Unfortunately, she kills all of her students*. We need to be mindful of this when we recommend that people live according to nature. When we say that it is best for us to live according to nature we imply that people should follow naturally good paths. There are many natural paths that will lead to our more rapid demise. Obviously, we want to avoid the bad paths.
How to tell the good from the bad? We start by listening to our parents and teachers. We trust that they will nurture us and guide us in ways that will lead to good outcomes. As we grow older, we try things out for ourselves. We build experience, and if we learn how to choose more good than bad, we can say we have gained in wisdom. If we look at the long-term outcome of our choices, take others into consideration, and choose what will produce the best for ourselves and those around us, we can say we have chosen wisely. If we fail to consider the future, do not evaluate the impact of our actions on others and generally act selfishly, we can expect less than a good outcome, at least over the long run.
After we reach adulthood we no longer have the excuse of youth to blame for our mistakes. We can blame others for our bad choices, or we can rage against the fates. But if we are choosing unwisely, we should blame only ourselves. Failing to examine the facts, failing to consider the long-term effects of our actions on others and ourselves and failing to use our God-given reason are all human failings that we can avoid if we will only look at nature and our own nature and make the right choice over the easy choice.
What about choices that require knowledge beyond our experience or education? To decide we must rely on the recommendations of others with more experience and education, just as we did in our childhood, except that, as adults, we get to choose who will guide us. Neither our choices nor those whom we choose will always be correct. Life is not fair, and we are not perfect. Science helps us understand nature better and better every year, so we can make ever better choices. What science said was good for us in 1970 is completely different from what science says today. And except in cases where scientists pre-judge and pre-determine outcomes, I trust today’s science more than yesterday’s. We have much better research tools and methods now than we had decades earlier. Not everything “scientific” can be trusted. Some theories conflict, and we have to be careful sorting out which assertions are backed by the evidence, and which are backed by an agenda. Whom do we trust? Look to the evidence, look to the explanations that make sense in light of the evidence, look to the track record of those making claims, and listen to opposing arguments to see which side’s case is stronger. Go with the evidence, not with your emotions. If one side is making an emotional appeal that tugs at your heart, but the other side is presenting solid and logical arguments, you must choose wisely. You know where wisdom lies.
A really good friend of mind is facing a dilemma right now. His heart pulls him in one direction, while his head pulls him in another. That is a tough situation. How do you make the right choice? I cannot tell you. I can only tell you what I think, and that may not work for you. As we mature we develop internal mechanisms that cause us to respond viscerally to various situations. How do we know which choice is right most of the time? We just know**. Usually this response is the same conclusion we would reach and consider correct if we were to take our time and think about it. But this is not always true. Sometimes these internal responses are based on the decision processes of the person we used to be. Our heart tugs us towards old goals that we have made a conscious decision to no longer pursue. These internal mechanisms are like old habits. They are patterns we tend to follow unless we make a conscious effort to break the pattern. All of us know hard it is to break a habit, even if it is a behavior that is bad for us. We have to weigh the evidence. If we are to stand on our own two feet, we cannot let anyone else make our decisions for us. It is good to ask advice, but treat that advice as just more evidence. Keep in mind that if the people arguing on the side that is tugging at your heart have logical arguments, they will use them. If they do not, they may still tug at your heart, because they know that argument often still works. Just be aware of what is going on when people use emotional arguments.
So we should learn from nature. We should observe natural processes, both within us and around us. We should study human nature, and we should make natural, human choices based on reasonable expectations of favorable outcomes. But we should always keep in mind that there are natural courses of action that are not favorable, either to us or to others. Just because they are natural does not always make them good. And just because our heart tugs us in a given direction, that does not mean that we should always follow.
*“Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils.” –Louis-Hector Berlioz
**I suggest reading the column “The End of Philosophy” by David Brooks (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/07/opinion/07Brooks.html). It has excellent information on this subject.
