Is Evolution a Chance Process?

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.12775/SetF.2020.013

Keywords

Random, mutation, natural selection, convergence, providence

Abstract

It is commonly thought that evolution is a chance process, an idea found in popular writings on evolution, but also in academic writing in a broad range of scientific disciplines: scientific, philosophical and theological. One problem is that words such as ‘chance’ and ‘random’ are used with a range of different meanings according to context, and in evolutionary biology the word ‘chance’ is sometimes used in a way that is different from its use in mathematics and philosophy. The present article aims to clarify the range of meanings and to argue the case that the evolutionary process is far from being a ‘theory of chance’ from biological, mathematical, or indeed philosophical and theological perspectives. 

Author Biography

Denis Alexander, The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion, Cambridge

Emeritus Director of The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion and Emeritus Fellow of St. Edmund’s College, Cambridge. Previously Chair of the Programme of Molecular Immunology at The Babraham Institute, Cambridge.

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Scientia et Fides

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Published

2020-10-30

How to Cite

1.
ALEXANDER, Denis. Is Evolution a Chance Process?. Scientia et Fides. Online. 30 October 2020. Vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 15-41. [Accessed 2 July 2025]. DOI 10.12775/SetF.2020.013.

Issue

Vol. 8 No. 2 (2020): Philosophical and Theological Aspects of Evolution

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Articles

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