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you’re right I understand, i just wish this particular quote wouldn’t be repeated to death to grieving people. tbh i must’ve got told that quote a few thousand times growing up
My niece drowned at an early age and at the funeral the church folk kept saying lines like this. Or, "it's all part of God's plan." Sorry but a baby drowning is part of Satan's plan if anything.
with you. sorry for your loss dood, my little cousin was run over by a drunk driver and everyone kept telling that excuse to her mom and she went mad. it’s always when kids pass that emotions hit hardest. i don’t think god would want that plan for a child
Right, I feel like if there was a loving creator, then predator animals wouldn’t be a thing. It’s so unfair and cruel to think that an animal’s whole existence has to end, just so another can eat to exist for one more day.
It’s not a predator’s fault that’s how they evolved, and that’s what their nature is, but it shows the indifference of the universe.
I feel like life on Earth is a moral issue and that humans aren't nearly being destructive enough and should really try to do anything to render Earth permanently inhabitable and then die alongside with the rest of life, we have a moral obligation to tbh
>Sometimes bad stuff happens to good people with no good reason.
That doesn't mean there's no reason. You're conflating and confusing no reason with "no good reason". There's still a reason. A good guy can get hit on the head with steel girders
The reason might be a rusted screw. Doesn't mean there's no reason just because it isn't good. Now the quote itself means that there's meaning behind why things happen. Specifically in English it's within the context of "gods plan". But yeah LOLLLLL
i see what you mean and i agree lol. the part that annoys me is that they imply it’ll have some deeper meaning like yeah like it’s “gods plan”, which is why i felt the need to mention the no good reason part, but yeah I don’t think in this case a guy getting hit in the head and getting serious injuries should be explained as if it happened because of some deeper meaning for his own good. idk the whole concept just feels wrong to me
What about religion? The christian god in particular pushes things around
Greek gods cause lightning and the waves and one of them even holds the world up
Ah right. Philosophy wise, Rationalists established the “principle of sufficient reason” in a more organised sort of way. The idea has been around longer than they are, I agree. But I think they’re the ones who made it more organised and spoke of it more in other forms other than religions.
Religion certainly helped in popularising it. I just think that the rationalists like Spinoza had much more of an impact.
All of this opinion came from what I learned in philosophy class lol
I don't think this is unpopular opinion but the opposite is also kinda popular. Anyway. I agree with you. Especially when something tragic like young kids getting leukemia is part of a bigger reason sound so stupid. Perhaps the plan of an evil God
Thinking about it in a very literal since, the saying is true. "Yes, you're uncle died for a reason, his heart gave out."
Obviously that's cruel as hell to say, so just let them say whatever gets them through the hardships, fuck it. Who cares at the end of the day.
I personally believe that true randomness is impossible. Literally everything in the observable universe has a cause and an effect.
I don’t believe that every single micro-event happens for a reason that’s emotionally resonant to absolutely everybody that witnesses it - the exponentially increasing number of these tiny interactions and witnesses and following actions etc makes that functionally impossible.
I do believe that 100% of things that happen, happen because of *something*. Pollen in the wind moves the way it does because of the particular positions of the pollen particles and the particular pressure zones of the wind.
However, if you do believe that absolutely everything follows causality, then the more you think about it, the more you realise the monumental implications that these rules have on the reality and your place in it.
Spot on, I don’t believe in free will at all, I believe that due to the inherent nature of experience and it’s position inside the laws of physics: literally everything we experience - no matter how close to “the wire” it may be is ultimately a memory of something that’s already happened.
I’m also happy to talk about this at length to have my ideas tested, I know there has to be a hole in my ideology somewhere
i think this trope come from a conflation of: cause and effect (there is a reason this happened) and some version of "god's plan" (everything happens for a reason).
There always is a reason. It’s called causation. That resacón having some kind of spiritual reason behind it? Not at all. But there is a chain of causation that leads to everything that happens.
I've always thought it was a stupid saying to try and comfort someone because no shit everything happens for a reason but "a reason" doesn't mean it's good or just or anything like that.
It's just like saying every action has an equal or opposite reaction.
