The word “detachment” risks creating the wrong impression, since it can connote a lack of real interest in whatever is the subject of it. That isn’t the idea. Detachment refers more to the way in which something is held and to whether the mind has been given over to it in an excessive way. The detachment of the Stoic thus can be viewed as a kind of moderation – that is, moderation in one’s relationship to externals. A good way to test such a relationship, and to know whether you have an attachment to a thing or just a preference about it, is to consider how well you would handle its loss.
