Definition
Value-neutrality is the Stoic idea that most of what we chase or flee, such as wealth, health, reputation, and pleasure, carries no moral value in itself. The Stoics called these things indifferents: they are neither good nor bad, because only virtue is good and only vice is bad.
This does not mean indifferents are worthless. The Stoics distinguished preferred indifferents, such as health, from dispreferred ones, such as illness. A neutral thing can still be reasonably preferred; it simply cannot make a person good or happy on its own.
Why it matters
How it works
The practice begins with examining the labels we attach to events. When we say a layoff or a diagnosis is bad, the Stoic asks whether the thing itself is bad, or whether our judgment makes it so. The event is an indifferent; the distress comes from the value we assign.
By recognizing value-neutrality, a practitioner can still pursue preferred outcomes vigorously while remaining unshaken if they do not arrive. The energy goes into action and intention, not into the false belief that an external must be obtained for life to go well.