The Stoic’s Life According to Nature | A Simple and Complete Introduction of Stoicism’s View of Nature

You would always hear Stoics say that living according to nature is the key to happiness. However, it can be difficult for people who don’t understand Stoicism to know what they mean. What does it mean to live in accordance with nature? Why is nature involved in happiness? Most importantly, what do Stoics mean when they say “Nature.”?

Stoicism states that nature is the entire external universe where we are interconnected with each other. This includes human nature, which is living according to virtue. Stoics understand that nature is constantly changing, and we can’t change its course. That’s why we need to live in harmony with nature to live a tranquil life.

Stoicism is an ancient philosophy based on dealing with suffering and finding peace. Because of that, they started to talk about living according to nature. The blog post will examine what this means and provide some thoughts on this ancient philosophy.

What is Nature in Stoicism?

According to Stoics, nature can be divided into two, which are human nature and our environment.

Thus, to give you a clear and complete understanding of nature, I should start by explaining these two.

First, the Stoics believe that human nature is our perfect being in which we live rationally and virtuously. It is living by the 4 Stoic virtues: wisdom, courage, justice, and temperance. Reaching true human nature is the ultimate goal of Stoics and why they are always trying to improve themselves.

But reaching our true human nature is not easy, especially when we are so used to living and doing based on our emotions. But here’s the good news: as human beings, we can change. We can become better people if we want to.

However, when we hear living according to nature, the Stoics are talking about the nature of our environment.

The Stoics believe that our environment moves and changes are outside our control. The laws of nature govern everything.

Therefore, the Stoics believe that we should live in harmony with the natural environment and that our choices should be based on reason and understanding.

I am talking about reasoning and understanding because the Stoics believe that living according to nature is the logical thing to do.

Going against nature means trying to change the things we have no control over. This causes unnecessary stress and frustrations.

For example, there are times when we will have bad days. Instead of stressing over it, we should accept that it is normal for us to have bad days.

There are more things in nature we can’t control, such as aging or the weather. Even if we stress over these things, they won’t change. Thus, it is better not to mind them.

This follows the Stoic principle of the dichotomy of control.

Thus, let me explain the application of the dichotomy of control in nature.

The Stoics belief on being ruled by nature?

The Stoics believe that nature is perfectly rational and that we can’t change its course. That’s why instead of trying to live against nature, Stoics learn how to accept it. Some Stoics call this fate where they accept what nature throws at them instead of fighting against it. This is what they call being ruled by nature.

The Stoics believe in fate. In fact, fate is tied with nature as Stoics believe that nature has its course, which we have no control over.

This means everything around us changes according to nature, and we can’t do something about it.

For example, even if we hate the snow and winter, it will always come when the time comes, and we can’t change that.

Thus, following the dichotomy of control, we should not mind them.

The dichotomy of control states that we can or can’t control things. The things we can handle include how we react to the things happening to us. On the other hand, one of the things we can’t control is nature.

Right now, you have a basic understanding of nature according to Stoics, and to show you its application, I have quotes from famous Stoics, so we can analyze how this is related to the things you learned.

“The first step: Don’t be anxious. Nature controls it all.”

Marcus Aurelius

As you can see, Marcus Aurelis, a Stoic Roman emperor, said that nature controls it all. Even if he is an emperor, he understands that there are things outside his control and one of which is nature.

He knows that instead of controlling nature, it is better not to be anxious and be ok with it. So, if there is a storm, instead of stressing over how we can change that, we should not be worried and instead prepare for what’s to come.

This means that instead of changing the weather, which is irrational, we should instead focus on what we can do, such as preparing our supplies such as food and power banks.

Next, Seneca.

“If you live in harmony with nature you will never be poor; if you live according to what others think, you will never be rich.”

Seneca

Seneca, a Roman Stoic Philosopher, understands that living with nature makes us feel rich because it empowers us.

The bad thing about controlling nature is that it harms our self-esteem. Since we can’t change the course of nature, we begin to feel bad about ourselves because of our lack of abilities.

Because Stoicism helps us focus on the things we can control, we can feel empowered and in control of our lives. That’s what Seneca means by being rich.

Remember, even the emperor Marcus Aurelius accepted he couldn’t change nature.

What does Epictetus mean by nature?

What Epictetus means by nature is the universe we live in. He said that we don’t live by our own rules but should live in harmony with nature. Living in accordance with nature helps us live a tranquil life or what he calls ataraxia since nature is something outside our control.

“Don’t live by your own rules, but in harmony with nature”

Epictetus

The Stoic’s life, according to nature, is about achieving a state of ataraxia, or tranquility. Ataraxia is a Greek term for “undisturbed,” which is tied with happiness.

Epictetus, a Stoic philosopher and slave turned teacher in the Roman Empire, believed that happiness is achieved by maintaining a tranquil state of mind.

Thus, living according to nature entails thinking and behaving so that we voluntarily accept the things that cannot be changed or refused, even if it includes hardship or pain.

As we can see, we already dissected quotes from multiple Stoics, and it all ties with our explanation of the Stoic’s view of nature.

However, remember I also talked about human nature.

In the next section, we will connect the two concepts of nature according to Stoics. Then, we will apply human nature and our environment.

What is Living in Agreement with Nature?

Living in agreement with nature means accepting fate or the events that occur in our lives. This means living a virtuous life since it is what we are intended to do. In addition, agreeing with nature means being rational in our actions because going against nature does nothing good to our well-being.

So, to end this blog post, we will talk about combining the two Stoic concepts of nature.

First, human nature in which we act virtuously by sticking to the four stoic virtues. Remember that how we think or act are things we can’t control.

Second, our environment is nature outside our control.

To reconcile these two concepts and give the full view of nature and Stoicism, we should understand that we should act virtuously on everything and accept the things we can’t control.

This means when we are faced with the things we can’t control, such as the weather, we should not mind this and find what we can do, such as preparing for what’s to come.

Instead of complaining about our past, we should instead find ways to improve in the present so we won’t commit the same mistake.

In conclusion, Stoicism helps us redirect our focus on what we can control. Stoic’s life in accordance with nature has become relevant once again in today’s society with the growing number of things we can’t control, such as other people’s comments.

What’s next? I made a blog post about what a Stoic person is like. Like this blog post, I tried to explain everything by detailing the characteristics of a Stoic. Here is the link: What is a Stoic Person Like?