Do you think everything happens for a reason?

[archcommus]

Discuss.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

some things, i doubt we can explain everything

 

[dighn]

these days i'm so unsure about the world. i'm inclined towards it's all chance but i'm really not sure.

 

[Zim Hosein]

Do you think everything happens for a reason?

Only if you're banned archcommus

 

[Neurorelay]

I believe we have the illusion of free will, but it seems like "fate" when things happen. As if, the road will go several directions, but the destination is the same no matter what.

 

[Toastedlightly]

Yes. Simple physics: For every action there is a reaction.

 

[LASTGUY2GETPS2]

I think so, I mean a lot of crap that went down for a while in my life that seemed to be terrible really turned out for the best. But htat's just me though...I do believe in fate...

 

[Shawn]

I don't really believe in fate, so no.

 

[Wallydraigle]

I believe that almost all effects have a cause.

 

[Wadded Beef]

it makes me feel so hopeless that we are bound by fate...meaning that no matter what i do it's not going to make a difference...and being brought up in a rather conservative christian household the idea that God has already planned everything from beginning to end, i find it hard to break away from this way of thinking, its very self destructive. you want to change for the better, but what's the point? god has already determined your future, so why make the effort? and i'm aware of the fact that if you don't make an effort nothing good will come of it, but it's just so deeply engrained in my wadded beef brain...in the end i can't shake the idea that all things happen for a reason, for better or worse.

 

[OREOSpeedwagon]

Originally posted by: Wallydraigle
I believe that almost all effects have a cause.

 

[Siddhartha]

As far as I can tell, thee is not evidence of an intelligence directing or determining what happens..

 

[archcommus]

Originally posted by: Wadded Beef
it makes me feel so hopeless that we are bound by fate...meaning that no matter what i do it's not going to make a difference...and being brought up in a rather conservative christian household the idea that God has already planned everything from beginning to end, i find it hard to break away from this way of thinking, its very self destructive. you want to change for the better, but what's the point? god has already determined your future, so why make the effort? and i'm aware of the fact that if you don't make an effort nothing good will come of it, but it's just so deeply engrained in my wadded beef brain...in the end i can't shake the idea that all things happen for a reason, for better or worse.

You're thinking of it the wrong way. If you believe everything happens for a reason, that includes what YOU decide, as well. So (if you believe this), if you decide to make yourself a better person, fate already knew you were going to make that decision anyway. So if you feel the urge to change it, go ahead. If you change your mind, don't do it. Either way you're not tricking fate, it already knows.

EDIT: Notice how I'm referring to the overall being as "fate," not as God, because you can believe in fate without believing in God.

 

[Wallydraigle]

Originally posted by: Wadded Beef
it makes me feel so hopeless that we are bound by fate...meaning that no matter what i do it's not going to make a difference...and being brought up in a rather conservative christian household the idea that God has already planned everything from beginning to end, i find it hard to break away from this way of thinking, its very self destructive. you want to change for the better, but what's the point? god has already determined your future, so why make the effort? and i'm aware of the fact that if you don't make an effort nothing good will come of it, but it's just so deeply engrained in my wadded beef brain...in the end i can't shake the idea that all things happen for a reason, for better or worse.

Coming from a purely scientific angle where every effect in the universe, down to the chemical reactions and electrical impulses that make up our thoughts and feelings, is determined by quanitifiable causes doesn't really make things any better. One way or another the universe is locked into a rigid cycle of cause and effect which nothing can alter or undo.

All your life might be scripted down to the smallest line, and it might be impossible to change what the lines say, but it might be possible to decide how you read the lines. In the end I think that's what's most important anyway.

 

[Wadded Beef]

it's just how i was raised, we were taught to let our church do the thinking for us, and as a kid you go along with it because it's easier than thinking (plus they give you cookies, what 6 year old can resist the power of cookies?!)

 

[mitchafi]

Of course....Pangloss knows all!