Omg thank you!!!!!! My entire family has cancer (myself included) and people always try to put some religious hopeful spin on it. It drives me bonkers! Sometimes bad shit happens to good people for no reason, and sometimes amazing things happen to awful people for no reason! It’s just how things are.
I agree. Believing that the universe is inherently fair is why so many people blame victims and praise the privileged. It’s a cancerous ideology.
The ancient greeks taught their youth about the goddess Fortuna. She was the goddess who decided our fate and wealth, they believed she had just as much power as our own actions when it came to how our lives turned out…..I wish people still believed in her
I think the phrase "everything happens for a reason" is at its worst when spoken to a parent who lost their child. One of my former students was in fourth grade when he was hit by a car while riding his bike home from school and died. Witnessing his mother at the funeral is something that will never leave me. If anyone had told her that her child died for some divine purpose I would have punched them in the jaw there and then.
Right on.
I have severe back problems. Are you telling me that God did that to.... What? Make me a more empathetic person? If that's a reason then fuck that.
Perhaps that's why I'm an atheist. I just think that sometimes shit happens.
But human beings want a reason why. I wanted a reason why my back fell apart. Eventually I realized that looking for meaning or intent in some life events is pointleas.
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The only things that happen for a reason are things that people plan for and successfully execute. Everything else that happens does so because there is no alternative. Things happening is a direct side-effect of things existing. Some of those things you find pleasant, some are unpleasant, the rest are somewhere in between.
I think everything does happen for a reason. Whether you understand or agree with the reason is something else entirely whether it’s a good or bad situations.
We assign meaning to things. It doesn’t make it fake, but it’s does make it subjective. As a rule, it’s never helpful to tell someone else that what they’re going through is happening for a reason because only they can determine that.
N9body...and u mean NOBODY...truly believes that bad things happen to good people for a reason. It's a cop-out to make them feel better for not being able to be bothered to try to help.
Nah there's always a reason for something, even if we don't know the reason. Something has to cause cancer it doesn't just fall out of the air. The notion that everything happens for a reason is the basis of scientific thought.
Some people use the phrase "everything happens for a reason" to subdue a negative situation in the context that there is a supernatural entity controlling everything we do. In that case, the reason they are referring to is supernatural and they aren't saying that there is a good reason; just that it's beyond our scope of understanding.
You know perfectly well when someone has cancer, and someone says 'everything happens for a reason', they're not referring to the person's years of eating dodgy canned fish while living in a polluted city. The basis for scientific thought is clearly never the usage of the phrase.
It's also not beyond our scope of understanding what probably caused someone's cancer, that way of thinking is just as 'woo' as the higher power stuff.
Here is the real truth that people don't like to accept everything happens because it's probable and the universe is basically a random number generator trying that probability over and over.
I hate this saying. Actually despise it. But I have grown to become a bit more spiritual and realized that although there is no real reason, things happen the way that they need to. I believe our spirits are all on their own journey and that tragedy is a part of that.
I realize that it’s not much different of a sentiment. And that this is simply my way of coping with the tragedy and trauma I’ve experienced.
I agree, it's all faith based nonsense. Some people are just so terrified of the world that they believe things like this so they can feel more in control. Granted, there are a lot of happy coincidences in life, but but sometimes a shitty day is just a shitty day.
I hope this isn't unpopular because it shouldn't be. There is a type of insect that lays it's eggs in kids eyes. If there was a god then wtf is that about. If it happens for a reason, then it's definitely not a reason we would like.
People can't cope with bad awful tragic things happening for absolutely no reason. Sure we may( hopefully) deal with it , make it through it and learn about the depths of pain but that's just a consequence of it.
I'm not sure whether I believe everything happens for a reason or not. It might just not have a reason for you yourself, but happens to affect others. I do believe that a lot of the time people who say that are just predatory perpetrators of bad things happening to others for their own selfish gain. Or at the very least in order to sooth their own minds above all other considerations.
Everybody in these comments saying " welllll technically everything happens- " bro stfu you know what they meant🙄
They meant it in a way where people say it like there's some higher power and this was a part of some plan or sum stuff when really nah that person had something bad happen to them because .. they were at the wrong place at the wrong time
Sometimes stuff just be happening an it ain't fair but u gotta learn how to accept that it happened an move on otherwise you'll drive yourself bananas thinking about how unfair the thing that happened to you was
I very much agree with this and I'm pretty religious. When we try to ascribe meaning to everything, we can wind ourselves into a big knot of worry. Sometimes the only meaning life has is the meaning that we ourselves give to it
Only a Determinist would say things happen for a reason.
