Grant Sterling 06/21/18 email to the International Stoic Forum
Michael (et al):
Steve has already given an excellent answer--what I have
to say in no way contradicts what he said: I'm just saying it
in my own words.
I receive impressions. For the moment, let is take
these as being out of our control. Those impressions are
cognitive, propositional--they are not uninterpreted raw data,
but rather ideas that claim that the world is a certain way.
I do not see a collection of colors and patterns--I "see"
my backpack sitting on the chair in front of my desk. Some
of these impressions are value-neutral (as that one is--there
is nothing good or bad about my backpack being on my chair).
But other impressions have a value component. Suppose that I
remember having left my backpack on the floor when I left--
I might now have the impression "my backpack is on my chair,
which means someone has intruded on my office, which is a very
bad thing!"
As I said, for the time being we are assuming that
these impressions are not in our control. But what _is_ in our
control is how we react to them. We can assent, or not assent.
That is, we can accept that a given impression is _true_, or
reject it as unproven or false. (Rejecting it as false involves
both refusing to assent to the impression AND formulating a
new idea (the opposite of the impression) and assenting to
that.) A few minutes ago, I assented to the impression that
my backpack was on the chair. I didn't have to, but I did.
The process of assenting is cognitive (it's something
that happens in the conscious mind), but is very seldom
explicit. By that I mean that, for example, although I assented
to the impression that my backpack was on the chair, at no time
did I formulate the explicit mental thought "It seems to me that
my backpack is on the chair. Should I assent to that impression?
yes, I think I will." My acceptance of the impression was so
simple and momentary that it seems as though things just passed
directly from impression to belief. But that isn't the way it works.
(Imagine a scenario where my backpack being there would be very
unexpected, and you can see how it would be possible for me to
question what my senses seem to be saying. I _could_ question them
even now (and really committed skeptics about the senses might be
able to do this in ordinary cases), I just don't.)
If I refuse to assent to an impression, nothing happens.
No emotion, no action, nothing.
If I assent to an impression with a value component, then
a desire will result. I will desire that the "good" thing happen,
or desire that the "bad" thing not happen. If the impression says
that this outcome has _already_ occurred, then a emotion will result
(in the example above, the likely emotions are anger or fear):
positive feelings of mental enjoyment if the impression was that
something good had happened, negative feelings if it was "bad".
Further, this may lead to another impression, assenting to
which will lead me to some course of action. For example, I might have
the further thought "It would be good for me to go find out who
has been in my office", and if I assent to this further idea then
I will stalk angrily down the hall to demand an explanation.
All of this sounds complicated, but it boils down to this:
_everything_ on the Stoic view comes down to assent to impressions.
Choosing whether or not to assent to impressions is the only thing
in our control...and yet, everything critical to leading the best
possible life is contained in that one act. 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. If
I get one wrong, I cannot have eudaimonia.
One final thing. I said above that we would assume that
the original impressions are not in our control. Directly, that's
true. But indirectly, it isn't, for two reasons:
a) Our impressions are closely connected to our character.
If you reject an impression, then it makes that same type of
impression less common and weaker. If you assent to it, it becomes
more common and stronger. If it seems to me that it would be good to
punch someone in the nose for insulting me, and I assent, then it
becomes more likely that the next time something annoys me it will
seem to me that I should lash out at someone, and that 'seeming' will
be more compelling. If I refuse to assent, if I tell myself "hitting
them won't solve my problems", then I will have fewer "I should punch
someone" impressions, and they will be weaker (more easily resisted).
So, in this way, by being careful with our acts of assent (which are
in our control), the impressions that we receive will be altered over
time. This is a long process, but is critical for the Stoics--this
is building a virtuous character. The Sage is simply someone who has
controlled their assents so carefully for such a long period of time
that they no longer receive the false value impressions (that externals
are good or bad) in the first place.
b) While our impressions are not in our control, we do have
the ability (suggested in above examples) to formulate new ideas.
