Chapter 2: What Is the Relationship Between Necessity and Contingency?

日本語 | English | 繁體中文 | Tiếng Việt

---

Hello everyone. This is Akira.

Imagine this.

When you wake up in the morning, you might think as a matter of course, “Another day is beginning.”

But behind that “matter of course,” there is actually a solid mechanism that moves this world.

The fixed rules of “it must turn out this way” or “it has to be like this” are called “necessity” in philosophical terms.

And precisely because those rigid rules (necessity) exist,

the surprise of “Wait, why did it turn out like this?!” — “contingency” is born.

By unraveling the relationship between “necessity” and “contingency,” Kuki Shūzō taught us hints for living more freely and more as ourselves.

This time, I will talk about the “three rules (necessities)” that govern this world and

the “three surprises (contingencies)” that vividly betray them and set us free.

1. The Most Simple “What a Surprise!”: The Weight of Existence Beyond Logic

The first rule (necessity) is “it absolutely becomes so, without any conditions.”

For example, “2 + 2 equals 4” or “human beings will eventually die without fail” — these are unavoidable rules.

But Kuki stops here.

“I understand the rules. But why, in the first place, does ‘I’ exist here?”

This is the most simple “what a surprise!” (categorical contingency).

The fact that you are reading this text right now. The fact that this world exists.

There is actually no “absolute reason why it must be so” anywhere.

“Just by chance, I exist here as myself”

When you realize that, the ordinary everyday life begins to shine with an irreplaceable radiance. Because there is no reason, your existence is free, unbound by anyone.

---

2. The Conditional “Just by Chance” of “If ~ Then”: Between Effort and Result

The second rule (necessity) is the conditional one: “If you do this, it will definitely become that.”

This is the so-called law of “cause and effect.”

• If you study hard, you will pass the exam.
• If you send a careful message on a matching app, you will get a reply.

We believe in this rule and live our lives with all our might.

But in life, things that “don’t go according to plan” inevitably happen.

“I worked so hard, so why…?”

There may be times when your heart feels like breaking.

This is exactly what Kuki calls the “conditional just-by-chance of ‘if ~ then’” (hypothetical contingency).

There should have been a “cause,” yet for some reason the “result” does not follow. Or an unexpected result appears.

This is not your fault.

The mechanism of this world itself has “unexpected gaps” built into it from the beginning. So please do not blame yourself even if things do not go as planned.

Because those gaps exist, life also holds “surprising encounters” that go beyond success according to the manual.

3. The Choice of Fate: The Weight of Having Only A or B

This is the most dramatic part of life.

The third rule (necessity) is the either-or situation of “you must choose either A or B.”

For example, there is a fork in the road right in front of you.

• Stay at your current company, or take a new path.
• Marry this person, or break up.

“If you choose one, the other is lost forever.”

This is the severity of the rule. Options such as “choose both” or “choose neither” are not allowed. You must walk one of the paths.

And under this severe rule is born the “fateful choice of only A or B” (disjunctive contingency).

“I could have chosen B, but I ‘just by chance’ chose A.”

When you realize this fact, you should feel a trembling sensation.

Because the path you are walking now could have been otherwise (B would have been fine too), yet in the single point that “you chose it,” it became your one-and-only special destiny.

You may worry “If only I had chosen the other path…”

But Kuki encourages us like this:

“Even while hesitating, the contingency that you yourself chose is what turns your life into a unique story that belongs to no one else.”

---

Contingency Is the Wing That Sets You Free

Kuki Shūzō’s teaching resonates very gently.

“There are severe rules (necessity) in the world, but they exist precisely so that they can always be broken by ‘contingency.’”

When life feels hard, it may be because you are bound by the rule of “it must be this way.”

But this world always has gaps where “what a surprise!” can slip in.

Contingency is not a chain that binds you.

Rather, it is the “wing of freedom” that leads you out of a fixed, boring world.

Please love the “just by chance” that happened to you today.

It is proof that you are free.

---

Akira

🔗 Profile: https://discipline.tokyo/profile.php
📧 Email: akira@discipline.tokyo
📮 Anonymous consultation form: https://discipline.tokyo/contact.php
🏠 Top page: https://discipline.tokyo/index.php

※ This series and related content are the crystallization of my thoughts and are protected by copyright law. Please clearly indicate the source when quoting. Unauthorized reproduction or commercial use is prohibited.

© 2026 Akira All Rights Reserved.