Question:
Is it possible that everything happens for a reason?
Red-Rose
2012-01-20 19:25:45 UTC
I was told so many times that everything happens for a reason, and everything will work out fine. Not sure what to believe on this one.
Eleven answers:
olga
2012-01-20 20:05:45 UTC
Yes, everything happens for a reason and there are no coincidences. We simply do not see the reason as it is hidden from us.



As for the second part of the statement – not everything and not always things turn out to be OK, sometimes it’s quite an opposite. And again, because we don’t know the reason of certain situations or events we don’t know how to behave and bring upon ourselves unfortunate results.



There is a science dealing with these questions; it’s called Kabbalah. Below link is an example of how Kabbalah explains coincidences (or the absence of such). If it makes sense to you (hopefully it does) you’ll be able to search for more.



All the best!



http://www.youtube.com/user/ARIfilms#p/c/C2232EE7CA97FAD3/9/GHAnhDaM5aE
Too-Da-Loo!
2012-01-21 04:25:36 UTC
Well, everything does technically happen for a reason because I believe everything unfolds in a preset order...we just don't always know what that reason is. You still can use your illusion of control to take the incentive to make things work out, whatever the issue that's troubling you is.

Hope this helps.
2012-01-21 04:44:09 UTC
We all get told a lot of nonsense in your life. There is no way to verify that everything happens for a reason for several reasons. First of all it is impossible to study every case. And secondly how would you verify that there is a reason that is necessary for each event studied. The closest you can get to that is to show that there are associated phenomena but that does not establish a reason or causal relationship for every event. This is because we live in a non-deterministic universe which is too complex to determine reasons.



You can BELIEVE there are reasons for everything but beliefs cannot be verified.
AM
2012-01-21 04:22:05 UTC
I will argue that not everyting happens for a reasons, as follows.



Many things happen for reasons. When I pour water into a glass in order to drink it, the water entered the glass for a reason. Namely, it entered the glass in order to quench my thirst. But, it only did so because I made it do so. In this case, the reason I pour the water into the glass is for my own benefit.



Other things happen for reasons, which do not benefit the person takes the action. For instance, if I jump into a pond to save a drowning child, the movement of the child from the pond to dry land happens for a reason. But, the does not involve my own benefit, but the child's. So, this is a non-self interested reason.



Other things happen for reasons that benefit no one. I may simply decide that I want to kick a rock on the pavement, as children sometimes do. This benefits neither me nor anyone else. But, it still happens for a reason. In this case, the rock moved from one part of the pavement to another simply because I had a desire to kick it at the time. This may seem like a trivial reason, but it is still a reason.



What all of the above events have in common is that they are undertaken by people (or, more specifically, "reasoning agents"). What about actions that are not caused by people? I think it's hard to see how these kinds of actions could happen for a reason. It's true that events that are not caused by people may still have causes. For instance, a rock might fall to the ground because gravity caused it to fall. But this isn't a reason, in the sense that we normally use the term. Consider my glass of water again. If natural causes were reasons, then we might say that the reason the water entered the glass was because gravity put it there. But this is not what we mean when we want to know the reason why there is water in a glass. The reason is that I put it there. gravity is only part of the cause, rather than a reason.



So, events that are not caused by rational agents do not happen for a reason. Therefore, not everything happens for a reason.



What if you believe in a supernatural agent who is the cause of all events? Then, perhaps everything does happen for a reason. But, then you have to argue for the existence of such an agent, which is difficult to do. We would also have to amend the way we normally talk about reasons. If God is the cause of all events, then the reason why I poured water into the glass was not because I was thirsty, but because God willed me to pour water into the glass. If we don't want to amend the way we talk about reasons, perhaps conclude that God's will does not constitute a reason. In this case, we would be back to where we started; not all events happen for a reason, even if they are all willed by God.



The phrase "everything happens for a reason" is often used to provide consolation. However, even if everything happened for a reason, that would be no consolation in itself. Many people do things for bad reasons. The holocaust happened for a reason (i.e. because Hitler wanted to eliminate the Jews), but the reason was a very bad one. So when someone says "everything happens for a reasons" in order to provide consolation, we should really take them to mean "everything happens for a good reason." This claim is very implausible. I just provided one example of something that happened for a very bad reason. One can think of many other examples.



So, not everything happens for a reason, assuming there is no supernatural agent that is the cause of all things. If there is such an agent, then perhaps everything happens for a reason, but if we accept this we also have to accept that a lot of the reasons we normally ascribe to events are actually false. Although "everything happens for a reason" is often used to provide consolation, it should not provide consolation, since there are bad reasons. It is not the case that everything happens for a good reason.
?
2012-01-21 03:47:26 UTC
I don't think everything happens for a reason. But we can learn from experiences.
Pushpa Selvam
2012-01-21 05:51:01 UTC
I think, Everything Happens by the ACTIONS of Everyone for Something.
Sean
2012-01-21 04:49:55 UTC
I'd think everything has reason, but not always for the best.
2012-01-21 03:43:57 UTC
Yes, that is the divine truth. God makes things happen, and he makes them happen for a reason.
bird
2012-01-21 04:58:46 UTC
yes,

when you are tired you sleep

when you are hungry you eat

these are all reasons

they could go on for days

don't count the reasons

it doesn't matter
Rinah
2012-01-21 04:25:26 UTC
You were told right. Believe it, and... don't be afraid of your future!
Amenda Ἀφροδίτη
2012-01-21 04:00:12 UTC
Not necessarily. If it does, can you explain why men have nipples?


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