Asking "why" is better than asking "why"

In this 2 Minutes reflection I want to talk briefly about the difference between asking "for what", and the difference of asking "why", since I have recently heard this distinction on Ángel Martín's podcast, speaking with Chica Suralto, and I It seemed magnificent to dedicate at least a brief thought to it.

You can find that chapter of the podcast here.

Difference between "why" and "what for"

It is completely normal that, due to our nature as human beings, we incessantly ask ourselves the “why” of things.

Because? Well, because that is what has brought us to where we are now, and there is no doubt that throughout history it is a very important evolutionary weapon. The human being is (almost) the only animal that is capable of asking why things happen, learning from it, and improving itself, so you could say that it is written in our DNA.

This is not a bad resource, of course. The problem here is that there are times when this powerful tool overshadows others that, depending on the circumstances, would be more interesting; as is the case of “what for”. We are so unaccustomed to using that question that it short-circuits our brains when it is sometimes exchanged for the question "why."

As you may have already understood, the question "why" seeks the causes of an event, while when asking "why" we are referring to the very purpose of that action; and this is rarely taken into account.

Imagine that you have recently argued with a loved one, and you tell your friend. He or she asks you:

And why have you fought with that loved one? (A completely normal question that you are more than prepared to answer).

Now imagine that that friend, instead of the above, asks you:

And why did you fight with that loved one? (You will surely respond instinctively with "because... blah blah blah").

Our brain does not consider the possibility of thinking so deeply about most things that happen, it simply looks for an explanation for what happened and remains calm. But how about we take a look at the (often) unconscious purpose of the action itself?

Have you fought with that loved one to prove that you are right? To make him/her feel bad since he/she made you feel bad?

In the end, in most cases they turn out to be very banal reasons and when you look at them with hindsight you would surely change part of your actions, since in many of these situations, if the purpose being pursued is not really satisfactory... why focus on the « because"?