Manual for Training Toward Virtue Rather Than Externals

(A Practical Guide to the Rational Life)

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1. The Aim

Your goal is to become the kind of person whose judgments conform to reason — one who values only what is truly good (virtue) and sees all else as indifferent. Virtue is the excellence of the rational faculty in assenting only to true impressions. Externals—health, wealth, reputation, pleasure, power—are not good or evil. They are materials for the use of reason, nothing more.

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2. The Method

a) Guard the First Assent

Do not assent to impressions that depict externals as either good or evil.

When you hear within yourself, “This is terrible,” or “This would make me happy,” pause.

Ask: Does this concern what is within my control (judgment, choice, intention)?

If not, withhold assent. False value-judgments are the root of passion.

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b) Contain the Second Wave

If you fail to block the first false assent, do not add a second.

When an impression arises that an immoral response is justified—anger, deceit, revenge—do not assent to it.

You have already erred once; do not err twice.

Restrain the mind before it approves wrongdoing as “appropriate.”

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c) Affirm the Truth About Externals

Train yourself to formulate and repeat true propositions in advance:

- “Life and death, health and sickness, are neither good nor evil.”

- “The actions of others are not under my control.”

- “Loss, insult, and praise touch only externals; they do not reach my prohairesis.”

Rehearse these rational truths daily.

When confronted by events, recall them consciously:

«“My happiness depends on my judgments, not on what happens to me or others.”»

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d) Formulate True Action Propositions

Right action proceeds from right judgment.

When faced with a decision, ask what virtue requires:

«“What would be faithful, just, temperate, or courageous here?”»

Example:

«“I should report truthfully to my superior: truth-telling is virtuous. If I am dismissed, my job is an external, neither good nor evil.”»

Identify your duties by role and circumstance, and assent to the proposition that defines right action.

Then act.

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e) Assent to Joy When You Act Well

When you perform a virtuous act, assent to the truth that you have done something good.

This rational recognition produces Joy (chara)—the natural affection of a soul in harmony with reason.

Even if the feeling is faint, acknowledge it: it is the seed of moral freedom.

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f) The Transformation

By repetition, your judgments will purify.

False value-impressions will fade; true propositions will become habitual.

Virtuous action will cease to require deliberation—it will flow naturally from a well-ordered character.

In that state, good feelings (eupatheiai) accompany every right act, and the mind abides in tranquility.

This is eudaimonia:

the flourishing of a rational being who lives in full agreement with reason,

needing nothing from externals, fearing nothing that fortune may bring.

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Daily Maxim:

«“Let nothing external appear good or evil to me;

let my good be the purity of my own assent.”»

Making correct use of impressions, training and character development