The Cosmic Viewpoint

What is most important? Raising your mind above the threats and promises of fortune, thinking that nothing is worth hoping for. For what have you to desire? Whenever you sink back from engagement with the divine to the human level, your sight will go dim, just like the eyes of those who return from bright sunlight to dense shadow. (Natural Questions III, praef. 11)

The cosmic viewpoint is a central theme of Stoicism, and Seneca’s Natural Questions highlights that theme. In it, Seneca “impels his reader to look upward, to transcend ordinary life at ground level, to reach for cosmic consciousness.”^[1] I covered the cosmic viewpoint in episode 5 on prosoche. Nevertheless, the cosmic viewpoint is a critically important topic in Stoic practice; it cannot be repeated too often.

The cosmic viewpoint is often referred to as the “view from above.” This is the cosmic viewpoint, and it entails more than seeing the insignificance of life as if from afar. The cosmic viewpoint is more about attitude than altitude. Imagining that we are zooming away from the Earth may help distance us from the triviality of some troublesome events. However, that form of a “view from above” does not necessarily bring about the attitudinal change Stoicism prescribes. The ultimate goal of Stoic practice is not to distance ourselves from troublesome events or become indifferent to them. The goal is to learn to love those events as if we wished for them. Why? Because they are the events of Nature that have a purpose of their own, and, as Stoics, our aim is to live in agreement with that cosmic Nature. To do so requires more than a change in altitude; it requires a significant change in attitude. Stoic practice obliges us to develop an attitude of gratitude toward all events, even those we might otherwise consider troublesome, or tragic. As Epictetus taught:

From everything that happens in the universe it is easy to praise providence, if one has within him two things: the faculty of taking a comprehensive view of the things that happen to each person and a sense of gratitude. (Discourses 1.6.1)

Pierre Hadot considers the cosmic viewpoint the beginning of Stoic practice. He writes,

Putting theory into practice begins with an exercise that consists in recognizing oneself as a part of the Whole, elevating oneself to cosmic consciousness, or immersing oneself within the totality of the cosmos. While meditating on Stoic physics, we are able to see all things within the perspective of universal Reason. To achieve this, we must practice the imaginative exercise which consists in seeing all human things from above.^[2]

When confronted with something which might appear unsettling or disturbing, we must take a step back and try to envision the situation from the perspective of the whole cosmos. It is reasonable to assume if we had all of the information about an event we would see things differently. To take on the perspective of the whole we must shed our personal desires, the desires of our immediate family and loved ones, and those of our local community or nation. That is a difficult thing to do; however, this paradigm shift is an essential part of Stoic practice. From the cosmic viewpoint, we can begin to see and love all events as parts of the Whole. Marcus Aurelius describes this exercise:

Watch the stars in their courses as though you were accompanying them on their way, and reflect perpetually on how the elements are constantly changing from one to another; for the thought of these things purifies us from the defilement of our earthly existence. A fine reflection from Plato. One who would converse about human beings should look on all things earthly as though from some point far above, upon herds, armies, and agriculture, marriages and divorces, births and deaths, the clamour of law courts, deserted wastes, alien peoples of every kind, festivals, lamentations, and markets, this intermixture of everything and ordered combination of opposites. (Meditations 7.47-8)

Pause and consider the list of things and events offered by Marcus in this passage: herds, armies, agriculture, marriages and divorces, births and deaths, the clamour of law courts, deserted wastes, alien peoples of every kind, festivals, lamentations, and markets. There are items on that list we would typically consider “good” and others we may consider “bad”; however, Marcus is reminding himself not to judge them as such. Instead, he challenges himself to view these things and events “as though from some point far above” to gain a new perspective. What is that perspective? It is not a perspective that minimizes their importance because of our altitude. Instead, it is a perspective derived from an attitude change, and it allows us to see all events, no matter how seemingly tragic, as an “intermixture of everything and ordered combination of opposites.” In other words, every event plays a role in the ordered whole.

“Wait a minute,” someone might say, “there is no way I’m going to accept that tragic events happen for a purpose and that I should love them.” Then you will have a troubled mind, and you will be angry with gods and men, according to Epictetus (Enchiridion 1). Please do not misunderstand the Stoics here. It is our responsibility to behave in a manner that minimizes wars, rapes, murders, political and economic injustice, etc. We do so by behaving in a wise, just, courageous, and moderate manner, and encouraging others to do the same. Nevertheless, seemingly tragic events will happen; they are part of the “intermixture of everything and ordered combination of opposites” (Meditations7.48). When they do occur, we have a profoundly important choice to make. We can choose to accept them as the necessary events of a providentially ordered cosmos and love them as parts of an interconnected and interdependent whole. Or, we can rage against them as cosmic injustices and thereby create a troubled mind and feed our anger against gods and men. Either providence or atoms.

This does not imply that a Stoic should do nothing about injustice when they can act and attempt to bring about a virtuous end. As Stoics, we are obligated to act. Cato the Younger and Marcus provide excellent examples of courageous action to defend the people and values of their society. Nevertheless, they acted with a reserve clause in mind and accepted that their actions may not bring about the end they sought. After all, the cosmos may have a different plan. In either case, our goal as a practicing Stoic is to accept and love the outcome as one event within a larger causal network of events that constitutes the Whole. That is the cosmic viewpoint.

Ultimately, this paradigm shift involves more than additional information that may change our opinion about an event. The cosmic viewpoint entails an entirely different way of thinking about events. It relies on bringing our rational faculty—that fragment of the logos we each possess—into congruence with universal Reason. Seneca warns,

Whenever you sink back from engagement with the divine to the human level, your sight will go dim, just like the eyes of those who return from bright sunlight to dense shadow. (Natural Questions III, praef. 11)

In other words, our psychological angst is the result of seeing events from a limited anthropocentric perspective—the human level. Stoic practice teaches us to view events from the cosmic perspective—the divine level. As you go about your day, try applying the cosmic viewpoint by asking yourself the following questions:

What might this event look like if I had full knowledge of what is going on?
Will this event be as significant to me tomorrow, next week, next year, or a decade from now?
Can I envision a way this event, which appears unfortunate, troublesome, or even tragic at this moment, might bring about a positive outcome in the future?
- If so, would it be prudent for me to act, with a reserve clause, as if this apparently troubling event is directing me toward a new course of action?
- Did this slamming door reveal another previously unnoticed door I should explore?
- Am I aware of any events like this from the past that were used by individuals or nations to bring about a positive end?
Are there events in my past that appeared unfortunate, troublesome, or tragic at the time that I consider a blessing now?
If I make a conscious choice to assume this seemingly unfortunate, troublesome, or tragic event has a larger purpose, and I make the best of it, how will that change my attitude?

Seneca challenges us to “look upward, to transcend ordinary life at ground level, to reach for cosmic consciousness.”^[3] Our challenge as Stoic practitioners is to allow our soul to take flight, metaphorically of course, and view the world and events around us as if from above—from the perspective of the Whole. According to the Stoics, the new perspective we can achieve from this cosmic viewpoint will change our lives.