The Five-Step Method — Complete Propositional Foundation

Reception → Recognition → Pause → Examination → Decision

Step 1: Reception (The Impression Arrives)

Foundational Propositions:

Proposition 6: Human beings receive impressions from the external world.
Proposition 7: These impressions are cognitive and propositional (they claim that the world is a certain way).
Proposition 8: Impressions present themselves to consciousness; their arrival is not in our control.
Proposition 9: Some impressions are value-neutral; others contain value components (claims about good or evil).

Supporting Framework:

Proposition 1: The universe is rationally ordered and governed by divine reason (Providence/Logos).
Proposition 2: All outcomes in the external world are determined by the will of the gods/Providence.

Reception Process Expanded:

Phase 1A — Impression Emergence:
The impression materializes in consciousness as a complete propositional claim. Per Proposition 7, this is not raw sensory data but an already-interpreted assertion about reality. The impression arrives claiming: “X is the case” and often “X is good/bad.”

Phase 1B — Automatic Content Packaging:
Per Proposition 9, the impression may contain value components. Example: Instead of just “my backpack is on the chair,” the impression might be “my backpack is on the chair, which means someone intruded, which is terrible.” The value-claim is embedded in the impression itself.

Phase 1C — Involuntary Presentation:
Per Proposition 8, this entire package presents itself without our choosing. We don’t control what impressions arise or how they’re formatted. The impression simply appears in the conscious field demanding response.

Phase 1D — Recognition of Uncontrollability:
The very fact that we cannot prevent impressions from arising demonstrates Propositions 1-2: the external world operates according to Providence, not our will. The impression’s arrival confirms we are not masters of the external domain.

Step 2: Recognition (Distinguish Impression from Reality)

Core Identity Propositions:

Proposition 3: Human beings possess a rational faculty (prohairesis/rational part/soul).
Proposition 4: A person’s true identity is constituted by this rational faculty alone.
Proposition 5: Everything other than the rational faculty is external to the self, including the body.

Value Structure Propositions:

Proposition 16: Only things directly related to virtue (beliefs, desires, will/choice) are in our control.
Proposition 17: Only virtue is genuinely good; only vice is genuinely evil.
Proposition 18: All things not in our control (externals) are neither genuinely good nor genuinely evil.
Proposition 19: Externals include: life, death, health, sickness, wealth, poverty, reputation, other persons, physical outcomes, bodily states, and all events in the external world.
Proposition 20: The belief that any external is good or evil is factually false.

Recognition Process Expanded:

Phase 2A — Self-Location:
The rational faculty identifies itself as the receiver of the impression, not as identical with the impression. Per Proposition 4, “I” am the rational faculty observing this mental event, not the mental event itself. Critical distinction: observer vs. observed.

Phase 2B — Impression Categorization:
The faculty recognizes per Proposition 7 that this is a cognitive, propositional claim about reality. It’s not reality itself, but a claim about reality. The impression says “the world is such-and-such,” but the faculty recognizes this as a testable assertion, not established fact.

Phase 2C — Value-Claim Detection:
Per Proposition 9, if the impression contains value components, the faculty identifies them as value-claims requiring verification. “This is terrible” becomes recognized as “this impression claims that X is terrible” — a claim about moral reality that requires testing.

Phase 2D — Internal-External Sorting:
Using Propositions 16-19, the faculty begins preliminary sorting: What aspects of this impression concern things in my control (internal) vs. things not in my control (external)? This creates two categories for analysis.

Phase 2E — False Value-Claim Identification:
Per Proposition 20, any impression claiming that externals are good or evil is making a false claim. The faculty can immediately flag such claims for rejection without further deliberation. This is the correspondence test in preliminary form.

Step 3: Pause (Suspend Assent)

Assent Control Propositions:

Proposition 10: The rational faculty has the power to assent to impressions or withhold assent.
Proposition 11: The act of assenting to (or rejecting) impressions is the only thing in our control.
Proposition 12: If we refuse to assent to an impression, nothing follows (no emotion, no desire, no action).

