In
book
3,
chap.
2
of
his
Discourses,
Epictetus
distinguishes
three
main
“fields
of
study”
(topoi),
which
a
person
who
aims
to
become
good
and
noble
not
only
has
to
study,
but
has
to
exercise
(askeisthai)
him
or
herself
in:
• Desires
and
Aversions
• Choices
and
Refusals,
and
Duty
• Avoidance
of
Error,
Rash
Judgement,
and
in
general,
Assent
Each
of
these
areas
of
study
and
exercise
is
necessary
for
full
progress,
and
the
Stoic
philosophy
involves
study
of
each
of
these
three
fields.
Epictetus
points
out
that
most
people
seem
more
interested
in
the
third,
neglecting
the
first
two,
foundational
fields.
Third
Topos
• concerned
with
Avoidance
of
Error
(anexapatesian),
Lack
of
Rash
Judgement
(aneikaioteta),
and
Assent
sunkatatheseis)
more
generally
• competence
developed
through
study
of
Stoic
Logic,
focused
on
argument
and
reasoning,
grasping
the
criterion,
attaining
certainty
• renders
a
person
able
to
deal
with
appearances
(phantasiai)
even
in
dreaming,
drunken,
or
melancholy
states
Second
Topos
• concerned
with
Choice
(hormai),
Refusals
(aphormas),
and
Duty
(to
kathekon)
• competence
developed
through
study
of
Stoic
Ethics,
focused
on
choosing
and
rejecting
rightly,
maintaining
own
natural
and
acquired
relationships
• renders
a
person
able
to
make
appropriate
choices
and
rejections,
to
order
matters,
to
do
so
carefully
and
with
good
reasons
First
Topos
• concerned
with
Desires
(orexeis)
and
Aversions
(ekkliseis),
and
also
with
the
strong
Emotions
(pathe)
• competence
developed
through
study
of
Stoic
Ethics,
focused
on
understanding
and
redirecting
the
desires
and
aversions
• renders
a
person
able
to
get
what
is
desired,
and
to
escape
what
he
or
she
is
averse
to
–
because
he
or
she
desires
and
is
averse
to
the
right
things
All
three
are
needed
for
making
progress
–
but
the
first
two
fields
provide
a
needed
basis.
Copyright
2015,
Gregory
B.
Sadler,
Ph.D.
ReasonIO:
philosophy
into
practice