The Stoic dichotomy of control

• A. Our reputation among others
• B. Our own judgments and intentions ✓
• C. The outcome of a business venture
• D. The health of our body

Why: Epictetus taught that our judgments, impulses, desires, and aversions are 'up to us' (eph' hemin), while external outcomes, reputation, and bodily health are not fully within our power. Our own judgments and intentions are the core of what we control.

• A. Good things and bad things
• B. Things within our control and things not within our control ✓
• C. Virtues and vices
• D. Natural things and artificial things

Why: The dichotomy of control separates what is 'up to us' from what is 'not up to us.' This division is the foundation for deciding where to direct our effort and attention, and it is central to Stoic practical philosophy.

• A. Blaming the teacher for an unfair test
• B. Accepting that the grade itself is outside their control while evaluating the quality of their effort and study habits ✓
• C. Abandoning studying altogether since results are uncertain
• D. Worrying about what classmates think of the grade

Why: The grade is an external outcome shaped by many factors beyond the student's control. The student can, however, control their effort, preparation, and how they respond, so attention should go to those internal elements.

• A. So we can avoid all difficult tasks
• B. Because misdirected desire and aversion lead to anxiety, frustration, and suffering ✓
• C. So we can predict the future accurately
• D. Because external things have no value at all

Why: The Stoics held that suffering arises when we attach our desires and fears to things we cannot govern. Directing our will toward what is genuinely ours promotes tranquility (ataraxia) and clear reasoning.

• A. They should be fought against with all available force
• B. They are indifferent (adiaphora) to our true good, and our response to them is what matters ✓
• C. They define our worth as a person
• D. They should be ignored because they never affect us

Why: Stoics classed externals like health, wealth, and others' behavior as 'indifferents' that are not inherently good or bad for our virtue. Our moral character lies in how we judge and respond to these events, which is within our control.

• A. Our reputation among others
• B. Our judgments and the way we interpret impressions ✓
• C. The health of our body
• D. The outcome of a public election

Why: Stoics like Epictetus taught that our judgments, opinions, desires, and aversions are 'up to us' (eph' hemin), while external things such as reputation, health, and outcomes are not fully within our control.

• A. A deliberate plan for future action
• B. A memory of a past event stored in the mind
• C. The initial appearance or presentation that something makes to the mind ✓
• D. A feeling of pleasure or pain in the body

Why: A phantasia is the impression or appearance that arises in the mind when we encounter something. Stoics held that we should examine these impressions before assenting to them, since the impression itself is not the same as our judgment about it.

• A. External events have no effect on us at all
• B. We can change the world by changing our thoughts
• C. Our emotional distress comes from how we interpret events, not the events themselves ✓
• D. We should avoid thinking about difficult situations

Why: This famous Stoic principle locates the source of emotional disturbance in our evaluative judgments. The same event can be experienced as harmful or neutral depending on the judgment we attach to it, so we have the power to reshape our response.

• A. Immediately believing whatever first appears true
• B. Pausing to examine whether an impression is accurate before accepting it ✓
• C. Suppressing all thoughts about the impression
• D. Acting on the impression without reflection

Why: Stoics advised that we should not automatically assent to our impressions. By pausing to examine them, we can distinguish what is actually known from what is merely appearing, which protects us from hasty and mistaken judgments.

• A. Blame themselves for failing to foresee it
• B. Focus on accepting what cannot be changed while responding well with their own judgments and actions ✓
• C. Pretend the storm did not happen
• D. Spend all their energy trying to control the weather

Why: The dichotomy of control asks us to direct our effort toward what is up to us, namely our responses and judgments, while accepting external events like weather with equanimity. This prevents needless suffering over things beyond our power.

• A. Our reputation among others
• B. Our own judgments and intentions ✓
• C. The outcome of a business negotiation
• D. The weather on the day of an event

Why: Epictetus taught that our judgments, intentions, desires, and actions (what he called 'our own') are within our control, while external outcomes, reputation, and events are not.

• A. How hard we choose to study for an exam
• B. Whether we respond to an insult with patience
• C. Whether an examiner grades our exam fairly
• D. The honesty of our own promises

Why: The examiner's grading is an external event governed by someone else's judgment. Stoics hold that we control our effort, our responses, and our integrity, but not how others evaluate or act.

