8. QUICK REFERENCE CARDS

One-Page Summaries for Each Tier

PURPOSE

These cards provide:

1. **Portable reference** - Print and carry for quick access

2. **Essential terms only** - The 5-10 most critical terms per tier

3. **Quick application** - How to use each tier in practice

4. **Visual structure** - Easy to scan under pressure

**Format:** Each tier gets one page with:

- **Core Purpose**

- **Essential Terms** (5-10 most important)

- **Key Principle**

- **Daily Application**

- **Common Mistakes**

- **Success Marker**

---

## **TIER 1 QUICK REFERENCE CARD**

### **CORE STOIC FACULTIES**

**CORE PURPOSE:**  

Understand the basic operations of the ruling faculty (hēgemonikon)

---

**ESSENTIAL TERMS:**

1. **Phantasia (Impression)** - Appearance presented to mind

2. **Sunkatathesis (Assent)** - Accepting impression as true

3. **Hormē (Impulse)** - Movement toward action from assent

4. **Prohairesis (Moral Faculty)** - YOU - the capacity to choose

5. **Logos (Reason)** - Normative standard for judgment

6. **Prosochē (Attention)** - Active focus on impressions

7. **Diakrisis (Discernment)** - Distinguishing internal from external

---

**KEY PRINCIPLE:**  

Everything flows from IMPRESSION → ASSENT → IMPULSE → ACTION.  

You control only ASSENT. That's where freedom and virtue reside.

---

**DAILY APPLICATION:**

- Notice impressions AS impressions (not reality)

- Remember you can withhold assent

- Watch how assent produces impulse

- Identify yourself as prohairesis, not body/circumstances

---

**COMMON MISTAKES:**

- ❌ Thinking impressions = reality

- ❌ Believing assent is automatic

- ❌ Identifying with body rather than ruling faculty

- ❌ Assuming externals control you

---

**SUCCESS MARKER:**  

Can you reliably identify the moment between impression and assent?

---

## **TIER 2 QUICK REFERENCE CARD**

### **INTERNAL-EXTERNAL DIVISION**

**CORE PURPOSE:**  

Master the fundamental dichotomy between what's up to you and what isn't

---

**ESSENTIAL TERMS:**

1. **Internal-Domain (21)** - Judgments, choices, responses

2. **External-Domain (22)** - Body, possessions, events, reputation

3. **Internal-External-Distinction (33)** - The sharp boundary

4. **Domain-Clarity (49)** - Ability to categorize correctly

5. **Internal-Good (27)** - Only virtue is good

6. **External-Indifferent (28)** - Everything external is neither good nor evil

7. **Internal-Orientation (58)** - Turning attention to what's up to you

---

**KEY PRINCIPLE:**  

INTERNALS: Your judgments, choices, attitudes (completely up to you)  

EXTERNALS: Everything else (not up to you)  

Only internals can be good or evil. Externals are indifferent.

---

**DAILY APPLICATION:**

- When anything happens, ask: "Internal or external?"

- Place value ONLY on your response (internal)

- Accept that externals will do what they do

- Keep desire/aversion focused on internals only

---

**COMMON MISTAKES:**

- ❌ Treating externals as good or evil

- ❌ Making happiness depend on externals

- ❌ Blaming externals for disturbance

- ❌ Thinking you control more than you do

---

**SUCCESS MARKER:**  

Can you instantly categorize any event as internal or external?

---

## **TIER 3 QUICK REFERENCE CARD**

### **EXAMINATION OF IMPRESSIONS**

**CORE PURPOSE:**  

Learn the step-by-step process for evaluating impressions before assent

---

**ESSENTIAL TERMS:**

1. **Appearance-Recognition (61)** - See impression AS impression

2. **Appearance-Separation (62)** - Create distance from it

3. **Neutral-Observation (63)** - Strip evaluative content

4. **Value-Detection (66)** - Notice hidden value-claims

5. **Internal-External-Test (68)** - Does it attribute value to externals?

6. **Rational-Pause (71)** - Stop before automatic assent

7. **Correct-Assent (91)** - Accept only true, internal-focused propositions

8. **Assent-Withholding (87)** - Refuse false propositions

---

**KEY PRINCIPLE:**  

RECOGNIZE → SEPARATE → TEST → PAUSE → DECIDE  

Never grant automatic assent. Every impression must pass examination.