I receive the impression "Someone has been in my office--that's a
very bad thing." If I manage to refuse assent to this impression,
I can choose to formulate an alternative impression--"it seems
that someone has been in my office, but that is neither good nor
bad." This proposition I can correctly assent to. I receive the
impression "I should punch this guy in the nose". If I reject
it, I can formulate some alternative idea. One of my favorite passages
in Epictetus is where he says that if you hear that someone has been
criticizing you, don't try to defend yourself, but instead say
"Obviously he doesn't know my other faults, or he wouldn't have
mentioned these." I wonder how much gossip and how many feuds would
have been prevented if people reacted like that.
So what we should be striving for is:
a) Don't assent to impressions that depict externals as
either good or evil.
b) If we fail 'a', don't assent to subsequent impressions
that depict immoral responses to the good or bad thing as being
appropriate.
c) Consciously formulate true propositions regarding the
lack of value of external things. As far as possible, do this in
advance. Remind yourself that your own life and health are neither
good nor evil, as are the lives and health of those around you.
The same for your job, etc. Whether or not you have done so in advance,
try to do so at the time. "I have pictures here of your wife having
sex with another man." Remind yourself: 'my wife's actions are not
in my control. They are neither good nor evil. My happiness is in
my control, not enslaved to the actions of others.'
d) Consciously formulate true action propositions. "I
should report truthfully to my boss regarding the sales numbers
from the last quarter: truth telling is virtuous, and I have a
duty to act faithfully at work. If my boss fires me, I should
remember that my job is an external, neither good not evil."
By paying attention to preferred and dispreferred indifferents,
and to the duties connected with my various roles in life, I can
recognize what it would actually be correct for me to do in
each situation. Bring this consciously to mind, and assent to
it.
e) When you do act correctly, assent to the proposition
that you have done a good thing--then you will experience Joy
(or at least proto-Joy.)
f) Over time, my character will change such that I
no longer have the false value impressions in 'a' and 'b',
and 'c' and 'd' and 'e' become routine. This is eudaimonia--
good feelings combined with virtuous actions.
Regards,
Grant
Steve has already given an excellent answer--what I have
to say in no way contradicts what he said: I'm just saying it
in my own words.
I receive impressions. For the moment, let is take
these as being out of our control. Those impressions are
cognitive, propositional--they are not uninterpreted raw data,
but rather ideas that claim that the world is a certain way.
I do not see a collection of colors and patterns--I "see"
my backpack sitting on the chair in front of my desk. Some
of these impressions are value-neutral (as that one is--there
is nothing good or bad about my backpack being on my chair).
But other impressions have a value component. Suppose that I
remember having left my backpack on the floor when I left--
I might now have the impression "my backpack is on my chair,
which means someone has intruded on my office, which is a very
bad thing!"
As I said, for the time being we are assuming that
these impressions are not in our control. But what _is_ in our
control is how we react to them. We can assent, or not assent.
That is, we can accept that a given impression is _true_, or
reject it as unproven or false. (Rejecting it as false involves
both refusing to assent to the impression AND formulating a
new idea (the opposite of the impression) and assenting to
that.) A few minutes ago, I assented to the impression that
my backpack was on the chair. I didn't have to, but I did.
The process of assenting is cognitive (it's something
that happens in the conscious mind), but is very seldom
explicit. By that I mean that, for example, although I assented
to the impression that my backpack was on the chair, at no time
did I formulate the explicit mental thought "It seems to me that
my backpack is on the chair. Should I assent to that impression?
yes, I think I will." My acceptance of the impression was so
simple and momentary that it seems as though things just passed
directly from impression to belief. But that isn't the way it works.
(Imagine a scenario where my backpack being there would be very
unexpected, and you can see how it would be possible for me to
question what my senses seem to be saying. I _could_ question them
even now (and really committed skeptics about the senses might be
able to do this in ordinary cases), I just don't.)
If I refuse to assent to an impression, nothing happens.
No emotion, no action, nothing.
