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Full Idea
A cause in its own right is prior to a coincidental cause. So spontaneity and chance are posterior to intelligence and nature. Hence however much spontaneity is the cause of the universe, intelligence and nature are more primary causes.
Gist of Idea
Intrinsic cause is prior to coincidence, so nature and intelligence are primary causes, chance secondary
Source
Aristotle (Physics [c.337 BCE], 198a10)
Book Ref
Aristotle: 'Physics', ed/tr. Waterfield,Robin [OUP 1996], p.48
A Reaction
This seems to be Aristotle's final word on chance - that it is a genuine sort of causation, but only a secondary one. I take 'nature' to refer to the powers of essences. Aristotle does not accept meetings in the market as uncaused events.
| 13106 | Maybe there is no pure chance; a man's choices cause his chance meetings [Aristotle] |
| 13108 | Chance is a coincidental cause among events involving purpose and choice [Aristotle] |
| 13110 | Intrinsic cause is prior to coincidence, so nature and intelligence are primary causes, chance secondary [Aristotle] |
| 2215 | There is no such thing as chance [Hume] |
| 14804 | Is chance just unknown laws? But the laws operate the same, whatever chance occurs [Peirce] |
| 19252 | Objective chance is the property of a distribution [Peirce] |
| 23900 | Chance is compatible with necessity, and the two occur together [Weil] |
| 15560 | We can explain a chance event, but can never show why some other outcome did not occur [Lewis] |
| 20146 | 'Luck' is the unpredictable and inexplicable intersection of causal chains [Kekes] |
| 19671 | The idea of chance relies on unalterable physical laws [Meillassoux] |