---

**DAILY APPLICATION:**

**When impression arises:**

1. Notice it (don't let it slip by)

2. See it as appearance, not reality

3. Ask: "What value-claim is hidden here?"

4. Test: "Does this put good/evil in externals?"

5. Pause before responding

6. Assent only if passes test

---

**COMMON MISTAKES:**

- ❌ Automatic assent before examination

- ❌ Assuming first impression is accurate

- ❌ Missing hidden value-claims

- ❌ Examining after emotion already arose

---

**SUCCESS MARKER:**  

Do you catch impressions BEFORE automatic assent most of the time?

---

## **TIER 4 QUICK REFERENCE CARD**

### **EMOTIONAL REGULATION**

**CORE PURPOSE:**  

Understand how emotions arise from false judgments and how to dissolve them

---

**ESSENTIAL TERMS:**

**Pathē (Irrational Emotions):**

- Arise from **Incorrect-Assent (92)** to external-value claims

- Four primary: Fear, Desire, Distress, Pleasure (about externals)

**Eupatheiai (Rational Feelings):**

- Arise from **Correct-Assent (91)** to internal-value claims

- Three good feelings: Boulēsis (rational wish), Chara (rational joy), Eulabeia (rational caution)

**Regulation Tools:**

- **Emotional-Layer-Removal (76)** - Strip feeling from judgment

- **Distortion-Recognition (74)** - See how emotion twists perception

- **Error-Correction (378)** - Fix the false judgment

---

**KEY PRINCIPLE:**  

EMOTIONS DON'T ARISE FROM EVENTS.  

They arise from JUDGMENTS ABOUT EVENTS.  

Change judgment → change emotion.

---

**DAILY APPLICATION:**

**When emotion arises:**

1. Don't fight the feeling - examine the judgment

2. Ask: "What external am I treating as good/evil?"

3. That's the false judgment

4. Apply Internal-External-Test (68)

5. Replace with correct judgment

6. Emotion dissolves

---

**COMMON MISTAKES:**

- ❌ Thinking emotions are caused by events

- ❌ Trying to suppress feelings without fixing judgment

- ❌ Believing emotions are involuntary

- ❌ Missing the value-judgment underneath

---

**SUCCESS MARKER:**  

Can you identify the false judgment behind any emotion?

---

## **TIER 5 QUICK REFERENCE CARD**

### **RATIONAL IMPULSE AND ACTION**

**CORE PURPOSE:**  

Understand how correct assent produces appropriate action

---

**ESSENTIAL TERMS:**

1. **Hormē (Impulse, 3)** - Movement toward action

2. **Rational Impulse** - Flows from correct assent

3. **Irrational Impulse** - Flows from incorrect assent

4. **Appropriate Action (Kathēkon)** - Action fitting circumstances

5. **Right Action (Katorthōma)** - Perfect action from perfect virtue

6. **Internal-Responsibility (47)** - Responsible for choice, not outcome

---

**KEY PRINCIPLE:**  

CORRECT ASSENT → RATIONAL IMPULSE → APPROPRIATE ACTION  

You control the entire chain up to external outcome.  

Outcome is external, therefore indifferent.

---

**DAILY APPLICATION:**

**Before acting:**

1. Is my assent correct? (Internal-External-Test)

2. Is my impulse rational? (Flows from correct judgment)

3. Is the action appropriate? (Fits circumstances)

4. Am I attached to outcome? (If yes, wrong assent)

**After acting:**

1. Was my intention correct? (Internal)

2. Outcome is irrelevant (External)

3. Evaluate only the internal choice

---

**COMMON MISTAKES:**

- ❌ Judging actions by outcomes

- ❌ Attaching to results

- ❌ Thinking "appropriate action" guarantees success

- ❌ Responsibility for what's not up to you

---

**SUCCESS MARKER:**  

Can you act well regardless of outcome?

---

## **TIER 6 QUICK REFERENCE CARD**

### **PREFERRED AND DISPREFERRED INDIFFERENTS**

**CORE PURPOSE:**  

Learn how to engage with externals without attributing value to them

---

**ESSENTIAL TERMS:**

1. **Preferred Indifferent** - Naturally desirable but not good (health, wealth)

2. **Dispreferred Indifferent** - Naturally aversive but not evil (sickness, poverty)

3. **Selection** - Rational choice among indifferents

4. **Attachment** - False attribution of value (to be avoided)

---

**KEY PRINCIPLE:**  

PREFER WITHOUT VALUING.  

SELECT WITHOUT ATTACHMENT.  

It's natural to prefer health to sickness.  

It's irrational to think health is good or necessary for happiness.

