We're All Mad Here

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I was watching a monster/disaster movie the other day. At one point, having watched her city be destroyed and various friends be killed off, one of the characters cries to the camera, "I don't understand why this is happening!"

I scoffed at this line. It wasn't happening because of anything -- which isn't technically true, but was a fair approximation on the level at which the character was referring. Obviously, there were things which had caused it; there just wasn't anything that she'd done, or hadn't done, or in any way had any control over. It struck me as an utterly ridiculous complaint, even for someone under the literally unreal amount of stress she'd been subjected to.

Of course, then it occurred to me exactly how many people do believe that everything happens for a reason. It's an extremely popular belief, and one which I've never gotten. I gather that the idea is that if everything happens for a reason, then you can believe that even if things aren't going your way, it's still for a greater good. You can then derive comfort from the knowledge that you're part of something bigger than yourself, and that even if you don't understand it, you can belong.

This concept baffles me. The thought that I may be a pawn in a game beyond my ken is, to my mind, far from comforting. It trivializes all of my failures, while at the same time demeaning all of my accomplishments. If it was all happening for a reason, then what have I truly achieved? If the final pattern was preordained, then why have I even been trying? I don't want to be a tiny piece of something huge. I want to be the entirety of myself.

I don't believe in much, theistically speaking. I don't believe that God cares about us and watches over us; I don't believe in eternal punishment or reward. I don't believe in karma, or things working themselves out for the best. I don't believe in a divine plan, or in divine guidance, or in much divine at all, really.

What I do believe in, quite fervently, is myself. I believe in my ability to change the world I live in, however I choose. I believe in my strengths and my weaknesses. I believe in my intelligence, and my skills, and my personality. And while I believe that life has no built-in goal, and that almost nothing happens for a reason, I believe in my ability to make my own reason. This is a belief which I find extremely comforting -- and while perhaps I'm mistaken, and will someday pay for my hubris, I don't believe it'll ever come to that.

Mood of the Moment: good
Auditory Hallucination: The Faint -- Glass Danse

	From: spookyhandle	Date: May 13th, 2008 04:33 pm (UTC)		(Link)

I've often asked myself, "Why is this happening to me/my friend/whoever?" The answer isn't because it's preordained or part of some great divine plan. The answer, generally is because the person has done it to himself -OR- if that doesn't seem to be the case and I'm going to take a more theological point of view, then it's probably happening because whatever deity that happens to be interested in this particular mortal has also decided that this particular mortal needs this for their own good. Lessons to learn and all that. Or, if we take the reincarnation issue into account, it's because they deserve it.

That, of course, is unlikely to change your view on things, but I thought perhaps you'd like a bit of insight into other reasons a person might ask a question like this.

	From: originalsnarf	Date: May 13th, 2008 08:42 pm (UTC)		(Link)

"The answer, generally is because the person has done it to himself -OR- if that doesn't seem to be the case and I'm going to take a more theological point of view, then it's probably happening because whatever deity that happens to be interested in this particular mortal has also decided that this particular mortal needs this for their own good."

Many times, I'd agree with this, but there are things that just plain don't fit into either of the above. Nor do they really fit into the preordained plan context either. A beautiful, bright 5 year old little girl certainly didn't give herself cancer. I can't imagine any deity interested in her could possibly dream up any reason that it was for her own good. Karma, at the age of 5, in no way could generate enough negative energy to cause something like that. Reincarnation, I suppose might explain it, but... this is one of the big "Why?" question in my mind. "Why did this little girl get cancer? Worse yet, why did it grow BACK after treatment had gone so well and all visible signs were gone?" I can't say I buy the preordained thing, because if some deity honestly thinks that doing something like this to an innocent child is the means to a greater good, I want no part of that deity.

	From: spookyhandle	Date: May 13th, 2008 08:53 pm (UTC)		(Link)

This is a question of personal spiritual/religious beliefs and I try very hard not to foist mine on other people. Keeping that in mind, please understand that I'm not trying to convince you (or anyone else) of anything, just explaining my own point of view.

I do happen to believe in reincarnation and as such, no matter how badly I may feel for our hypothetical little girl, I can at least take comfort in the idea that maybe she's an old soul with debts to repay. Or that maybe she's a young soul who hasn't yet learned what suffering is (and yes, I think that's a lesson everyone needs). Or maybe, hell, I don't know, when we finally do reach enlightenment we come back and teach and maybe, to do that, we come back as innocent children who suffer.

I don't know, not really. But within the scope of my personal belief system, these are all plausible answers.

Edited at 2008-05-13 08:55 pm (UTC)

	From: elmo_iscariot	Date: May 13th, 2008 06:01 pm (UTC)		(Link)

I have two neat and plausible explanations.

First, on games -- Some games, like chess, have no element of chance; if you lose, it's because you did something wrong. You can examine your play, figure out where you erred, and do differently in the future. Other games, like poker, have strong elements of chance; all you can do is prepare yourself the best you can for whatever opportunities might come your way, assess the opportunities you see, and try to make the most of them. For games of equal complexity, ones with strong random elements _feel_ more difficult and "dangerous" because there's an additional, inscrutible element you have to account for. Life is a lot more like poker than like chess; if you're the kind of person who's uncomfortable with heavily chance-influenced games, it might be extremely comforting to believe that you just aren't privy to all of the rules. (Short version: it's sometimes comforting to put aside the "unlucky" d20.)

Second, on religion in general -- I have a neat, plausible explanation for why religion (and all kinds of unscientific decision making) seems hardwired into humans: we're social animals that don't survive too well on our own, so we're wired to seek out motivations _everywhere_. I need to know when Urthulf is angry, so that I can either avoid him or stand up to him. I need to know when he's feeling alienated, so that I can bring him back into the fold. In a state of nature, we live and die by the strength of our communities, so we need to be constantly, subconsciously computing everybody's emotions and motivations. Since we know we're much better at finding patterns than the universe is at making them and even better at making sure the evidence all points toward the patterns we've "found", I don't think it's too surprising that people tend to see essentially random events as the will of angry/curious/puckish/paternal/inscrutible gods.

	From: prolixfootle	Date: May 13th, 2008 09:47 pm (UTC)		(Link)

So, how did you like Cloverfield?

	From: darkveggie	Date: May 14th, 2008 12:50 am (UTC)		(Link)

a dumb not funny joke:
Einstein has a bad year. Everyone's criticizing him for some funny astrological constant, and he can't get a break with his patents. He goes and takes a sabbatical, winds up in a saloon in Texas with some of his posse. Not being a very good liar, he skips the poker and tries his hands at the craps table. The croupier is wearing a lot of cotton and it's surprisingly clean for a saloon.
Einstein is getting pretty trashed and he starts getting in arguments with his labmates. Now Einstein's a smart dude, but he goes south really fast with the absinthe, so he's getting a sound drubbing from his scientific peers. He finally gets PO'ed, throws a little fit, and says, "Why is everyone against me?"
The croupier looks up and says "I'm not the one playing dice. Roll again, you might get lucky."

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baronmind

Name: Diseasemocker's Crepe

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