A Tutorial Introduction to True Stoicism

A Tutorial Introduction to True Stoicism

Chapters 1-5 of the Enchiridion

By Professor Peabody

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## WHY I'M WRITING THIS TUTORIAL

Let me be clear from the start: I don't care what you call this philosophy. You can call it "Stoicism" or "Epictetan-ism" or "Peabody's System" - the name doesn't matter. What matters is **the view itself**, and whether you're willing to take it seriously.

Most people who encounter Stoicism today get watered-down versions. They're told it will help them "manage stress better" or "be more resilient." That's like telling someone that rocket science will help them throw paper airplanes farther. It completely misses the point.

**The real promise of Stoicism - specifically, the promise in the first five chapters of Epictetus's Enchiridion - is this:** You can achieve complete freedom from psychological suffering AND live a life of perfect virtue. Not "better emotional regulation." Not "somewhat less anxiety." Complete freedom. Perfect virtue.

This sounds impossible to most people because they've never seriously considered the philosophical foundations that make it possible. This tutorial will show you those foundations and how to build your life on them.

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## THE PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS YOU NEED

Before we dive into Epictetus, you need to understand that his system only works if certain philosophical claims are true. I call these **The Six Commitments**, and every single one is necessary:

### **1. SUBSTANCE DUALISM**

**You are not your body.** You are your *prohairesis* - your faculty of choice, your rational mind. Your body is an external thing that happens to be closely connected to you, but it's not you any more than your car is you.

**Why this matters:** If you ARE your body, then when your body is threatened or damaged, YOU are threatened or damaged. But if you're something separate from your body, then bodily threats are just external circumstances you can respond to rationally.

### **2. LIBERTARIAN FREE WILL**

**You genuinely control your choices.** When you decide whether to assent to an impression or withhold assent, that choice is real, not determined by prior causes.

**Why this matters:** The whole system depends on you actually being able to choose your responses. If your mental states are just as determined as everything else, then "training your mind" is meaningless.

### **3. ETHICAL INTUITIONISM**

**Moral truths are directly knowable through reason.** You can actually discover, through rational reflection, that virtue is the only genuine good and vice the only genuine evil.

**Why this matters:** If moral claims are just opinions or cultural constructs, then the Stoic value system is arbitrary. But if virtue is *objectively* good, then choosing virtue is choosing reality over illusion.

### **4. FOUNDATIONALISM**

**Some truths are self-evident and can serve as foundations for systematic knowledge.** We can build a complete ethical system from basic, certain starting points.

**Why this matters:** This isn't therapy or life coaching - it's a rigorous philosophical system with logical certainty behind its conclusions.

### **5. CORRESPONDENCE THEORY OF TRUTH**

**Your beliefs can match or fail to match reality.** When you believe "losing this game would be terrible for me," that belief is either true or false - it's not just a "perspective."

**Why this matters:** The therapeutic power comes from correcting false beliefs, not just changing attitudes. There are objectively right and wrong ways to think about value.

### **6. MORAL REALISM**

**Virtue is objectively good, vice is objectively evil, and externals are objectively indifferent.** This isn't a matter of opinion or cultural preference.

**Why this matters:** If these value distinctions are real features of the universe, then aligning with them brings you into harmony with reality itself. If they're just human constructs, the system loses its power.

**THE CRUCIAL POINT:** All six commitments must be true for the system to deliver what it promises. Remove any one, and you're back to conventional "emotional management" techniques that provide temporary relief at best.

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## CHAPTER 1: THE FUNDAMENTAL DISTINCTION

### **The Text:**

*"Some things are within our power, while others are not. Within our power are our opinion, motivation, desire, aversion, and, in a word, whatever is of our own doing; not within our power are our body, our property, reputation, position, and, in a word, whatever is not of our own doing."*

### **What Epictetus Is Really Saying:**

This isn't advice about "focusing on what you can control." This is **metaphysical truth** about the structure of reality. There are exactly two kinds of things in the universe:

**THINGS THAT ARE YOU:**

- Your judgments about what's good, bad, or indifferent

- Your choices about what to pursue or avoid

- Your assent to or rejection of impressions

- Your character and virtue

**THINGS THAT ARE NOT YOU:**

- Literally everything else, including your own body

### **Why This Is Revolutionary:**

Most people think they ARE their bodies, their roles, their relationships, their possessions. When these things are threatened, they feel like THEY are threatened. But this is a **category error**.

