"all things happen for a reason" - does everybody believe this

[donheld]

Sometimes I do sometimes I don't. Sometimes it's all that keeps me going.

[HEyHEY]

1. On occasion I've discovered it to be true

But as well, you never know what could have been

[lizziegrace]

2. Funny you should ask that question today

Today it's all I've got to go on. But my need to understand why is never satisfied by that quote. I want to know what the reason is.

:shrug:

[friesianrider]

24. Yes...

It's sort of comforting...but in an unfulfilling sort of way. If there *is* a reason for all the shit we go through, I want to know what that reason is.

[ghostsofgiants]

3. Sure, it's called a causal relationship.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

4. Yes, my dear donheld......

I do absolutely believe this...

Otherwise, it's hard to make sense out of what happens to us....

[Rabrrrrrr]

5. Depends on whether you are speaking teologically or ontologically

Ontologically, yes, it is true; things happen for the reason that there is a cause for them to happen.

But I imagine you are speaking teleologically, because that's the more interesting question.

Teleologically, I am the side that believes that most things do not happen for a reason. I think most things happen either randomly, with no greater purpose than that they happen, or happen because we cause them to happen; but as to a divine being being active in causing all specific events to happen for a specific purpose, no, I don't believe that.

[Pithlet]

16. What Rabrrrrrr said.

:)

[Shine]

23. How does Synchronicity fit into this theory?

just curious... :shrug:

[Rabrrrrrr]

25. If you mean MY theory,

then synchronicity does not fit into it.

Sure, there have been times of synchronicity in my life, but I cannot say with any scientific authority that they were caused by a force that works from outside our reality. I will say, however, that there are times when the Holy Spirit works in mysterious ways, and does things that defy our understanding. But those events are rare and seldom, especially when compared against the vast amount of events that take place on a daily - or even by the second - basis.

[Shine]

26. I have had the most amazing experiences of synchronicity in my life.....

experiences that CANNOT be explained. For me, they are not "rare and seldom", but common and joyful reminders of the Divine working in mysterious ways....a Divinity that I am not separate from, but a part of.

Does that make sense? :shrug:

[MsAnthropy]

6. No, there's no reason for most of the shit that happens

but it's human nature to think otherwise or we would go insane.

[Beall]

7. COMPLETELY

I live by this motto and find it to be true with EVERYTHING, good situations, bad situations, everything happens for a reason and whatever doesnt kill you only makes you stronger.

[u4ic]

32. Welcome to DU!

:toast:

[bertha katzenengel]

8. Most of the time, yes, I do.

:insert 12 anecdotes as "proof":

;)

Really, I do. Yes.

[RevCheesehead]

9. No, I don't believe it at all.

I believe in free will.
That being said, I believe that we have the power to choose our own responses to any given set of circumstances. We can remain angry, hurt, or wounded, or choose to learn from experience and move on.

But as far as A caused B, which then made C happen - that's just history and coincidence, as far as I'm concerned.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

10. I don't believe it. But I do believe

there are negatives and positives in any situation. Nothing that happens is entirely "good" or "bad". When enveloped with either joy or sorrow over an event, we often don't recognize the opposite polarity for some time.

[jpgray]

11. It's impossible to disprove fatalism

But believing in it doesn't do you much good.

[radwriter0555]

12. Yes.. things happen the way they're supposed to, There is an order to

our universes and we're all precisely doing what we're supposed to be doing, and where we're supposed to be...

il destino!

[anarch]

13. yeah, causality and all that

Here's part of the wikipedia article:

The insights of the theory of special relativity confirmed the assumption of causality, but they made the meaning of the word "precede" observer-dependent. Consequently, the relativistic principle of causality says that the cause must precede its effect according to all inertial observers. This is equivalent to the statement that the cause and its effect are separated by a timelike interval, and the effect belongs to the future light cone of its cause. Equivalently, special relativity has shown that it is not only impossible to influence the past; it is also impossible to influence distant objects by signals that travel faster than the speed of light.

In the theory of general relativity, the concept of causality is generalized in the most straightforward way: the effect must belong to the future light cone of its cause, even if the spacetime is curved. New subtleties must be taken into account when we investigate causality in quantum mechanics and relativistic quantum field theory in particular. In quantum field theory, causality is closely related to the principle of locality. A careful analysis of the phenomena is needed, and the outcome slightly depends on the chosen interpretation of quantum mechanics: this is especially the case of the experiments involving quantum entanglement that require Bell's Theorem for their implications to be fully understood.

