Chapter 12: Stoic ethics: virtue (LS) and choice (Epictetus)
Random number: 71
According to the stoics, our soul is the Pneuma within our bodies. It mixes with the matter of our body and operates it from within. Our soul is like an octopus, with each of the tentacles receiving infromation from the outside world. The commanding faculty of the soul lies within the heart, and is known as the hegemonikon. The senses stretch out from the commanding faculty to gather information to report to the hegemonikon. Any reports to the commanding faculty is known as an impression. The commanding faculty either says yes to the impressions, or no to the impressions.
To become virtuous, one must work on his or her commanding faculty. The good in the world exercises an irresistible attraction on the mind which cannot be refused. The good is preferred more than anything else in the world, family, country, etc. Action starts when the impression of the good is accepted. Thus, judging things that are not good as good is very bad, as it overpowers every other impression and leads us to actions that do not follow from reason. The same for judging things that are not bad as bad.
There are three areas of study to make one become virtuous. Firstly, there is the study of desires and aversions, to make sure that you get what you want to get and don't get what you want to avoid. If you fail on either of these accounts, you start having passions, which lead to an obscuring of reason, and an inability to make the correct decisions. This consists in training your mind to resist judging externals (e.g. things that you cannot influence) as either good or bad, and only focusing on the things that you can influence.
Secondly, there is the study of having appropriate relations towards relatives and citizens.
Finally, there is the study of avoiding mistakes in judgement by assenting to untested impressions.