You are not your body any more than a driver is his car. When someone dents your car, you don't think YOU have been dented. Similarly, when someone hurts your body or damages your property or insults your reputation, they haven't touched YOU at all.

### **The Practical Implication:**

Once you truly understand this distinction, **nothing external can harm you**. Not because external things don't matter (we'll get to preferred indifferents later), but because external things can't touch what you actually are.

### **Common Misunderstandings:**

**WRONG:** "Focus on what you can control and don't worry about what you can't."

**RIGHT:** "Recognize what is actually you versus what is not you."

**WRONG:** "Don't let external things affect you emotionally."  

**RIGHT:** "Understand that external things cannot logically affect your essential self."

### **Exercise:**

For the next week, whenever you feel upset about something, ask: "Is this thing that's bothering me actually part of me, or is it external?" Notice how this changes your relationship to the problem.

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## CHAPTER 2: THE LOGIC OF DESIRE

### **The Text:**

*"Remember that desire demands the attainment of that of which you are desirous; and aversion demands the avoidance of that to which you are averse; that he who fails of the object of his desire is disappointed; and he who incurs the object of his aversion is wretched."*

### **The Logical Structure:**

Epictetus isn't giving advice here - he's showing you **logical necessity**:

1. **Desire** = judgment that getting X would be good for you

2. **Aversion** = judgment that experiencing Y would be bad for you  

3. **If you desire X but don't get it** → you've failed to obtain something good → you suffer

4. **If you're averse to Y but it happens** → something bad has happened to you → you suffer

This isn't about psychology - it's about **logic**. Given what desire and aversion mean, disappointment and wretchedness follow necessarily when desires are frustrated.

### **The Stoic Solution:**

**Only desire virtue. Only be averse to vice.**

Why? Because virtue and vice are the only things that are:

1. Actually good or bad (Chapter 1's metaphysical truth)

2. Completely under your control (Chapter 1's practical truth)

### **What This Means Practically:**

**Instead of:** "I want to win this competition"

**Try:** "I want to compete excellently and honorably"

**Instead of:** "I don't want people to reject me"

**Try:** "I don't want to act in ways that deserve rejection"

### **Why This Works:**

- You can ALWAYS achieve virtue, regardless of circumstances

- No external force can prevent you from being courageous, honest, just, or temperate

- Your happiness becomes 100% reliable because it depends only on your choices

### **The Radical Promise:**

This isn't about "managing disappointment better." This is about **engineering a life where disappointment is impossible** because you only want things you can definitely achieve.

### **Exercise:**

Examine your current desires and aversions. Which ones depend on externals? Practice reformulating them to focus on your own virtue and character instead.

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## CHAPTER 3: EXAMINING IMPRESSIONS

### **The Text:**

*"In everything you do, ask yourself, 'What is this, in its own nature?' If you are enjoying an entertainment, remind yourself what nature the entertainment is."*

### **The Philosophical Point:**

Most suffering comes from **false judgments** about the nature of things. We automatically assign value judgments to neutral events, then react to our own judgments as if they were features of reality.

### **The Process:**

1. **Impression appears:** "This situation is terrible!"

2. **Pause:** Wait - what is this really?

3. **Examine:** Strip away emotional language and value judgments

4. **See clearly:** Recognize the objective nature of the thing

5. **Respond appropriately:** Based on truth, not assumption

### **Examples:**

**Situation:** Someone insults you

- **Automatic impression:** "I'm being attacked! This is horrible!"

- **Reality check:** "This is air vibrations forming words expressing someone's opinion"

- **Result:** You can respond calmly to the actual situation rather than your dramatic interpretation

**Situation:** You lose money in an investment

- **Automatic impression:** "This is a disaster! I'm ruined!"

