How Stoicism Led Epictetus to Be Thrashed by a Stranger

The Consequences of the Dichotomy of Control

Stoicism is promoted as a way of making yourself invincible. Entire books are devoted to cultivating Stoic indifference to train Stoics to dismiss distressing things as mere “externals” that one should be indifferent to. A key underpinning of these things is a part of Stoic philosophy commonly known as the “Dichotomy of Control.”

The Stoics believe that the following things are under a person’s control:

• Their beliefs
• Their opinions
• What they like
• What they dislike
• Their decisions
• Their intentions

Things other than this, such as one’s reputation, body, or material possessions are not under one’s control. These things are called “externals” and the Stoics consider external things to have no moral value.

Here’s a nice diagram of this, from the Stoic Handbook website. This chart points out what Stoicism says one can and should feel pride about, and that Stoics can take pride in having better beliefs, opinions, and preferences than other people do.