Supporting Metaphysics:

The pause is only possible because of libertarian free will. Without genuine causal power over assent, the pause would be mere latency, not suspension.

Pause Process Expanded:

Phase 3A — Assent Recognition:
The faculty recognizes per Proposition 11 that it has genuine causal power over what happens next. The impression has appeared, but nothing compels assent. The faculty can withhold judgment regardless of the impression’s emotional intensity or apparent obviousness.

Phase 3B — Consequence Awareness:
Per Proposition 12, the faculty understands that refusing assent prevents all downstream consequences: no emotions, no desires, no impulsive actions. The pause is therefore the critical control point for the entire psychological system.

Phase 3C — Freedom Recognition:
The faculty experiences its own libertarian freedom. This moment of suspension demonstrates that despite external determinism (Propositions 1-2), the internal domain of assent remains genuinely free. This is the felt experience of prohairesis.

Phase 3D — Temporal Extension:
The faculty deliberately extends this moment of suspension to allow for proper examination. Unlike automatic assent (which happens instantaneously), deliberate examination requires temporal space. The pause creates this space.

Phase 3E — Preparation for Testing:
The faculty prepares to apply the systematic tests that follow. It assembles the relevant propositions, clarifies the standards for correspondence, and positions itself to make a rational rather than automatic determination.

Step 4: Examination (Test Against Reality)

Primary Testing Propositions:

Proposition 20: The belief that any external is good or evil is factually false.
Propositions 17-18: Only virtue is genuinely good; only vice is genuinely evil. All things not in our control are neither genuinely good nor genuinely evil.

Emotional Causation Propositions:

Proposition 23: All emotions are caused by beliefs about what is good or evil.
Proposition 24: Specifically, emotions result from beliefs that externals have genuine value (are good or evil).
Proposition 25: All beliefs that externals have value are false (by propositions 18, 20).
Proposition 26: Therefore, all emotions caused by such beliefs are based on false judgments (are pathological).

Supporting Value Theory:

Propositions 21-22: Some externals are “preferred” (life, health, etc.) and some “dispreferred” (death, disease, etc.), but none are genuinely good or evil. Preferred indifferents are appropriate objects to aim at, though not genuinely good.

Examination Process Expanded:

Phase 4A — Correspondence Test Primary:
The faculty applies Proposition 20 directly: Does this impression claim that any external is good or evil? If yes, the claim is factually false and assent must be withheld. This is the master test that resolves most impressions immediately.

Phase 4B — Value-Category Analysis:
For impressions that pass the primary test, the faculty applies Propositions 17-18: Does this concern virtue or vice (the only genuine goods and evils)? Or does it concern externals (which are indifferent)? This sorts legitimate moral concerns from pseudo-moral concerns.

Phase 4C — Preferred Indifferent Assessment:
Using Propositions 21-22, the faculty determines whether any externals involved are preferred or dispreferred indifferents. This doesn’t affect their moral status (still indifferent) but helps determine appropriate action later.

Phase 4D — Emotional Diagnosis:
If the impression is generating emotional disturbance, the faculty applies Propositions 23-26: This emotion is being caused by a false belief that externals have genuine value. The emotion itself is diagnostic evidence of a correspondence failure.

Phase 4E — Control Analysis:
The faculty applies Proposition 11: Is the object of concern something within the sphere of my assent, or is it external? Only things within my control can be genuine objects of moral concern. Everything else is external circumstance.

Phase 4F — Truth vs. Preference Distinction:
The faculty distinguishes between what is true (externals are indifferent) and what it might naturally prefer (health over sickness). Preference is permissible; false value-judgment is not. This prevents the faculty from demanding that it have no natural preferences, only that it not mistake preferences for moral truths.

Step 5: Decision (Assent, Refuse, or Suspend)

Assent Consequence Propositions:

Proposition 13: If we assent to an impression with a value component, a desire results: we desire the “good” thing to happen or the “bad” thing not to happen.
Proposition 14: If we assent to an impression that something good or bad has already occurred, an emotion results (positive if good, negative if bad).
Proposition 15: Assenting to impressions about courses of action leads to action.