- **Reality check:** "This is a change in numbers in a computer system"

- **Result:** You can evaluate the practical implications without emotional overwhelm

### **Why This Works:**

Most of what we call "problems" are really **interpretations of neutral events**. The event itself has no power to upset you - only your judgment about the event can do that.

### **The Deeper Truth:**

This isn't positive thinking or reframing. This is **philosophical accuracy**. You're learning to see things as they actually are rather than through the lens of false value assignments.

### **Exercise:**

When something bothers you this week, ask: "What is this, stripped of all my emotional interpretations?" Describe it in completely neutral, objective terms.

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## CHAPTER 4: MENTAL PREPARATION

### **The Text:**

*"When you are about to undertake some action, remind yourself what nature the action is. If you are going out to bathe, picture to yourself what happens at the public baths: some people splash water, some push, some use abusive language, some steal. Thus you will more safely go about this action if you say to yourself from the start: I want to bathe, and I also want to maintain my character in accordance with nature."*

### **The Strategic Insight:**

Before entering any situation, **prepare mentally** for what might happen and **commit to virtue** regardless of outcomes.

### **The Method:**

1. **Identify your external goal** (the practical thing you want to accomplish)

2. **Visualize potential obstacles** (what could go wrong)

3. **Set your character goal** (how you want to behave regardless of what happens)

4. **Enter with dual commitment** (to both external success AND virtuous behavior)

### **Why This Is Brilliant:**

Most people enter situations with only external goals. When things go wrong, they have no backup plan for maintaining their character. But with dual goals, you ALWAYS succeed at something important.

### **Modern Applications:**

**Going to work:**

- **External goal:** Complete projects effectively

- **Potential obstacles:** Difficult colleagues, unfair criticism, unexpected problems

- **Character goal:** Maintain integrity, kindness, and diligence regardless

- **Commitment:** "I want to succeed AND I want to act honorably"

**Romantic relationship:**

- **External goal:** Enjoy time together

- **Potential obstacles:** Disagreements, misunderstandings, external stress

- **Character goal:** Show love, patience, and honesty regardless

- **Commitment:** "I want us to have fun AND I want to be the person my partner deserves"

### **The Psychological Effect:**

This preparation does two things:

1. **Reduces surprise** (you've already considered what might go wrong)

2. **Maintains focus** (you remember what's actually important)

### **Exercise:**

Before any important interaction this week, spend 2 minutes visualizing potential challenges and committing to maintain your character regardless of what happens.

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## CHAPTER 5: THE SOURCE OF ALL DISTURBANCE

### **The Text:**

*"People are not disturbed by things, but by their judgments on things. For example, death is nothing dreadful (or else it would have appeared dreadful to Socrates), but instead the judgment about death, that it is dreadful—that is what is dreadful."*

### **The Revolutionary Insight:**

**External events do not cause emotions.** Your judgments about external events cause emotions.

This isn't psychology - it's **logical analysis** of how disturbance actually works:

1. **Event occurs** (neutral reality)

2. **Judgment forms** ("This is good/bad for me")  

3. **Emotion follows** automatically from the judgment

4. **Suffering results** from the emotion

### **The Stoic Discovery:**

Since YOU control step 2 (your judgments), YOU control the entire sequence. Change the judgment, change everything that follows.

### **Why Most People Miss This:**

The sequence happens so fast that it feels like events directly cause emotions. But there's always a judgment in between - usually unconscious and automatic.

### **Examples:**

**Event:** Friend doesn't call back

- **Judgment A:** "They must be mad at me! I did something wrong!"

- **Emotion:** Anxiety, guilt

- **Judgment B:** "They're probably busy with their own life"

- **Emotion:** Peaceful acceptance

**Event:** Stock market drops

- **Judgment A:** "I'm losing my security! This threatens my future!"

- **Emotion:** Fear, panic

- **Judgment B:** "Numbers on a screen changed. My actual life is unchanged."

- **Emotion:** Calm assessment of practical implications

### **The Philosophical Foundation:**

This works because **externals genuinely have no value** beyond what we assign to them. When you stop assigning false values, you stop creating unnecessary suffering.

### **Common Objections:**

**"But some things really ARE bad!"**

Response: Bad for whom? According to what standard? Examine whether you're confusing "inconvenient" or "not preferred" with "genuinely harmful to your essential self."