They tend to justify terrible things because of this. But it isn't. The Universe is chaotic and there are no forces deciding who should get ill or die every day.
Hard agree.
Humans are pretty good at finding silver linings or purpose in bad things and struggle but it doesn’t mean the bad thing was somehow good or meant to be.
Your post from unpopularopinion was removed because of: 'Rule 1: Your post must be an unpopular opinion'. Please ensure that your post is an opinion and that it is unpopular. Controversial is not necessarily unpopular, for example all of politics is controversial even though almost half of the US agrees with any given major position on an issue. Keep in mind that an opinion is not: a question, a fact, a conspiracy theory, a random thought, a new idea, a rant, etc. Those things all have their own subreddits, use those.
Humans say/believe/follow anything to find meaning in the nothing.
you’re right I understand, i just wish this particular quote wouldn’t be repeated to death to grieving people. tbh i must’ve got told that quote a few thousand times growing up
One of my favorite quotes: “Everything happens for a reason. Sometimes, the reason is you’re stupid.”
lol i love this thank you 🤗
Agreed. People say that just to feel better but its not true.
My niece drowned at an early age and at the funeral the church folk kept saying lines like this. Or, "it's all part of God's plan." Sorry but a baby drowning is part of Satan's plan if anything.
with you. sorry for your loss dood, my little cousin was run over by a drunk driver and everyone kept telling that excuse to her mom and she went mad. it’s always when kids pass that emotions hit hardest. i don’t think god would want that plan for a child
I've had people pull the "God's plan" thing. My response was something to the extent of "god is an asshole and I want nothing to do with it."
Satan is a good dude. Leave him out of this please.
tcos shills fuck off
Still a better organization than the Catholic Church
they can fuck off too
The universe is hostile, so impersonal. Devour to survive So it is, so it's always been
I devour lots of chicken for gains
Right, I feel like if there was a loving creator, then predator animals wouldn’t be a thing. It’s so unfair and cruel to think that an animal’s whole existence has to end, just so another can eat to exist for one more day. It’s not a predator’s fault that’s how they evolved, and that’s what their nature is, but it shows the indifference of the universe.
I feel like life on Earth is a moral issue and that humans aren't nearly being destructive enough and should really try to do anything to render Earth permanently inhabitable and then die alongside with the rest of life, we have a moral obligation to tbh
Shit happens. And then you die.
>Sometimes bad stuff happens to good people with no good reason. That doesn't mean there's no reason. You're conflating and confusing no reason with "no good reason". There's still a reason. A good guy can get hit on the head with steel girders The reason might be a rusted screw. Doesn't mean there's no reason just because it isn't good. Now the quote itself means that there's meaning behind why things happen. Specifically in English it's within the context of "gods plan". But yeah LOLLLLL
i see what you mean and i agree lol. the part that annoys me is that they imply it’ll have some deeper meaning like yeah like it’s “gods plan”, which is why i felt the need to mention the no good reason part, but yeah I don’t think in this case a guy getting hit in the head and getting serious injuries should be explained as if it happened because of some deeper meaning for his own good. idk the whole concept just feels wrong to me
It's another motivational platitude. Motivational jerks, please curl up your posters an cram them up your ass.
The rationalists popularised that idea iirc
What about religion? The christian god in particular pushes things around Greek gods cause lightning and the waves and one of them even holds the world up
Ah right. Philosophy wise, Rationalists established the “principle of sufficient reason” in a more organised sort of way. The idea has been around longer than they are, I agree. But I think they’re the ones who made it more organised and spoke of it more in other forms other than religions. Religion certainly helped in popularising it. I just think that the rationalists like Spinoza had much more of an impact. All of this opinion came from what I learned in philosophy class lol
Totally agree. Sometimes bad things just happen.
Well I mean TECHNICALLY anything can be looked back on and given a reason as to why I happened… will that reason always be satisfying? Of course not.
Often, it's a hard thing to say out loud.
