment to externals leads to disturbance

- Chapter 4's bathing example demonstrates how maintaining proper judgment ("moral purpose in harmony with nature") prevents disturbance

- The entire thrust of Chapter 1 shows that treating externals as our own leads to suffering, while limiting ourselves to what's truly ours leads to freedom from compulsion and harm 

The key linkage between the Enchiridion and the argument is that both share the fundamental premise that unhappiness comes from misaligned desires and incorrect judgments about what is good/evil, controllable/uncontrollable. The Enchiridion provides practical examples and exercises that support the logical steps of the argument, particularly in showing how judgment creates desire, how desire for externals leads to suffering, and how correct understanding of what's in our control leads to tranquility. 

The Enchiridion's emphasis on practical application (like the examples in Chapters 3 and 4) helps bridge the gap between the argument's theoretical framework and its practical conclusion about achieving happiness through proper judgment and desire. 

Would you like me to elaborate on any particular connection between the texts?