SYSTEM 1: THE IMPRESSION-TO-ACTION SEQUENCE

# **THE 30 FOUNDATIONAL SYSTEMS OF STERLING'S STOIC FRAMEWORK**

## **Built from Stoic 500 Lexicon Terms 1-60**

### **Complete Extended Explanations in Accessible Language**

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## **PART I: COGNITIVE SYSTEMS (1-5)**

### **How Your Mind Actually Works**

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### **SYSTEM 1: THE IMPRESSION-TO-ACTION SEQUENCE**

**Foundation:** Phantasia (1) → Sunkatathesis (2) → Hormē (3) → Action

**What This System Is:**

This explains the basic process that happens every time you do anything voluntarily. It's the complete architecture from "something happens" to "you make your choice."

**The Complete Sequence:**

**Stage 1: Impression Appears (Phantasia, 1)**

Something presents itself to your mind - you see an angry face, hear criticism, feel hunger, remember a deadline. This is Phantasia (1), the propositional appearance. You don't control which impressions arise. They're Exōterika Sumbebēkota (26) - external events occurring in your cognitive field.

**Stage 2: Observation (Katanoēsis, 9)**

Through Prosochē (10) [Attention], you can observe the impression without immediately judging it. You see it clearly: "Here's a thought that just appeared." Not "I am anxious" but "An anxious thought just appeared in my awareness." This is pre-judgmental awareness.

**Stage 3: Examination (Diakrisis, 16)**

Your Logos (8) [Reason] examines the Phantasia (1) through Diakrisis (16) [Discernment]. You apply the Esōterikon-Exōterikon Diakrisis (33) - the Internal-External Distinction. Does this impression concern the Esōterikon Pedion (21) [Internal-Domain] or Exōterikon Pedion (22) [External-Domain]?

**Stage 4: Judgment (Krisis/Hupolēpsis/Dogma, 6)**

You classify the impression as true or false, and its object as Esōterikon Agathon (27) [Internal-Good], Esōterikon Kakon (29) [Internal-Evil], or Exōterikon Adiaphoron (28) [External-Indifferent].

**Stage 5: Assent or Withholding (Sunkatathesis, 2)**

Your Prohairesis (7) [Moral Faculty] now faces genuine choice: accept the impression as true (Sunkatathesis, 2) or reject it (Sunkatathesis-Anochē, 87). This operates within the Sphaira tōn Esōterikōn (23) [Sphere-of-Internals] under absolute Esōterikē Exousia (35) [Internal-Authority]. No Exōterikon Sumbebēkos (26) [External-Event] can compel your assent.

**Stage 6: Impulse Forms (Hormē, 3)**

When you assent to "X should be pursued" or "Y should be avoided," Hormē (3) [Impulse] arises automatically as rational movement toward action. If it concerns Orexis (4) [Desire], the impulse moves toward what appears good. If it concerns Ekklisis (5) [Aversion], it moves away from what appears evil.

**Stage 7: Internal Action Complete (Esōterikē Energeia, 25)**

This is the unified operation of Sunkatathesis (2) + Hormē (3). Your "action" in the Stoic sense is NOT the physical behavior that may follow, but this complete internal movement: assent initiating impulse. This is morally complete the instant it occurs, regardless of any subsequent Exōterika Sumbebēkota (26).

**Critical Distinction - What Action Actually Is:**

Your action (internal): The assent-generated impulse - the rational choice formed in your Prohairesis (7)

Physical behavior (external): The bodily movements that may or may not follow - these are Exōterika (22) subject to fate and possessing Adiaphoria (52) [External-Indifference]

**Real Example (Sterling's Lunch):**

Sterling agrees to go to lunch with a colleague.

His actions (internal operations):

- Assent to "going to lunch is rational" + impulse to promise → action complete

- Assent to "walking toward restaurant is rational" + impulse to walk → action complete

- Assent to "ordering the special is rational" + impulse to order → action complete

Each action was appropriate or inappropriate at the moment the assent-impulse pairing occurred - regardless of what happened afterward.

External events that followed (not actions):

- His body successfully walked (could have been hit by car)

- Restaurant was open (could have been closed)

- Food was prepared (chef could have been sick)

If he'd arrived to find the restaurant closed, his action was still appropriate because it aimed at a rational objective concerning an indifferent external, made with reservation that fate controls outcomes.

**Real Example (Traffic):**

Someone cuts you off in traffic.

**False path - automatic assent:**

- Impression: "That driver disrespected me"

- Automatic Sunkatathesis (2): You accept this as true

- Hormē (3) toward retaliation arises

- This impulse IS the Pathos (emotion) - anger is the assent-generated impulse itself

- Physical behavior follows: honking, tailgating (external events caused by your internal operation)

**Correct path - examined assent:**

- Impression appears: "That car moved into my lane abruptly"

- Katanoēsis (9): You observe without judging

- Diakrisis (16): "Does this concern internals or externals?"

- Krisis (6): "This is an external event, indifferent to my virtue"

- Sunkatathesis-Anochē (87): Withhold assent from "I was disrespected"

- No Hormē toward retaliation arises

- Action complete: Rational acceptance of external event

- Physical behavior: Continue driving calmly

**The Reservation Principle:**

All Hormē (3) directed toward Exōterika Adiaphora (28) [External-Indifferents] must be formed with recognition that Exōterikē Causation (407) operates with Exōterikē Independence (409) from your Prohairesis (7).

You don't choose: "I will eat at that restaurant" (claiming control over outcome)

You choose: "I will pursue the rational course toward eating at that restaurant, with reservation that fate may prevent it"

When the restaurant is closed, you're not upset - not because you "managed expectations," but because you never claimed the outcome was yours. It was always external, always indifferent, always in fate's hands.

**The Recursive Nature:**

This system runs continuously. Your Esōterikē Energeia (25) generates new Phantasiai (1) (impressions of having chosen, impressions of outcomes), which require new examination. The cycle continues without end - not a discrete pipeline but continuous recursive cognitive process.

**Why This System Is Foundation:**

Only Esōterika (21) possess Enuparchousa Axia (31) [Intrinsic-Value]. Exōterika (22) possess only Exōterikē Phantasia (32) [Extrinsic-Appearance] of value - the illusion that they matter morally.

Therefore: Esōterikē Euthunē (47) [Internal-Responsibility] attaches exclusively to Sunkatathesis (2) and Hormē (3). Exōterikē Mē-Euthunē (48) [External-Non-Responsibility] applies to all outcomes and consequences in the Exōterikon Pedion (22).

**Practical Application:**

1. **Morning:** Prepare to encounter impressions with Prosochē (10)

2. **When impression arises:** Observe (9) before reacting

3. **Examine:** Apply Diakrisis (16) - internal or external?

4. **Judge:** Use Krisis (6) - true or false?

5. **Choose:** Sunkatathesis (2) only to truth

6. **Act:** Let correct Hormē (3) arise naturally

7. **Release:** Exōterika (22) outcomes are indifferent

**In one sentence:** Your action is the assent-initiated impulse - the rational choice formed in your ruling faculty - not the physical behavior or outcomes that follow, which are external events incapable of moral value.

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