• A. Sailing a ship without a rudder
• B. Chasing a thief who has already escaped
• C. Trying to hold back the tide with their hands ✓
• D. Writing letters that are never sent

Why: Epictetus used the image of trying to hold back the tide or fight fate. The lesson is that struggling against what cannot be changed only causes needless suffering.

• A. Giving up all goals and ambitions
• B. Pretending that bad events do not matter
• C. Recognizing external events as they are and directing our energy toward our own responses ✓
• D. Expecting others to always treat us fairly

Why: Stoic acceptance is not passive resignation. It means seeing external events clearly and channeling effort into what we can actually control, namely our judgments and actions.

• A. You failed because you did not care enough
• B. You should blame yourself for the market's behavior
• C. Your effort was virtuous and fully yours, while the outcome was never entirely in your hands ✓
• D. The project was never worth doing in the first place

Why: Stoics would judge you by the quality of your effort and character, which you control. The market result depends on forces beyond you, so your worth need not rise or fall with it.

• A. The opinions of other people about us
• B. Our own judgments, intentions, and actions ✓
• C. The outcome of a job interview
• D. Whether it rains on the day of our wedding

Why: Epictetus taught that our judgments, impulses, desires, and aversions are 'up to us.' Other people's opinions, outcomes, and external events are not fully within our power, so the correct answer is the one concerning our own judgments and actions.

• A. Direct them only toward wealth and status
• B. Suppress all feelings completely
• C. Aim desire only at things within our control and avoid aversion to things outside it ✓
• D. Give them free rein so that we feel fully alive

Why: Epictetus advised that we should direct our desire only toward what is up to us (our virtue and choices) and direct our aversion only toward what is within our control (our own errors). Desiring or fearing things outside our power leads to frustration and disturbance.

• A. Working hard to prepare for an exam but accepting that the grade is not fully in your hands ✓
• B. Insisting that a friend must always agree with you
• C. Expecting the weather to match your weekend plans
• D. Assuming your boss will always praise your work

Why: Preparing diligently is within your control, while the grade depends partly on factors like the examiner and the difficulty of the test. Recognizing this distinction, and focusing on your effort rather than the result, reflects the Stoic dichotomy.

• A. Because such things are always harmful to us
• B. Because external things cannot be guaranteed, so our desires are often frustrated and our peace depends on luck ✓
• C. Because Stoics believe wanting anything at all is a sin
• D. Because emotions are always caused by other people

Why: If our happiness depends on things we cannot control, such as wealth, health, or others' approval, we become vulnerable to disappointment and anxiety. Stoics argue that tying our well-being to what is up to us provides a steadier, more lasting freedom.

• A. Virtues
• B. Indifferents or externals (sometimes called 'preferred' or 'dispreferred' indifferents) ✓
• C. Passions
• D. Impulses

Why: Stoics classed external things as 'indifferents' because they do not directly determine virtue or vice. Some indifferents are 'preferred' (like health) and others 'dispreferred' (like illness), but neither should be confused with what is truly good or bad, which lies in our own character and choices.

• A. Our reputation among others
• B. Our own judgments and intentions ✓
• C. The outcome of a business venture
• D. Our health and physical condition

Why: Stoics like Epictetus taught that only our own judgments, impulses, desires, and aversions are fully up to us. Reputation, outcomes, and health depend on external factors and other people, so they fall outside our control.

• A. Attempt to control them through greater effort
• B. Worry about them so we can prepare adequately
• C. Accept them with equanimity and focus on our response ✓
• D. Avoid thinking about them altogether

Why: The Stoic approach is not to ignore external events or become passive, but to accept what we cannot change and direct our energy toward our own judgments and actions, which is where genuine freedom and virtue lie.

• A. They failed because the exam was unfair
• B. They succeeded in acting virtuously, even though the grade is outside their control ✓
• C. They must immediately change their entire study method
• D. Their worth as a person has been reduced by the grade

Why: The Stoic would say the student's effort and diligence are within their control and are the true measure of success, while the grade depends partly on factors beyond them. Acting virtuously is the goal, not a particular external result.