---

**DAILY APPLICATION:**

**Engaging with externals:**

1. Recognize as indifferent (neither good nor evil)

2. Select rationally if appropriate (prefer health)

3. Don't make happiness depend on getting it

4. Accept outcome with indifference

5. Maintain virtue regardless of result

**Examples:**

- Prefer money, don't need it for happiness

- Prefer health, don't fear sickness

- Prefer success, don't collapse at failure

---

**COMMON MISTAKES:**

- ❌ Thinking "indifferent" means "don't care"

- ❌ Confusing preference with good

- ❌ Selection based on vice rather than reason

- ❌ Attachment to preferred indifferents

---

**SUCCESS MARKER:**  

Can you pursue externals without depending on them?

---

## **TIER 7 QUICK REFERENCE CARD**

### **CHARACTER FORMATION**

**CORE PURPOSE:**  

Understand how repeated judgments become stable character traits

---

**ESSENTIAL TERMS:**

1. **Character (Ēthos)** - Stable pattern of judgments

2. **Character Formation** - Process of building dispositions

3. **Habituation** - Repetition making responses automatic

4. **Virtue-Directed Character** - Disposition toward correct assent

5. **Vice-Directed Character** - Disposition toward incorrect assent

---

**KEY PRINCIPLE:**  

CHARACTER = ACCUMULATED ASSENTS  

Every judgment either builds virtue or builds vice.  

Repeat correct assent → virtuous character.  

Repeat incorrect assent → vicious character.

---

**DAILY APPLICATION:**

**Short-term (daily):**

1. Each correct assent strengthens virtue

2. Each incorrect assent strengthens vice

3. No judgment is neutral for character

4. Examine patterns in evening review

**Long-term (months/years):**

1. Watch for recurring patterns

2. Notice which assents are becoming automatic

3. Deliberately practice correct responses

4. Character changes slowly but surely

---

**COMMON MISTAKES:**

- ❌ Thinking character is fixed

- ❌ Expecting rapid transformation

- ❌ Focusing on big decisions, ignoring small ones

- ❌ Believing character change is impossible

---

**SUCCESS MARKER:**  

Are correct judgments becoming more automatic over time?

---

## **TIER 8 QUICK REFERENCE CARD**

### **VIRTUE AND VICE STRUCTURE**

**CORE PURPOSE:**  

Understand the four cardinal virtues and how they unify

---

**ESSENTIAL TERMS:**

**The Four Cardinal Virtues:**

1. **Wisdom (Sophia)** - Knowledge of good/evil; correct judgment

2. **Justice (Dikaiosunē)** - Giving each its due; proper relations

3. **Courage (Andreia)** - Correct assent about fear/endurance

4. **Moderation (Sōphrosunē)** - Correct assent about desire/aversion

**Key Principles:**

- All four are unified (can't have one without all)

- All are modes of correct judgment

- Virtue = perfected prohairesis

---

**KEY PRINCIPLE:**  

VIRTUE IS ONE THING: CORRECT JUDGMENT.  

The four "virtues" are correct judgment applied in different domains.  

You can't be wise but unjust, or courageous but immoderate.  

All virtue is unified knowledge.

---

**DAILY APPLICATION:**

**Ask in any situation:**

- **Wisdom:** What's truly good/evil here?

- **Justice:** What does each person/thing deserve?

- **Courage:** What should I fear/endure?

- **Moderation:** What should I desire/avoid?

**All four point to same answer:** Virtue in, indifference out.

---

**COMMON MISTAKES:**

- ❌ Thinking virtues are separate traits

- ❌ Believing you can have partial virtue

- ❌ Confusing external behavior with internal virtue

- ❌ Thinking courage = fearlessness about externals

---

**SUCCESS MARKER:**  

Do you see how all four virtues collapse into correct judgment?

---

## **TIER 9 QUICK REFERENCE CARD**

### **DISCIPLINE, TRAINING, AND DAILY PRACTICE**

**CORE PURPOSE:**  

Implement Sterling's theory through systematic daily practice

---

**ESSENTIAL TERMS:**

**Morning Routine:**

- **Morning-Preparation (371)** - Set internal aim

- **Event-Forecasting (373)** - Anticipate impressions

- **Obstacle-Preacceptance (374)** - Accept difficulties in advance

**Continuous Practice:**

- **Vigilance (380-383)** - Watch impressions all day

- **Error-Management (376-379)** - Catch and correct mistakes immediately

**Evening Routine:**

- **Evening-Review (372)** - Examine day's judgments

- **Error-Integration (379)** - Learn from failures

---

**KEY PRINCIPLE:**  

THEORY WITHOUT PRACTICE IS USELESS.  

PRACTICE WITHOUT THEORY IS BLIND.  

Sterling provided the theory.  

Tier 9 operationalizes it into daily routine.

