What is the meaning of the statement "what is natural, it is not ugly"

Usually the phrase "what is natural, it's not ugly" is pronounced with some irony or slight irritation in justification of some minor misconduct that goes against the norms of ethics and morality. In this case, we mean not verbal skirmishes or other shocking behavior, but to expose the naturalistic moments of human existence for which it is not customary to speak aloud.

Justification of unseemly acts

To address the need in a crowded place or to go out in a dress that barely covers the intimate parts of the body - for one person such actions are considered to be the height of shamelessness, while the other will only shrug his shoulders and grin: "What is natural, it is not ugly!" The meaning of the expression in such cases Is understood rather narrowly, is interpreted in the sense that one does not need to be embarrassed by the manifestations of his essence, because nature has created us like that. And it, as you know, does not have bad weather, in all there is absolute order and undivided harmony.

But can a man, considering himself the crown of creation, be likened to animals? Will blindly follow the postulate "what is natural, then not ugly" to the degradation of society and the return to primitive? For that, for many millennia, moral foundations were created, so that they could be destroyed so easily by a single phrase? And maybe we misunderstand its meaning?

The teachings of ancient philosophers

Saying "what is natural, it's not ugly" was born not today, but approximately in the fourth century BC. Whether the meaning that is implied now is embedded into it is not known for certain. One can only assume that the ancient sages tried to embrace a broader sphere of human-nature relations than the justification for publicly exposing intimate needs.

To whom does the axiom "what is natural, then not ugly," belong? Its author is none other than the distinguished ancient Roman philosopher and thinker Lucius Annie Seneca (Younger). Being a poet, statesman and adherent of stoicism, Seneca firmly believed in the materiality of all things, while not denying the boundless possibilities of man in the knowledge of the laws of nature. Was the phrase he expressed the principle of natural philosophy, the views of which the thinker adhered? Or, perhaps, there was a condemnation of human weaknesses and low-lying manifestations? There are more questions than answers, because even from the height of modern knowledge, the tangle of philosophical thought is almost impossible to unravel.

Words of Consolation and Motivation for Action

Let's recall the famous fairy tale of Andersen about the ugly duckling. If a clumsy chick, shy of his appearance, had a kind instructor, he would surely have encouraged him with the phrase: "Do not worry, baby! What is natural, it is not ugly! The time will come, and you will turn into a beautiful swan. In the meantime, enjoy what is given by nature! "

How to know? It is possible that a disgusting duckling, inspired by such instruction, would be much easier to bear the adversity that fell to his lot. Here the phrase takes a completely different meaning, it does not sound like an excuse for ugliness and ugliness, but is a hymn to the laws of earthly perfection.