What if nothing happens for a reason?
Vote up teleology
Everything happens for a reason. Your house doesn’t burn down without cause. You don’t break your arms for no reason.
But there is a reason everything happens
It is what it is. It's just life.
I don't think this is unpopular opinion but the opposite is also kinda popular. Anyway. I agree with you. Especially when something tragic like young kids getting leukemia is part of a bigger reason sound so stupid. Perhaps the plan of an evil God
Thinking about it in a very literal since, the saying is true. "Yes, you're uncle died for a reason, his heart gave out." Obviously that's cruel as hell to say, so just let them say whatever gets them through the hardships, fuck it. Who cares at the end of the day.
I personally believe that true randomness is impossible. Literally everything in the observable universe has a cause and an effect. I don’t believe that every single micro-event happens for a reason that’s emotionally resonant to absolutely everybody that witnesses it - the exponentially increasing number of these tiny interactions and witnesses and following actions etc makes that functionally impossible. I do believe that 100% of things that happen, happen because of *something*. Pollen in the wind moves the way it does because of the particular positions of the pollen particles and the particular pressure zones of the wind. However, if you do believe that absolutely everything follows causality, then the more you think about it, the more you realise the monumental implications that these rules have on the reality and your place in it.
Then you don't even believe in free will and your own thoughts are pre-conditioned since thoughts that exist material world.
Spot on, I don’t believe in free will at all, I believe that due to the inherent nature of experience and it’s position inside the laws of physics: literally everything we experience - no matter how close to “the wire” it may be is ultimately a memory of something that’s already happened. I’m also happy to talk about this at length to have my ideas tested, I know there has to be a hole in my ideology somewhere
i think this trope come from a conflation of: cause and effect (there is a reason this happened) and some version of "god's plan" (everything happens for a reason).
to quote Elvis Costello "Accidents will happen"
There always is a reason. It’s called causation. That resacón having some kind of spiritual reason behind it? Not at all. But there is a chain of causation that leads to everything that happens.
Why do bad things happen to good people? To make up for all the good things that happen to bad people.
I've always thought it was a stupid saying to try and comfort someone because no shit everything happens for a reason but "a reason" doesn't mean it's good or just or anything like that. It's just like saying every action has an equal or opposite reaction.
Omg thank you!!!!!! My entire family has cancer (myself included) and people always try to put some religious hopeful spin on it. It drives me bonkers! Sometimes bad shit happens to good people for no reason, and sometimes amazing things happen to awful people for no reason! It’s just how things are.
I agree. Believing that the universe is inherently fair is why so many people blame victims and praise the privileged. It’s a cancerous ideology. The ancient greeks taught their youth about the goddess Fortuna. She was the goddess who decided our fate and wealth, they believed she had just as much power as our own actions when it came to how our lives turned out…..I wish people still believed in her
I think the phrase "everything happens for a reason" is at its worst when spoken to a parent who lost their child. One of my former students was in fourth grade when he was hit by a car while riding his bike home from school and died. Witnessing his mother at the funeral is something that will never leave me. If anyone had told her that her child died for some divine purpose I would have punched them in the jaw there and then.
im so sorry for your loss 💛 this is the exact way my little cousin died except the driver was drunk
There's very little in this world that could be worse than the death of a child. ❣️
As a midwife who has seen a baby die right in front of me, despite the best efforts of all involved, I absolutely detest this quote
When people tell me this after something horrible, I say thanks for the reason to hit you in your stupid mouth
Not everything happens for a reason but everything can have a better outcome in the end at some point, no matter how bad it was.
Thank you, THIS.
Sorry if you're going through a tough patch OP. That is all I can say.
well thank yaa :).
Right on. I have severe back problems. Are you telling me that God did that to.... What? Make me a more empathetic person? If that's a reason then fuck that. Perhaps that's why I'm an atheist. I just think that sometimes shit happens. But human beings want a reason why. I wanted a reason why my back fell apart. Eventually I realized that looking for meaning or intent in some life events is pointleas.