If I assent to an impression with a value component, then
a desire will result. I will desire that the "good" thing happen,
or desire that the "bad" thing not happen. If the impression says
that this outcome has _already_ occurred, then a emotion will result
(in the example above, the likely emotions are anger or fear):
positive feelings of mental enjoyment if the impression was that
something good had happened, negative feelings if it was "bad".
Further, this may lead to another impression, assenting to
which will lead me to some course of action. For example, I might have
the further thought "It would be good for me to go find out who
has been in my office", and if I assent to this further idea then
I will stalk angrily down the hall to demand an explanation.
All of this sounds complicated, but it boils down to this:
_everything_ on the Stoic view comes down to assent to impressions.
Choosing whether or not to assent to impressions is the only thing
in our control...and yet, everything critical to leading the best
possible life is contained in that one act. 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. If
I get one wrong, I cannot have eudaimonia.
One final thing. I said above that we would assume that
the original impressions are not in our control. Directly, that's
true. But indirectly, it isn't, for two reasons:
a) Our impressions are closely connected to our character.
If you reject an impression, then it makes that same type of
impression less common and weaker. If you assent to it, it becomes
more common and stronger. If it seems to me that it would be good to
punch someone in the nose for insulting me, and I assent, then it
becomes more likely that the next time something annoys me it will
seem to me that I should lash out at someone, and that 'seeming' will
be more compelling. If I refuse to assent, if I tell myself "hitting
them won't solve my problems", then I will have fewer "I should punch
someone" impressions, and they will be weaker (more easily resisted).
So, in this way, by being careful with our acts of assent (which are
in our control), the impressions that we receive will be altered over
time. This is a long process, but is critical for the Stoics--this
is building a virtuous character. The Sage is simply someone who has
controlled their assents so carefully for such a long period of time
that they no longer receive the false value impressions (that externals
are good or bad) in the first place.
b) While our impressions are not in our control, we do have
the ability (suggested in above examples) to formulate new ideas.
I receive the impression "Someone has been in my office--that's a
very bad thing." If I manage to refuse assent to this impression,
I can choose to formulate an alternative impression--"it seems
that someone has been in my office, but that is neither good nor
bad." This proposition I can correctly assent to. I receive the
impression "I should punch this guy in the nose". If I reject
it, I can formulate some alternative idea. One of my favorite passages
in Epictetus is where he says that if you hear that someone has been
criticizing you, don't try to defend yourself, but instead say
"Obviously he doesn't know my other faults, or he wouldn't have
mentioned these." I wonder how much gossip and how many feuds would
have been prevented if people reacted like that.
So what we should be striving for is:
a) Don't assent to impressions that depict externals as
either good or evil.
b) If we fail 'a', don't assent to subsequent impressions
that depict immoral responses to the good or bad thing as being
appropriate.
c) Consciously formulate true propositions regarding the
lack of value of external things. As far as possible, do this in
advance. Remind yourself that your own life and health are neither
good nor evil, as are the lives and health of those around you.
The same for your job, etc. Whether or not you have done so in advance,
try to do so at the time. "I have pictures here of your wife having
sex with another man." Remind yourself: 'my wife's actions are not
in my control. They are neither good nor evil. My happiness is in
my control, not enslaved to the actions of others.'
d) Consciously formulate true action propositions. "I
should report truthfully to my boss regarding the sales numbers
from the last quarter: truth telling is virtuous, and I have a
duty to act faithfully at work. If my boss fires me, I should
remember that my job is an external, neither good not evil."
By paying attention to preferred and dispreferred indifferents,
and to the duties connected with my various roles in life, I can
recognize what it would actually be correct for me to do in
each situation. Bring this consciously to mind, and assent to
it.
e) When you do act correctly, assent to the proposition
that you have done a good thing--then you will experience Joy
(or at least proto-Joy.)
f) Over time, my character will change such that I
no longer have the false value impressions in 'a' and 'b',
and 'c' and 'd' and 'e' become routine. This is eudaimonia--
good feelings combined with virtuous actions.
Regards,
Grant
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