...Well, for the first post of the blog I think it appropriate to explain the title. I find "...if only because..." to be one of English's most interesting and complicated phrases. Consider, "I am writing this blog if only because i have far too much time on my hands". Here we understand 'if only because' to be equivalent to 'for no other reason than'. However, there is a level of nuance that is lost in this translation. There is an admission of uncertainty in the former that is not present in the latter. This uncertainty hinges on the word 'if'; the writer admits that there may be other reasons to write the blog but a sufficient one is that he has too much time on his hands. One may argue of course that 'if only because' translates to 'if for no other reason than' and the mood of uncertainty is thus captured in both. I disagree. I read 'if for no other reason than' as affirming the primacy of whatever is stated next. That is, 'I am writing this blog if for no other reason than i have too much time on my hands" seems to imply that the a glut of time is both a sufficient reason and the primary force behind my writing the blog. 'If only because' simply posits a possible sufficient condition without committing any other valuations.
In rereading this, I suppose 'if for no other reason' may be synonymous with the idiomatic 'if only because' but at the very least it is easier to overlook the tone of uncertainty in the former than in the latter. That is, it may be my idiosyncrasies that illicit a further valuation in 'if for no other reason than'.
I am drawn to this construction If Only Because I find people have very little grasp on their motivations. Who knows what combination of forces acted such that I am writing now?
Children are our Future. Live and Let Live.
Fuzzy.