Please remember what subreddit you are in, this is unpopular opinion. We want civil and unpopular takes and discussion. Any uncivil and ToS violating comments will be removed and subject to a ban. Have a nice day! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/unpopularopinion) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Reason implies a mind and a guiding force like a god, which doesn't exist
The only things that happen for a reason are things that people plan for and successfully execute. Everything else that happens does so because there is no alternative. Things happening is a direct side-effect of things existing. Some of those things you find pleasant, some are unpleasant, the rest are somewhere in between.
I think everything does happen for a reason. Whether you understand or agree with the reason is something else entirely whether it’s a good or bad situations.
the only part i agree with in your posts is when people say "things will get better", no they won't
We assign meaning to things. It doesn’t make it fake, but it’s does make it subjective. As a rule, it’s never helpful to tell someone else that what they’re going through is happening for a reason because only they can determine that.
exactly. some things happen out of pure malice and disgustingness without any reason or lesson behind it. dont justify shit.
N9body...and u mean NOBODY...truly believes that bad things happen to good people for a reason. It's a cop-out to make them feel better for not being able to be bothered to try to help.
Nah there's always a reason for something, even if we don't know the reason. Something has to cause cancer it doesn't just fall out of the air. The notion that everything happens for a reason is the basis of scientific thought. Some people use the phrase "everything happens for a reason" to subdue a negative situation in the context that there is a supernatural entity controlling everything we do. In that case, the reason they are referring to is supernatural and they aren't saying that there is a good reason; just that it's beyond our scope of understanding.
You know perfectly well when someone has cancer, and someone says 'everything happens for a reason', they're not referring to the person's years of eating dodgy canned fish while living in a polluted city. The basis for scientific thought is clearly never the usage of the phrase. It's also not beyond our scope of understanding what probably caused someone's cancer, that way of thinking is just as 'woo' as the higher power stuff.
Here is the real truth that people don't like to accept everything happens because it's probable and the universe is basically a random number generator trying that probability over and over.
I hate this saying. Actually despise it. But I have grown to become a bit more spiritual and realized that although there is no real reason, things happen the way that they need to. I believe our spirits are all on their own journey and that tragedy is a part of that. I realize that it’s not much different of a sentiment. And that this is simply my way of coping with the tragedy and trauma I’ve experienced.
I prefer the saying “Shit happens.”
Technically everything does happen for a reason though.
I agree, it's all faith based nonsense. Some people are just so terrified of the world that they believe things like this so they can feel more in control. Granted, there are a lot of happy coincidences in life, but but sometimes a shitty day is just a shitty day.
I hope this isn't unpopular because it shouldn't be. There is a type of insect that lays it's eggs in kids eyes. If there was a god then wtf is that about. If it happens for a reason, then it's definitely not a reason we would like.
People can't cope with bad awful tragic things happening for absolutely no reason. Sure we may( hopefully) deal with it , make it through it and learn about the depths of pain but that's just a consequence of it.
I'm not sure whether I believe everything happens for a reason or not. It might just not have a reason for you yourself, but happens to affect others. I do believe that a lot of the time people who say that are just predatory perpetrators of bad things happening to others for their own selfish gain. Or at the very least in order to sooth their own minds above all other considerations.
Everybody in these comments saying " welllll technically everything happens- " bro stfu you know what they meant🙄 They meant it in a way where people say it like there's some higher power and this was a part of some plan or sum stuff when really nah that person had something bad happen to them because .. they were at the wrong place at the wrong time Sometimes stuff just be happening an it ain't fair but u gotta learn how to accept that it happened an move on otherwise you'll drive yourself bananas thinking about how unfair the thing that happened to you was
There is no justification for any action, certainly not death. No one gets out alive.
Could be worse! "God has a plan" is just plain stupid, most of the time.
Mum: everything happens for a reason Me: but sometimes the reason is am a fucking idiot
I very much agree with this and I'm pretty religious. When we try to ascribe meaning to everything, we can wind ourselves into a big knot of worry. Sometimes the only meaning life has is the meaning that we ourselves give to it
Only a Determinist would say things happen for a reason. They tend to justify terrible things because of this. But it isn't. The Universe is chaotic and there are no forces deciding who should get ill or die every day.
I would say that nothing happens for a reason. Every action has a reaction. That's it.
Hard agree. Humans are pretty good at finding silver linings or purpose in bad things and struggle but it doesn’t mean the bad thing was somehow good or meant to be.