• A. Because they believed the future was already fixed and known
• B. Because uncertainty is limited to our own judgments, which we can always govern well ✓
• C. Because they thought outcomes never mattered at all
• D. Because they believed random events could be predicted with enough reflection

Why: Since the future is largely outside our control, Stoics argued that worrying about it is wasted effort. What we can always govern is how we judge and respond, so acting virtuously remains possible regardless of uncertain outcomes.

• A. The body's physical reflexes and instincts
• B. Our capacity for rational judgment and choice ✓
• C. Our social status and position in society
• D. The external laws that govern a city-state

Why: For Marcus Aurelius, the governing faculty (hegemonikon) is the rational part of the soul that forms judgments and makes choices. It is the seat of what is truly up to us, so the Stoic directs attention there rather than to external circumstances.

• A. Our reputation among others
• B. Our judgments and impressions about things ✓
• C. The health of our body
• D. The wealth we inherit from our family

Why: Epictetus divides things into those up to us (our judgments, impulses, desires, and aversions) and those not up to us (body, property, reputation, office). Our judgments are the one thing fully within our control, so they are the proper focus of moral effort.

• A. Agreeing with whatever a majority of people believe
• B. The act of accepting or withholding acceptance of an impression as true ✓
• C. Obeying the commands of the emperor and the law
• D. Feeling emotional calm regardless of circumstances

Why: For Epictetus, assent (synkatathesis) is the mental act of endorsing an impression as accurate. Since we can choose whether to accept an impression, the discipline of assent means training ourselves to withhold assent from false or unexamined impressions.

• A. Our desire to study philosophy
• B. Our own body, property, reputation, and office ✓
• C. Our choice of friends
• D. Our opinions about virtue

Why: Epictetus lists the body, property, reputation, and public office as things not up to us, since they depend on external forces such as fortune, other people, or nature. Recognizing this distinction is the starting point of Stoic practice.

• A. Poverty and lack of possessions
• B. Bad weather and natural disasters
• C. Our judgments about things, rather than the things themselves ✓
• D. The cruelty of other people alone

Why: Epictetus famously states that people are disturbed not by things but by their judgments about things. Because judgments are up to us, we can change our distress by changing how we assent to impressions.

• A. We should try to control everything that happens around us
• B. We should focus our effort on what is up to us and accept what is not with equanimity ✓
• C. We should avoid all action and wait for events to unfold
• D. We should seek external rewards to secure our happiness

Why: The dichotomy of control directs our effort toward what we can govern (our judgments and choices) and encourages acceptance of what lies beyond our power. This combination of disciplined action and calm acceptance is central to Epictetus's teaching.

• A. The opinions other people hold about us
• B. Our own judgments and the way we respond to events ✓
• C. The outcome of a job interview
• D. The weather on the day of an outdoor event

Why: Epictetus taught that our judgments, impulses, desires, and aversions are 'up to us,' while external events, reputation, and outcomes are not. Our response to events is the part we can govern.

• A. Demand a public apology immediately
• B. Recognize that their criticism is outside your control and focus on how you will respond ✓
• C. Spend the rest of the day replaying the criticism in your mind
• D. Quit the project to avoid further criticism

Why: The Stoic approach is to separate what is external (the colleague's words and opinions) from what is internal (your judgment and response), then direct your attention to the latter.

• A. Trying to control traffic by leaving home earlier and then worrying when delays happen anyway
• B. Each morning, reviewing which concerns are within your power and which are not
• C. Avoiding all plans so that nothing can disappoint you
• D. Predicting every possible negative outcome in detail

• A. Outside events have no real impact on our lives
• B. We should strive to change external events through sheer willpower
• C. Our peace of mind depends on how we interpret and respond to events, not on the events themselves
• D. Only wise people have any power over their minds

• A. Blame yourself for not preventing the illness
• B. Accept what you cannot change, continue doing what is in your power such as caring and comforting, and avoid adding unnecessary suffering through your judgments ✓
• C. Refuse to acknowledge the illness so you do not have to feel distress
• D. Insist that others fix the situation for you

Why: The Stoics distinguished between the natural pain of events and the additional suffering we create through false beliefs. We remain responsible for our actions and attitudes while accepting outcomes we cannot dictate.