Agency Can Be Chosen Before an Explanation Arrives
Explanation can become a condition we place on moving forward. Once I understand why this happened, then I will know what to do. Sometimes the explanation arrives. Sometimes it does not.
Another person's decision may remain opaque. A relationship may end without a satisfying account. An institution may act from motives we cannot verify.
Lack of explanation can leave us feeling suspended. Agency does not require inventing a cause just to escape that feeling. We do not need to blame ourselves for an event we did not cause. We do not need to pretend we understand another person's motives.
We can still ask what is ours now. What boundary can I set? What conversation can I complete? What information can I seek? What support do I need? What will I do with what is already known?
Responsibility is most useful here as a voluntarily chosen relationship to the next move, not as a fictional explanation for the past. Agency can begin before certainty does.