Faces in the fire - our tendency to see patterns

The idea that humans have a tendency to see patterns where there is (supposedly) only randomness - like seeing faces appearing briefly in a fire - is used to argue that therefore we ought to discount as self-deluding, the meaningfulness of the world around us. 

This is one of those ridiculously over-influential, very selectively applied, reductionist pseudo-explanations upon which a great deal of Western materialist modernity is based. 

The "argument" is also used (selectively) to rubbish any attempt to unravel and expose the evil-motivated lies and manipulations of the ruling classes - but it gets completely ignored when it comes to the vast and absurd, smoke and mirror, elaborations of mainstream ideology; such as the birdemic, CO2 climate change or antiracism.

As a general rule, the real patterns are not abstract processes, but derive from Beings and their motivations. 

What we may call a "pattern" is therefore the consequence of the nature, desires, intentions etc of living Beings (including Beings of various kinds - divine, human, animal, plant, mineral, spiritual, and so forth). 

But, as well as positive patterns, there is always the possibility of negative anti-pattern. 

A real pattern is some kind of positive "order", and the only ultimate order is that of divine creation (all other order is derived from, or contributing to, that order). 

But an anti-pattern is the destruction of order; the negation of order. 

And it is important to recognize this negative, destructive motivation when present, because it is common. It is, indeed, an especially advanced type of evil (that I have often termed "Sorathic"). 

This needs to be borne in mind as we contemplate the world, and try to make sense of what is going-on in geopolitics, national politics, and within social institutions such as the workplace. 

In a world of advanced evil, where it seems that the demons of destruction are waxing dominant; then a policy of chaotic destruction may be pursued by the simple means of an accumulation of multiple incoherent changes - of many kinds, in many places, and at many levels.

The "faces in the fire" tendency tries to make overall sense of the by discovering some Master Plan. Or a clash of several Master Plans, Or else an all encompassing but non-purposing (non-) explanation such as insanity or incompetence. 

Yet we ought to bear in mind that chaotic destruction is not always a by-product; and negation may be a thing deliberately pursued. 

In which case; pattern-making explanations of lesser wickednesses (such selfish Master Plans as pursuit of money, power, fame etc. and their interactions) can serve as a convenient disguise or excuse, for what is actually the most advanced form of evil.  

This discernment, this recognition of negative-destructive (Sorathic) evil; will only be possible if we allow for its possibility.