Action Structure Propositions:

Proposition 32: An action, properly understood, is an act of choice/will, not a physical outcome.
Proposition 33: To perform an act of will, one must aim at some result.
Proposition 34: Virtue consists of rational acts of will; vice consists of irrational acts of will.
Proposition 35: A rational act of will involves: (a) Identifying rational goals to pursue (preferred indifferents); (b) Selecting rational means designed to help realize these goals; (c) Making these choices with “reservation” — acknowledging that outcomes are in the hands of Providence.

Appropriate Response Propositions:

Proposition 36: Any act that aims at an external object of desire (rather than an appropriate object of aim) is not virtuous.
Proposition 37: Therefore, virtue consists of pursuing appropriate objects of aim, not pursuing objects of desire.
Proposition 38: The appropriateness or inappropriateness of a choice is determined at the moment of choice, regardless of outcomes.

Decision Process Expanded:

Phase 5A — Decision Options Assessment:
The faculty has three options: (1) Assent to the impression as true, (2) Refuse assent as false, (3) Suspend judgment as undeterminable. Each option has specific consequences per Propositions 12-15.

Phase 5B — Assent Path Analysis:
If the faculty chooses assent, it understands the consequences: For value-laden impressions, desires will follow (Prop 13). For impressions about completed events, emotions will follow (Prop 14). For action-impressions, impulses toward action will follow (Prop 15). The faculty accepts responsibility for these consequences.

Phase 5C — Refusal Path Analysis:
If the faculty chooses refusal (because the impression fails the correspondence test), it may need to formulate a corrected impression. Example: Replace “this person insulted me, which is terrible” with “this person spoke certain words, which is a preferred indifferent, neither good nor evil.”

Phase 5D — Suspension Path Analysis:
If the impression is indeterminate (cannot be verified either way), the faculty suspends judgment entirely. Per Proposition 12, this prevents all consequences while keeping the question open for future evidence.

Phase 5E — Virtue-Based Action Formulation:
If action is called for, the faculty applies Propositions 32-38. It identifies appropriate aims (preferred indifferents), selects rational means, and includes the reserve clause acknowledging that outcomes remain with Providence. The action’s virtue is determined at the moment of choice, not by results.

Phase 5F — Consequence Integration:
The faculty understands that this decision affects future impressions through character formation. Correct assent strengthens the capacity for future correct assent. Incorrect assent makes future correct assent more difficult. Each decision is both immediate choice and character-building act.

The Complete Integration: Eudaimonia Path

Elimination Propositions:

Proposition 30: The person who holds no false value beliefs will experience no pathological emotions.
Proposition 31: The person who holds no false value beliefs will have no desires regarding externals.

Achievement Propositions:

Proposition 49: Therefore, someone with true value beliefs will have eudaimonia (by 44, 47, 48).
Proposition 57: Therefore, perfect continual eudaimonia is not only possible but actually in our control.
Proposition 58: We can guarantee eudaimonia by judging correctly (assenting only to true impressions) and acting on those judgments (by 49, 52-56).

The Systematic Result:

When the five-step method is consistently applied with full propositional support:

All false value-judgments are eliminated (through Steps 4-5)
All pathological emotions cease (Proposition 30)
All desires for externals cease (Proposition 31)
All actions become virtuous (Propositions 32-38 properly applied)
Eudaimonia is achieved and sustained (Propositions 57-58)

The Method Becomes the System:

The five steps, when grounded in all 58 Propositions, transform from a technique into a complete way of life. Every impression becomes an opportunity to practice virtue. Every moment of consciousness becomes an exercise in correct use of the rational faculty. The method and Sterling’s systematic Stoicism become identical.

This is why Sterling could say: “All our desires, all our emotions, all our actions are tied to assenting to impressions. If I get my assents right, then I have guaranteed eudaimonia.”

The five-step method is the practical implementation of that guarantee.

Sterling Unified Stoic System — Complete Methodological Foundation.
Dave Kelly

Stoic News

Monday, February 16, 2026