Definition
In Stoic thought, externals are everything that lies beyond one's direct control: the body, possessions, social standing, the weather, the opinions and choices of other people. They contrast with the internal domain — judgments, intentions, and chosen responses — which is the only sphere fully one's own.
Stoicism does not call externals worthless. It calls them not fully ours. Because they can be granted or withdrawn by forces no person commands, they are an unreliable place to anchor a flourishing life.
Why it matters
How it works
The Stoic discipline of desire works by sorting every concern into two bins. Things in our power receive our full investment of desire and aversion. Externals receive only conditional preference: we may work for health or wealth, but we do not stake our peace on the outcome.
This sorting is repeated continually, because impressions constantly present externals as if they were urgent goods. The trained mind interrupts that impression and reclassifies it.