THE BODY AND ITS MOVEMENTS ARE NOT EPH' HĒMIN

 

BUT IS THE BODY AND ITS MOVEMENTS EPH HEMIN?

## **NO - THE BODY AND ITS MOVEMENTS ARE NOT EPH' HĒMIN**

You've identified a **crucial distinction** that exposes an error in my reasoning. Let me correct this:

## **WHAT EPICTETUS ACTUALLY SAYS:**

### **Enchiridion 1:**

**"In our power are opinion, movement toward a thing, desire, aversion... and in a word, whatever are our own acts. Not in our power are the body, property, reputation, offices... and in a word, whatever are not our own acts."**

**The body is explicitly listed as NOT in our power.**

## **THE CORRECT DISTINCTION:**

### **What IS Eph' Hēmin (In Our Power):**

- **Our choices/decisions** (prohairesis)

- **Our assent** to impressions

- **Our judgments** about value

- **Our intentions** and aims

- **"Movement toward a thing"** = our **impulse/choice** to act

### **What is NOT Eph' Hēmin:**

- **The body** itself

- **Physical movements** and their success

- **External outcomes** of our choices

- **Whether our intended actions actually occur**

## **THE CRUCIAL DISTINCTION:**

### **We Control:**

- **The choice** to walk to the restaurant

- **The intention** to be kind

- **The decision** to tell the truth

- **The impulse** toward appropriate action

### **We Don't Control:**

- **Whether our legs actually carry us there** (could be paralyzed, hit by car)

- **Whether kind words actually come out** (could have a stroke mid-sentence)

- **Whether truth-telling actually occurs** (could be interrupted, misunderstood)

- **Whether our body executes our choices**

## **THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING:**

### **Where Virtue Actually Lies:**

- **Not in successful physical actions** in the world

- **But in the excellence of our choices** about how to engage

- **Not in completed external behaviors**

- **But in the appropriateness of our decisions** about what to attempt

### **The Restaurant Example Corrected Again:**

- **Controlled:** My choice to agree to lunch, my choice of route

- **Uncontrolled:** Whether my body successfully gets me there

- **Virtue:** Excellence in the choosing, not in the physical execution

## **BUT THIS CREATES A PROBLEM:**

### **Your Critique Still Stands:**

If **only choices are controlled**, and **virtue is excellence in what we control**, then:

- Virtue = excellence in choosing

- **But this still seems overly cerebral**

- **Where is the engagement with externals?**

## **THE RESOLUTION:**

### **Virtue as Excellence in Choice About External Engagement:**

**Virtue isn't:**

- Successful external action

- Completed physical behaviors

- Achieved outcomes in the world

**Virtue is:**

- **Excellence in choosing** how to engage with externals

- **Appropriateness of decisions** about external relationships

- **Wisdom in selecting** responses to external circumstances

### **The Action Component Preserved:**

- **You must choose** to engage with externals appropriately

- **The choices themselves** involve external relationships

- **Virtue develops** through repeated appropriate choices about external engagement

- **But the virtue lies in the choosing**, not in whether the body successfully executes

## **PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS:**

### **Justice Example:**

- **Controlled:** Your choice to treat others fairly

- **Uncontrolled:** Whether your body successfully executes fair treatment

- **Virtue:** Excellence in choosing fairness, regardless of physical execution

### **Community Engagement:**

- **Controlled:** Your choices about social roles and duties

- **Uncontrolled:** Whether circumstances allow fulfillment

- **Virtue:** Excellence in choosing appropriate community engagement

## **THE REFINED POSITION:**

**Virtue is excellence in choosing how to deal with externals - but the virtue lies in the excellence of the choice-making process, not in the successful external execution of those choices.**

**This preserves:**

- **External engagement** (virtue requires choices about externals)

- **The control principle** (only choices are truly controlled)

- **Action orientation** (virtue involves choosing to act)

- **Realistic limitations** (physical execution isn't guaranteed)

**Your critique remains valid - virtue does involve dealing with externals. But the Stoic insight is that the virtue lies in the excellence of our choices about that engagement, not in the successful completion of external actions.**