Understanding Luck and Chance (Aristotle)
Investigating The Causal Natures of Chance and Spontaneity.
After introducing the principle causes (efficient, formal, material, final), Aristotle talks about chance and spontaneity in Book II, (Physics) for the purpose of investigating their place among the said causes. Aristotle bases his enquiry on the observation that in history, these terms are conflictive in their interpretation. Some people say that everything that we consider luck or spontaneity really has some underlying definite cause. Yet there are other people, such as Empedocles, who invoke chance when describing the physics of air; or some, who “ascribe this heavenly sphere and all the worlds to spontaneity” (196a 25). In setting out to elucidate the nature of these terms and their place among the causes, Aristotle contends that chance and spontaneity are not explanatory causes of their own, but concurrent causes. By drawing from Aristotle’s view on nature and deliberate intention, this essay sets out to develop a clear understanding of the term concurrent in relation to chance and spontaneity.
Aristotle begins his account with the basic observation that some things always occur in the same way and some things occur for the most part in the same way. Yet some occurrences are exceptional-this third category, according to Aristotle, is the class of chance and spontaneity: “…as there is a third class of events besides these two-events which all say are ‘by chance’-it is plain that there is such a thing as chance and spontaneity” (196b 12-14). He continues to state that events that occur, but that do not occur as a direct result of intent (thought) or nature, but rather incidentally, “are said to be ‘by chance’” (196b 24). Here, we can identify what constitutes an event of chance or spontaneity. It seems that when the specific cause does not yield the intended result always or for the most part, then the result is produced by chance or spontaneity. Conversely, when the cause does yield the intended
After introducing the principle causes (efficient, formal, material, final), Aristotle talks about chance and spontaneity in Book II, (Physics) for the purpose of investigating their place among the said causes. Aristotle bases his enquiry on the observation that in history, these terms are conflictive in their interpretation. Some people say that everything that we consider luck or spontaneity really has some underlying definite cause. Yet there are other people, such as Empedocles, who invoke chance when describing the physics of air; or some, who “ascribe this heavenly sphere and all the worlds to spontaneity” (196a 25). In setting out to elucidate the nature of these terms and their place among the causes, Aristotle contends that chance and spontaneity are not explanatory causes of their own, but concurrent causes. By drawing from Aristotle’s view on nature and deliberate intention, this essay sets out to develop a clear understanding of the term concurrent in relation to chance and spontaneity.
Aristotle begins his account with the basic observation that some things always occur in the same way and some things occur for the most part in the same way. Yet some occurrences are exceptional-this third category, according to Aristotle, is the class of chance and spontaneity: “…as there is a third class of events besides these two-events which all say are ‘by chance’-it is plain that there is such a thing as chance and spontaneity” (196b 12-14). He continues to state that events that occur, but that do not occur as a direct result of intent (thought) or nature, but rather incidentally, “are said to be ‘by chance’” (196b 24). Here, we can identify what constitutes an event of chance or spontaneity. It seems that when the specific cause does not yield the intended result always or for the most part, then the result is produced by chance or spontaneity. Conversely, when the cause does yield the intended
Bibliography: J. L. Ackrill. A New Aristotle Reader. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1989. Print. Richard McKeon. The Basic Works of Aristotle,. New York: Random House, 1941. Print.