A Universe of Reasons

I have a friend who I worked with at another job, who used to tell me, "Everything happens for a reason." I was never happy with this statement. It seemed a little too pat, implying that there was some master plan, there was a "god figure," looming over us, moving things around like pieces on a chessboard.

I came up with this formulation, which, later was endorsed by the Phenomenologists: "Everything happens," then, if we happen to perceive "what happens," we assign a reason to "what happens," so, in that way, we "reason the world into being," by perceiving what we perceive, and explaining it all to ourselves.

Not very elegant. Wouldn't really sit well on a postcard...

My friend was never happy with my reshaping of the original statement. We have stayed friends despite our fundamental divergence regarding the universe...

Strange things have been happening to me. One day, the light bulb in my office blows out, the next day, it's fine. One day, I'm blogging from my MAC, the next day, the keyboard is dead; I type, no letters appear. I know there's a reason, (some kind of "electrical malfunction?), but I decide to chalk it up to the mystery of the universe. I take a day off from blogging, and I think, here's another routine I can explode!

Now, I'm back, in the light of my room, typing into my laptop. We must be resourceful in a universe of reasons...