We usually think in a way such as “A therefore B,” believing that there is a result because there is a cause.
Modern society is based on that way of thinking.
However, if we change our point of view, it becomes easy to see why the world is in its current state.
That perspective is called Structural Necessity.
In this article, I will explain what Structural Necessity is in an easy-to-understand way.
Trying to change results by pursuing causes – for example, in sports – means reviewing tactics or techniques, improving them, and connecting them to results.
This can be said not only in sports, but also in human relationships, business, politics, and economics.
Then how does Structural Necessity see it?
It asks, “What are the rules of the sport itself?”
For example, when discussing what tactics to use in soccer, there is a premise: the existence of “the rules of soccer.”
In other words, things like “kicking the ball with the feet” or “putting the ball into the goal” are taken as obvious conditions.
To make it a bit more abstract:
when we talk about cooking, such as grilling, boiling, or simmering, we also take it as obvious that “grilling causes this,” “boiling causes that,” or “simmering causes this result.”
Of course, we can scientifically explain the mechanism behind it, but even though we cannot explain why it happens that way, we still accept that condition as a given when talking about cooking.
Let’s make it slightly more abstract.
Today, almost all languages can be translated, and people can communicate to some extent through any language.
If you think carefully, it would not be strange if, when translation first occurred, there were only completely different words with completely different concepts.
Even though people live in completely different places, cultures, and languages, why can all languages connect to the same concepts?
It is because, when humans use language as a means of expression, the concepts that need to be expressed are common.
That means that human instincts are shared, and that shared instinct becomes the premise condition of humanity.
Since it became a bit abstract, let’s return to an easy example.
In the world of the manga One Piece, when someone eats a Devil Fruit, they lose the ability to swim.
Both readers and characters in the story accept that premise, and the story proceeds.
Why does such a rule exist? Only Eiichiro Oda, the author, knows.
We can only say, “Because that’s how it is.”
In short, Structural Necessity is the idea that there is an initial setting of the universe, and within that condition, phenomena (results) are born, and causes exist to produce those results.
Although I say “an idea,” questions such as “Why is hydrogen hydrogen?” or “Why is the universe weightless?” have no answer, so rather than being an idea, it is the initial setting of the universe – something we have no choice but to accept.
Some people may wonder, “What made you think this way?”
But in fact, reaching this understanding itself becomes proof of Structural Necessity.
I am not a scholar or anything special;
until a few years ago I was just an ordinary person trying to become a professional soccer player.
However, what makes me slightly different from others is that I cannot be satisfied without finding the answer myself to every “why.”
For example, when studying math or science in school, even if I was told, “This is the formula,” I couldn’t memorize it.
Unless I understood why it was that kind of formula, I couldn’t accept it.
Conversely, because I think that way, I could sometimes solve problems I had never seen before.
So the reason I arrived at Structural Necessity was not because I studied philosophy, but simply because I kept asking “why,” and when I finally hit a wall where there were no more answers, I realized I had no choice but to accept, “It’s just how it is.”
Then, why do we need this perspective now?
It is to restore this unreasonable world to its proper state.
Humans change results by manipulating causes, but since those actions are now deviating from the original structure (the initial setting of the universe), we are heading toward collapse.
To go against structure is like a fish trying to live on land or a human trying to stop breathing.
From the viewpoint of Structural Necessity, we can derive answers to questions such as,
“Why was society born?”
“Why does money exist?”
“Why do humans work?”
I will not give the answer here – I want you to think about it.
The reason I share these ideas is not to force them on anyone, but to give people an opportunity to reflect on the current situation and to think about how to create a better world.
So, what would happen if the cells in your body ignored the structure (the rules of the human body) and started moving freely on their own?
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