---

**DAILY APPLICATION:**

**Morning (15 min):**

1. Set aim: maintain correct assent today

2. Forecast likely impressions

3. Pre-accept obstacles

4. Activate readiness

**All Day:**

1. Watch impressions arise

2. Examine before assent

3. Catch errors immediately

4. Return to readiness

**Evening (15 min):**

1. Review major judgments

2. Identify patterns

3. Learn from errors

4. Renew commitment

---

**COMMON MISTAKES:**

- ❌ Pure theory without practice

- ❌ Sporadic practice without routine

- ❌ Skipping morning/evening

- ❌ Not examining in real-time

---

**SUCCESS MARKER:**  

Do you complete morning/evening practice every day?

---

## **TIER 10 QUICK REFERENCE CARD**

### **METAPHYSICAL FOUNDATIONS**

**CORE PURPOSE:**  

Understand Sterling's six philosophical commitments that ground the system

---

**STERLING'S SIX COMMITMENTS:**

**1. Substance Dualism (401)**

- Mind and body are different substances

- Makes internal-external division ontologically real

**2. Libertarian Free Will (435)**

- You are uncaused cause of your choices

- Grounds moral responsibility

**3. Ethical Intuitionism (448-449)**

- You directly know moral truths

- Explains access to good/evil

**4. Foundationalism (450)**

- Knowledge rests on self-evident truths

- Prevents infinite regress

**5. Correspondence Theory of Truth (455)**

- Truth = agreement with reality

- Grounds correct assent

**6. Moral Realism (447)**

- Good and evil are objectively real

- Makes virtue genuinely valuable

---

**KEY PRINCIPLE:**  

THESE AREN'T OPTIONAL ADDITIONS.  

These six commitments are THE FOUNDATION.  

Remove any one → the system collapses.  

Together → Core Stoicism stands secure.

---

**DAILY APPLICATION:**

**When doubts arise:**

- "Is my choice really free?" → Commitment 2

- "Is virtue really good?" → Commitment 6

- "Can I know what's right?" → Commitment 3

- "Is truth real?" → Commitment 5

**These aren't abstract philosophy.**  

They're the ground you stand on when practicing.

---

**COMMON MISTAKES:**

- ❌ Treating commitments as mere theory

- ❌ Practicing without metaphysical foundation

- ❌ Doubting foundations during difficulty

- ❌ Not understanding WHY practice works

---

**SUCCESS MARKER:**  

Do you understand why Sterling's system requires these six commitments?

---

## **FINAL INTEGRATION CARD**

### **THE COMPLETE SYSTEM IN ONE PAGE**

**THE STOIC 500: CORE STRUCTURE**

**TIER 1:** Basic mental operations (Impression → Assent → Impulse)  

**TIER 2:** Internal vs. External (Only internals have value)  

**TIER 3:** Examination (Test impressions before assent)  

**TIER 4:** Emotions (Arise from judgments, not events)  

**TIER 5:** Action (Flows from correct assent)  

**TIER 6:** Indifferents (Engage without attachment)  

**TIER 7:** Character (Repeated judgments become traits)  

**TIER 8:** Virtue (Unified correct judgment)  

**TIER 9:** Practice (Daily application of theory)  

**TIER 10:** Foundations (Six metaphysical commitments)

---

**THE CORE SEQUENCE:**

1. IMPRESSION arises

2. Apply EXAMINATION (Tier 3)

3. Test with INTERNAL-EXTERNAL-DIVISION (Tier 2)

4. Grant CORRECT-ASSENT (or withhold)

5. Rational IMPULSE follows

6. Appropriate ACTION results

7. Over time: CHARACTER forms (Tier 7)

8. Eventually: VIRTUE achieved (Tier 8)

9. Throughout: DAILY PRACTICE maintains it (Tier 9)

10. Always: METAPHYSICS grounds it (Tier 10)

---

**THE ONE PRINCIPLE:**

**VIRTUE RESIDES SOLELY IN CORRECT JUDGMENT ABOUT WHAT'S UP TO YOU.**

Everything else follows from this.

---

**END OF SECTION 8: QUICK REFERENCE CARDS**

---

**This completes all 8 supporting materials for the Stoic 500:**

1. ✓ Master Index

2. ✓ Tier Summaries

3. ✓ Cross-Reference Guide

4. ✓ Sterling's Six Commitments Index

5. ✓ Greek-English Concordance

6. ✓ Functional Categories

7. ✓ Practice Guide

8. ✓ Quick Reference Cards

**Would you like me to create a final cover page, introduction, or any additional materials? Or shall I compile everything into a single deliverable document?**