Our minds are full of reasons. The world has none. Reasons do not actuate nature. Yes, we have reasons: they do not explain our behaviour satisfactorily: "I needed money, so I robbed the bank;" "I fell asleep at the wheel before I crashed the car;" "They deserve each other."Sometimes taking actions at face value eliminates the interminable pros and cons which benefit no-one. Straight to the point. Otherwise, when you consider human behaviour you throw up your hands: so many incomprehensibles! So many reasons why. Factors.
Webster:
factor
=adj. (L. to touch, akin to OE, to touch gently, to stroke) from L. factor, doer, from factus) one who acts or transacts business for another
= something that actively contributes to the production of a result
= any of the numbers or symbols in mathematics that when multiplied together form a product
agent
= (from L. prp of a gere, to drive, lead, act, do) something that produces or is capable of producing an effect: an active or efficient cause [Dr. Johnson's toe]
= a chemically, physicallly or biologically active principle
= one that acts or exerts power
= one who acts for or in place of another by authority from him
= a representative, emissary or official of a government
Webster:
vehicle
= (from L. vehiculum, carriage, conveyance) an inert medium in which a medicinally active ingredient is administered
= any of the various media acting usu. as solvents, carriers or binders for active ingredients or pigments
= an agent of transmission: a carrier
= a means of carrying or transporting something: conveyance
Perplexing! Distinguishing the message from the medium. The means of transmitting the message and the carrier. The bearer of light is the photon. The medium? For lack of information, i propose the wave. Will do. Brings understanding. Throws a light on reasons drawn from cause and effect, how stark they are, how wanting, how judgmental. The cause equals the effect: data in equals data out. Nothing about the carrier, whether message or medium, just the toe applied to the stone. Put that way, sounds foolish.
how to catch the wave; field
"The pathologist with the hindsight which is the basis of all great expertise confirmed that the circumstances accounted precisely for the state of the body as described in his report and even managed to suggest that they were so clearly implied by his findings that he could not imagine how the police had overlooked them."
Reginald Hill, "A Killing Kindness"
Webster:
causality
= the relation beween a cause and its effect as between regulary correlated events or phenomena
cause
something that brings about an effect or a result
= a reason for an action or condition: motive
= a matter or question to be decided
= a principle or movement militantly defended or supported
syn. cause, determinant, antecedent, reason, occasion; shared meaning element: something that precedes and usually induces an effect or result. "Cause" applies to anything that brings about or helps bring about an effect. "Reason" applies to traceable or explainable cause of a known effect.
Webster:
reason
= (from L. ration-, ratio, reason, computation) a statement offered in explanation or justification
= a rational ground or motive
= a sufficient ground of explanation or of logical defense esp.: something (as a principle or law) that supports a conclusion or explains a fact
= the power of comprehending, inferring, or thinking esp. in orderly, rational ways
= the sum of the intellectual powers
syn.
1 see "cause"
2 reason, understanding, intuition: shared meaning element: the power of the intellect by which man attains to truth and knowledge