Despite these subtleties, causality remains an important and valid concept in physical theories. For example, the notion that events can be ordered into causes and effects is necessary to prevent paradoxes such as the grandfather paradox, which asks what happens if a time-traveller kills his own grandfather before he ever meets his grandmother. See also Chronology protection conjecture.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causality_%28physics%29

However, I believe that most things happen for no good reason.

[leftofthedial]

14. no

sometimes things happen and it works out well, but it's either cause and effect or cooincidence

if that's what you mean by "reason," then okay

but if you mean some unseen hand guiding events so that you learn, benefit, grow or whatever . . . nah.

[pitohui]

15. hell no

i don't even remotely believe it and if it does happen for a reason on that final day let the lord dare to stand there in judgment because i've judged him and whatever reason there was it just wasn't good enough

there is just no call for some shit to happen, no call for it at all

[skygazer]

17. No, I really don't

When a three year old child dies of some horrible disease that causes her to suffer and linger and finally go, I don't believe there's some sort of underlying reason for that other than that she had the misfortune to contract that disease. I don't believe that there is some "higher purpose" for all that.

I think life is pretty random, for the most part. As human beings, we have choices and we make them - I don't believe they're foreordained. I don't believe I was "meant" to find my boyfriend, but I'm glad I did.

Some people feel a need to believe that. They fear the idea that life is random and want a feeling of order and purpose. That's cool for them but I don't need that. I don't need to know what happens when I die, either. I figure I'll find out when it happens.

[WeRQ4U]

18. Kind of..........but I've had a very blessed life so far.

So my viewpoint is a little skewed. My grandmother always said that "God won't give my more than you can handle." Well, that's easy to say when you're living comfortably in a 5 bedroom house with your sisters and parents, and something stressful happens. Try convincing a homeless, mentally-ill mother of two to believe in that mantra. I don't think so.

I haven't figured out WHY things happen yet. I don't think anyone ever will. God, random chance, etc. Who knows?

[Oeditpus Rex]

19. Depends on what sort of reason you mean

A spiritual one? Meh. Like Skygazer said, that's for people who need to believe in spirits.

But everything must have a cause, and some causes matter. Others don't.

Those whom heaven helps we call the sons of heaven. They do not learn this by learning. They do not work it by working. They do not reason it by using reason. To let understanding stop at what cannot be understood is a high attainment. Those who cannot do it will be destroyed on the lathe of heaven.

~Chuang Tse: XXIII

[tjdee]

20. No, but I do believe Que Sera, Sera.

Whatever will be, will beeeeeee.....the future's not ours to seeeeeeeee, que sera sera.

Sometimes things just happen that suck. If I believed everything happened for a reason I think I'd be even more jaded than I am now, LOL.

[caty]

21. I don't necessarily think

that all things happen for a reason---but, I do believe that every experience is a chance to learn something about ourselves and either improve our weaknesses or strengthen our good points.

[Shell Beau]

22. I kind of feel the way you do too!

But I try to think things will always work themselves out.

[donheld]

27. It's like the old adage

what doesn't kill us makes us stronger. Does it really or does it just batter us around?

[Redstone]

28. Things happen because they're supposed to.

No reason, just because that's the way things shake out.

I "threw back" any number of perfectly good women in the past, because I was supposed to meet the woman who would become Mrs R at the time and place that would allow her to become Mrs R.

I believe this.

Redstone

[LisaL]

29. No. There is no reason whatsoever.

[Democrats_win]

30. No. See Voltaire's "Candide" Best of all possible worlds is bunk!

This philosophy can be very dangerous and has lead to genocides and inquisitions. Voltaire wrote his book in 1758, proving it was nonsense and here were are still talking about it?!!!

[Ladyhawk]

31. Nope. Chaos reigns supreme.

You can make some things happen, but sometimes things happen for no discernable reason. Our lives are a combination of choice and chaos.

Our human minds evolved to see patterns, but we often see patterns that don't really exist. That's why there is so much tinfoil going around these days. Some conspiracy theories have merit, of course, but many don't. It also explains religion. People need to feel in control and when the patterns don't seem to indicate that we have control, we make up something that makes us feel more secure, including "all things happen for a purpose." The only "purpose" is the "purpose" given by us. There's no one controlling the big picture, so we have to create our own meaning.

[RFKHumphreyObama]

33. As a general rule I believe this

Perhaps because I am a religious person by nature, I tend to believe in this doctrine. But sometimes my faith in this doctrine wavers and I have to concentrate hard to try and see a bigger picture. Sometimes I am still searching for that bigger picture

But I agree with you Donheld -a lot of times (especially in recent years), I have had to hold on to this doctrine to sustain my faith and my sanity. And sometimes that's hard