Lesson 31 –
Order from Randomness in the Physical World

There are many processes in the natural world that are chaotic and random, at least in practice and most likely in principle as well. But, this does not mean that the natural world is completely random, or that it is fundamentally disordered or unintelligible. In fact, randomness at one level often gives rise to order at a different level, and the way order seems to arise “out of randomness” in the natural world is almost always a sign of a deeper order and structure that we don’t always notice at first.

Course Reading

Summa Theologiae I, q. 47, a. 1 | St. Thomas Aquinas

Summa Theologiae I, q. 47, a. 2-3 | St. Thomas Aquinas

Excerpt from q. 47, a.1 of the First Part of the Summa Theologiae:

[W]e must say that the distinction and multitude of things come from the intention of the first agent, who is God. For He brought things into being in order that His goodness might be communicated to creatures, and be represented by them; and because His goodness could not be adequately represented by one creature alone, He produced many and diverse creatures, that what was wanting to one in the representation of the divine goodness might be supplied by another. For goodness, which in God is simple and uniform, in creatures is manifold and divided and hence the whole universe together participates the divine goodness more perfectly, and represents it better than any single creature whatever.

Course Listening

Aquinas and the Basic Principles of the Material World | Prof. Michael Gorman

Physics and Philosophy: Does Thomas Aquinas Have Anything to Offer? | Fr. Thomas Davenport, O.P.