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Single Idea 13108

[filed under theme 10. Modality / B. Possibility / 7. Chance ]

Full Idea

Clearly chance is a coincidental cause in the sphere of events which have some purpose and are the subject of choice.

Gist of Idea

Chance is a coincidental cause among events involving purpose and choice

Source

Aristotle (Physics [c.337 BCE], 197a05)

Book Ref

Aristotle: 'Physics', ed/tr. Waterfield,Robin [OUP 1996], p.45


A Reaction

This is the culmination of his discussion of going to the market place and happening to meet your debtor (196b33). We must now decide whether a 'coincidental cause' is a true case of causation.


The 10 ideas with the same theme [facts that seem to have no particular cause]:

Maybe there is no pure chance; a man's choices cause his chance meetings [Aristotle]
Chance is a coincidental cause among events involving purpose and choice [Aristotle]
Intrinsic cause is prior to coincidence, so nature and intelligence are primary causes, chance secondary [Aristotle]
There is no such thing as chance [Hume]
Is chance just unknown laws? But the laws operate the same, whatever chance occurs [Peirce]
Objective chance is the property of a distribution [Peirce]
Chance is compatible with necessity, and the two occur together [Weil]
We can explain a chance event, but can never show why some other outcome did not occur [Lewis]
'Luck' is the unpredictable and inexplicable intersection of causal chains [Kekes]
The idea of chance relies on unalterable physical laws [Meillassoux]