**"This seems like denial of reality!"**

Response: It's the opposite. You're finally seeing reality clearly instead of through the lens of false value judgments.

### **The Practice:**

When you feel disturbed:

1. **Identify the triggering event**

2. **Notice your automatic judgment** 

3. **Question the judgment:** Is this necessarily true? Would a wise person think this?

4. **Try a more accurate judgment**

5. **Notice how your emotions shift**

### **Exercise:**

Keep a "judgment log" this week. When you feel upset, write down: (1) What happened, (2) What judgment you made, (3) What a more accurate judgment might be.

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## WHY THESE FIVE CHAPTERS CHANGE EVERYTHING

### **The Complete System:**

These five chapters give you everything you need for psychological freedom:

1. **Chapter 1:** Understand what you actually are (your choices) versus what you're not (everything external)

2. **Chapter 2:** Desire only virtue (the one thing that's both genuinely good AND completely under your control)

3. **Chapter 3:** See things clearly (strip away false value assignments)

4. **Chapter 4:** Prepare mentally (maintain dual goals of external success and character excellence)

5. **Chapter 5:** Take responsibility (your judgments, not external events, create your emotional life)

### **What Makes This Different:**

**This isn't therapy.** Therapy assumes you'll always have some psychological pain and helps you manage it better.

**This isn't positive thinking.** Positive thinking tries to feel better about the same false beliefs.

**This isn't emotional suppression.** You're not trying to avoid emotions - you're removing their false causes.

**This is philosophical accuracy.** You're learning to align your beliefs with reality rather than living in a fantasy world where externals have magical power over your well-being.

### **The Promise:**

If you truly understand and apply these five principles:

- **No external event can disturb your peace**

- **You'll never act against your own moral knowledge**  

- **Your happiness will be completely reliable**

- **You'll be genuinely free**

Not "somewhat less disturbed" or "generally happier." **Completely free of psychological suffering and completely consistent with virtue.**

### **Why People Resist This:**

1. **It seems too good to be true** (but philosophical truth often contradicts common sense)

2. **It requires giving up the drama** of being a victim of circumstances

3. **It demands taking complete responsibility** for your emotional life

4. **It challenges fundamental assumptions** about what matters

### **My Personal Testimony:**

I discovered this system over thirty years ago, and nothing since then has convinced me it's false. Not psychology research (which typically studies people who don't understand these principles). Not philosophical arguments (which typically attack straw men rather than the actual system). Not life experience (which consistently confirms that suffering comes from false judgments, not external events).

**This system works.** But only if you're willing to take it seriously rather than watering it down into conventional self-help.

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## NEXT STEPS

### **If You're Convinced:**

1. **Study these five chapters until you understand them perfectly**

2. **Apply them consistently to every situation**

3. **Continue with the rest of the Enchiridion**

4. **Read the Discourses for deeper understanding**

5. **Build your life around these principles**

### **If You're Skeptical:**

1. **Test the system fairly** - apply it seriously for several months

2. **Study the philosophical foundations** - understand why it should work

3. **Examine your resistance** - what assumptions are you protecting?

4. **Consider the alternative** - accept that happiness is largely a matter of luck

### **If You Think This Is Impossible:**

Remember: billions of people don't feel grief when the Minnesota Vikings lose. Billions don't feel personally threatened by political events in countries they've never visited. The capacity for emotional indifference to externals clearly exists. The question is whether you can develop it systematically through rational training.

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## FINAL WORDS

I don't care whether you call this "Stoicism" or something else. I care whether you're willing to consider that **complete psychological freedom and perfect virtue are actually possible** - not as ideals to approximate, but as realities to achieve.

The view in these five chapters offers exactly that possibility. Whether you take it seriously is up to you.

But if you do take it seriously - if you're willing to question your fundamental assumptions about what matters and what doesn't - you might discover what I discovered thirty years ago: that the life you've always wanted is not only possible, but achievable through rational means.

The choice, as always, is yours.

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Professor Peabody

"It is the view in the Enchiridion (esp. sections 1-5) that I follow."