Stoic happiness 1: Follow nature

A practitioner's framework for Stoic ethics

Being happy

Stoics said that the path to a fulfilling and happy life lies in “following nature” and practicing the four main virtues: wisdom, moderation, courage, and justice. When a fellow prokopton asked me, “What is wisdom? How do I know that my actions are wise?” I could not immediately come up with an answer. In Stoic literature, there are many scholarly essays explaining what it means to “follow nature” and what the virtues mean. However, most of what I found was meant for other scholars and not addressed to non-philosophers struggling to implement Stoic wisdom and other cardinal virtues in their daily lives. In this and the subsequent four essays, I will explore what these ideas mean in practice. My aim is not to provide a definitive explanation (if such a thing even exists), but rather a simplified explanation that we can use in real life that is consistent with Stoic principles. — Chuck Chakrapani

How do we live a happy, fulfilled life? The Stoics had a two-word answer:

Follow nature.

But how? What does “follow nature” mean? How does one start living following nature? After all, “nature” could mean different things to different people. We can argue that anger, selfishness, or greed are “natural.” Does following nature mean being angry, selfish or greedy? It is “natural” for us to seek money, possessions, and power. Does following nature mean going after money, possessions, and power? The instruction “follow nature” does not tell us what “nature” is or what it means to follow it. We need a clearer definition of “nature” and how to follow it.

Nature is what happens in the universe. Stoics theorized that things happen because of a series of causes and effects. Each effect becomes the cause of the effect that follows. They said further that we have no control over this chain of cause and effect. More simply, we can view nature as reality, the things that happen “to us” or around us.

Aligning ourselves with nature

We become unhappy when our thinking and actions are not aligned with reality. Zeno explained that we can reorient ourselves to be aligned with nature. An analogy would be a plant turning towards sunlight—it acts according to nature. When an animal is thirsty, it seeks water. This process can be called reconciliation, as Cicero called it. Such reconciliations, also called alignments or appropriations, help plants and animals thrive.

We observe this in human beings as well. For example, as Chrysippus pointed out, self-preservation is innate to all living beings. Children instinctively reach out to catch themselves when they fall, just as a deer flees at the first scent of a predator. These alignments guide our natural instincts.

However, a fundamental difference exists between humans and other animals. Instincts drive animals, so they do not have a choice about their behaviour. Their reconciliation with nature is predetermined. If you punch a lion hard on its face, it will attack you back, no matter who you are or what the conditions are. But if you punch a human being in the face, they can choose one or more of the following actions: punch you back, smile, make a note to attack you at a future date, ignore your attack, plot a subtle revenge against you, and so on. Human nature is fundamentally different from animal nature. Our faculty of choice makes us superior animals. But we can also go astray if we make the wrong choices.

Two basic alignments

If the way to happiness is to align ourselves with nature, we need to know how to do this. Marcus Aurelius reminds us

This you must always bear in mind: what is the nature of the whole, and what is my nature. - Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

Everything that happens is initiated by us (what we choose) or the universe (what happens to us). Therefore, to be in accordance with nature would mean aligning our behaviour with our nature and the universe.

The nature according to which one should live, Chrysippus takes to be both universal nature and, in particular, human nature. - Diogenes Laertius

Following nature means following our human nature and the universe's nature.

1. Aligning ourselves with human nature

We are happy when we are aligned with our nature and unhappy when we are not. But what is our (human) nature?

It cannot be our physical strength—many animals are stronger than we are. It cannot be our ability to swim—fish can swim better and faster. It cannot be our ability to fly—birds can fly, but we cannot.

But there is one faculty in which we excel: our ability to reason. We are not following our nature when we don’t act rationally. So, to be aligned with our human nature, we should ensure that our thoughts and actions are rational.

2. Aligning ourselves with the nature of the universe

What is the nature of the universe? According to the Stoics, universal nature operates through a series of causes and effects. It does not rain on your picnic to ruin your day; it rains because water in the air gathers into droplets that become too heavy to stay suspended. The reason why this happens can be traced to prior causes. Every effect becomes a cause for the next effect.

We might hate getting ill, resent the winter, and complain about bad weather. But illness, seasons, and storms occur according to their natural course, not to spite us. Universal nature is expressed through what happens to us or around us. We can call this reality. It is irrational to resist reality and expect what happens not to happen.

Demand not that events should happen as you wish; but wish them to happen as they do happen, and you will go on well. - Epictetus, Encheiridion

When we act rationally, we are aligned with our nature. When we don’t fight reality, we are aligned with the nature of the universe. We become aligned with nature when we align our expectations with reality by accepting it.

We are happy when we act rationally, don’t fight reality, let go of what we cannot control, and act on what is under our sphere of control. Following nature means being rational and accepting reality.

Four areas of alignment

From a practical perspective, to align ourselves with nature, we need to develop our skills in four different areas (based on Stobaeus 2.5b):

1. What should we do? What should we not do? What doesn’t matter?

2. What should we choose? What should we avoid? What doesn’t matter?

3. What should we fear? What is terrible? What is not terrible? What is neither?

4. How should we treat others? What should we assign to whom?

To answer these questions correctly, we need to develop four special skills, each corresponding to a reconciliation. These four skills are known as the Stoic virtues:

1. Wisdom tells us what we should or should not do.

2. Moderation tells us what we should or should not choose.

3. Courage tells us what we should or should not fear.

4. Justice tells us how to treat others.

These four special skills are also called excellences or virtues. Stoics did not say that practicing these virtues will lead to happiness, but it is happiness. In other words, we move away from our happy state when we are not aligned with the right action, the right choice, the right discernment of what to fear, and the right knowledge of how to treat others. When we correctly align our behaviour with these excellences, happiness returns. When our thinking and actions are aligned with these four excellences, we follow nature, and by definition, we will be happy.

In my future postings, I will explore these four special skills.

Takeaways

1. Stoics thought that to lead a happy and fulfilled life, we should “follow nature.” Following nature means.

   1. We should follow our nature, which is rationality, and

   2. We should follow the nature of the universe, which is accepting reality as presented to us.

2. Acting rationally while accepting reality aligns our behaviour with reality and rationality.

3. In practical terms, this means developing excellence in four areas:

   1. knowing what to do and what not to do (wisdom),

   2. knowing what to choose and what to avoid (moderation),

   3. knowing what we should not fear (courage), and

   4. knowing what we should assign to whom (justice).

We will explore these four excellences in future essays.

Try this simple exercise

To apply the Stoic principle of following nature, take a few moments to reflect and engage in this practical exercise.

1. Define your nature

   • Write down a strength or quality that defines a rational being.

   • Identify one way you can align your daily actions with this quality.

2. Accept the nature of the universe

   • List one recent event in your life that was beyond your control.

   • Reflect on how you can shift your response to align with reality rather than resisting it.

3. Practice the four virtues

   • Choose one of the four Stoic virtues (wisdom, moderation, courage, or justice).

   • Set a small, actionable goal for today that reflects this virtue (e.g., practicing patience in a difficult conversation, making a wise decision based on reason instead of impulse).

THE POWER TO CHANGE

“Chuck Chakrapani is one of my favourite modern Stoics. Chuck has the happy knack of making things as simple as they need to be, but no simpler.” - Tim LeBon, accredited CBT therapist, Research Director of Modern Stoicism, and author of 365 Ways to Be More Stoic

https://amzn.to/4k1pzxW

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