The Stoic System: Control, Value, and Eudaimonia

 Claude:

# Stoic Texts in Propositional Logic Form

## "The Stoic System: Control, Value, and Eudaimonia"

1. Eudaimonia ↔ Virtue

2. Control(Beliefs ∧ Desires ∧ Will)

3. ¬Control(Externals)

4. Good(Virtue)

5. Evil(Vice)

6. ¬Good(Externals)

7. ¬Evil(Externals)

8. Emotion ↔ Belief(Value(Externals))

9. Desire ↔ Belief(Good(Externals) ∨ Bad(Externals))

10. ¬Value(Externals)

11. Emotion → FalseJudgment

12. ¬Belief(Value(Externals)) → ¬Emotion

13. ¬Belief(Value(Externals)) → ¬Desire(Externals)

14. Virtue ↔ RationalWill

15. Vice ↔ IrrationalWill

16. RationalWill → ¬Belief(Value(Externals))

17. Virtue → Joy

18. Assent(Impression) → (Emotion ∨ Desire ∨ Action)

19. ¬Assent(Impression) → ¬(Emotion ∨ Desire ∨ Action)

20. Control(Assent)

21. Sage ↔ ¬FalseJudgment(Externals)

22. Happiness ↔ (¬Unhappiness ∧ PositiveFeeling)

23. Unhappiness → (Desire ∧ ¬Achievement)

24. Desire(¬Control) → PossibleUnhappiness

25. ∴ Eudaimonia ↔ (¬Belief(Value(Externals)) ∧ Virtue)

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## Key Claims:

**Metaphysical Foundation:**

- Eudaimonia consists exclusively in Virtue (1)

- We control only our internal states: beliefs, desires, and will (2)

- External things are not in our control (3)

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**Value Theory:**

- Only Virtue is genuinely good, only Vice genuinely evil (4-5)

- External things have no genuine value—neither good nor evil (6-7, 10)

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**Psychological Causation:**

- Emotions are caused by beliefs about the value of externals (8)

- Desires arise from beliefs that externals are good or bad (9)

- Since externals have no value, such beliefs are false judgments (11)

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**Rational Response:**

- Eliminating false beliefs about externals eliminates emotions and external desires (12-13)

- Virtue consists in rational willing that recognizes externals lack value (14, 16)

- Virtue necessarily produces joy as a consequence (17)

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**Practical Method:**

- We control whether to assent to impressions (20)

- Assenting to external impressions creates emotions/desires/vicious actions (18)

- Not assenting prevents these responses (19)

- The Sage has eliminated all false judgments about externals (21)

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**Happiness Logic:**

- Happiness requires absence of unhappiness plus positive feelings (22)

- Unhappiness comes from unmet desires (23)

- Desiring uncontrolled things enables unhappiness (24)

**Therefore:** Eudaimonia consists exclusively in Virtue, which requires correct beliefs about externals lacking value (25)

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## Logical Structure:

The argument follows this pattern:

**Premises:**

- P1: We control only internal states

- P2: Only virtue/vice have genuine value

- P3: Emotions/desires arise from value beliefs

- P4: We control our beliefs/assent

**Inference:**

- Since externals lack value (P2), beliefs about external value are false

- Since we control beliefs (P4), we can eliminate false beliefs

- Since emotions depend on false beliefs (P3), eliminating false beliefs eliminates suffering

- Since virtue involves correct beliefs, and we control beliefs, we can achieve virtue

**Conclusion:**

- Complete eudaimonia (which IS virtue) is achievable through correct judgment alone