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Thread: Religion II
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Old 02-18-2018, 05:01 PM   #5508
boxcar
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Definition of "random"

Here's where we left off yesterday with the respect to the random nature of evolution:

"that its process must be considered in the most complete and absolute sense, to be utterly without any:

purpose, direction or pattern
predictable order (i.e. it is disorderly)
plan, outcome or objective
conscious input or influence"


This post will be devoted to how Wilson got to this definition. And then I'll add the finishing touches with my 2-1/2 cents worth.

[i]Evolution purposefully excludes God as Creator of all life we know (and all else as well, and in doing so, it has judged itself to be nothing but secular in its explanations. That being the case, all evolution theory must be based on randomness and the random event some level (especially random changes to the DNA from mutations) to be consistent with Darwinian thinking. It cannot be purposeful to the slightest degree, especially in how life originated from non-life or the process by which new organisms come to be. Because random is such a critical foundation to evolution's claims, we need to get a comprehensive feel for what random fully implies in terms of evolution. We will do this by first looking at several definitions, finding their common features, and then using those to characterize what random implies in terms of evolution. (emphases author's)

Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary [10the ed.,]
RANDOM: "Lacking a definite plan, purpose or pattern...random stresses lack of definite aim, fixed goal or regular procedure..."

Wikipedia
RANDOM: "the lack of pattern or predictability in events"

Free Dictionary Online
RANDOMNESS: "1. Having no specific pattern, purpose or objective...It then includes this excellent tidbit of information (my emphasis)"2. The quality of lacking any predictable order or plan, 'noise'

And finally, this important (but somewhat dense) piece of information. It contains one more very critical characteristic we need to include -- the quality of randomness being patternless, even if events were taken to infinity:

"It seems clear the most of the ways, an infinite sequence [of numbers] might be produced, and hence most of the sequences [of numbers], will be random, and random sequences are thus patternless or disorderly."
(emphases author's)

Wilson continues:

In other words, and again in the context of evolution, for any life developing from non-living chemicals (abiogenesis), or any new organism arising from evolution -- if it occurred randomly the process involved had to have been not only disorderly, but the final outcome just basically "happened" without rhyme, reason or purpose. And that hit-or-miss purposelessness, even if carried to infinity, defines how evolution explains life. How sad. (emphasis mine)

One last point -- and it's not a pleasant one -- to follow this secular line of thinking to its logical (but depressing) conclusion, any life -- including yours and mine -- produced through the random process of evolution then becomes biologically purposeless in and of itself, because evolution [itself] is random, purposeless.


In additon to the aforementioned qualities of "random", there are a few others. To be random is to be without guidance. Evolution has no direction, no aim, no objective, no purpose. Therefore, it is not guided. And this further implies that to be random is to be blind.

One of the definitions of "blind" in my mighty fine M-W Collegiate is: lacking a directing or controlling consciousness.

Another definition for "blind" is: made or done without sight of certain objects or knowledge of certain facts that could serve for GUIDANCE. This second sense of blindness, of course, is implied under the last category of Wilson's definition of "random", which states, "without any conscious input or influence." The same, naturally, can be said for "random" lacking any intentionality.

Finally, because "random" lacks any and all purpose, intentionality, direction, aim, objective or guidance, all this further implies that biological life is one huge cosmic accident. You and I and all other living things are accidents with no purpose whatsoever behind our existence. Again, my M-W Collegiate under the synonyms section of the adjective "random" has this to say:

synonyms RANDOM, HAPHAZARD, CASUAL mean determined by accident rather than by design. RANDOM stresses lack of of definite aim, fixed goal or regular procedure...HAPHAZARD applies to what is done withoiut regard for regularity or fitness or ultimate consequence... CASUAL suggest working or acting without deliberation, intention or purpose.

When you stop to ponder all the above implications to "random" evolution, one is led to wonder how in the world could so many evolution books be written in the name of science, and perhaps even more philosophy books written to explain the meaning of life when there could not possibly be any biological or philosophical reasons behind life. Wouldn't a succinct one liner suffice instead:

"Life is nothing more than an accident"? Or "Life is an accident in progress"? Or as Wilson essentially said, "Life just happens"?

Look at all the precious time that would be saved reading and writing junk material that says an incredibly large amount of nothing. And how much money could we all save instead of wasting it on pseudo-knowledge and pseudo-wisdom books?
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