screen top
101
7109
1966
1222
2020
1444
102
1103
1935
1940
708
M113
1956
1209
102
8102
1987
044
0051
607
1976
1031
1984
1954
1103
415
1045
1864
103
714
1993
0222
052
1968
2450
746
56
47
716
8719
417
602
104
6104
1995
322
90
1931
1701
51
29
218
908
2114
85
3504
105
08
2001
713
079
1940
LV
426
105
10
1206
1979
402
795
106
31
2017
429
65
871
1031
541
656
764
88
001
27
05
POSTED
2020-04-09
07-081940
08-47148
09-081966
10-31

How can we be grateful for outcomes that are caused by accidents or wrongdoing?

This page is a stub, created on 2020-04-09 (last updated on 2021-03-06). Its contents are notes on the issues and angles I want to address about this topic.


We sometimes face challenging circumstances that have silver linings or some positive outcomes. Adaptive pressures can help us to grow. We may develop positive traits that we are profoundly proud of, but as a result of injustice or evil.

There are a few issues I want to explore around gratitude. How can we be grateful for what is and for what good things we enjoy, while still properly condemning the causes?

A very straightforward example might be a woman who is raped. Through the ordeal of the violation and subsequent healing, she may develop a new strength and resilience she never had and might not otherwise have had. She might be properly proud of who she has become, but condemn the rapist, despite the fact that he was the catalyst of her growth.

I don't think this entails any cognitive dissonance, and I think there's a connection to how you can truly believe that people are generally doing the best they can (and in extreme cases, even feel compassion for someone who has fallen so far as to commit atrocities) and also hold them accountable by condemning their behavior and treating them accordingly.

Some thoughts on terminology: There are a few different constructions...I'm not sure what I think of them yet, but they might be helpful to analyze:

  • gratitude to the cause of some result (eg, a person)
  • gratitude for either a cause or a result
  • gratitude that some result (usually)

Related: Tortured monk urges compassion