Is Chance a Cause? - An Answer for Lizzie

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No, chance is not a cause. Chance is a category of causes- unplanned, accidental, happenstance causes, all fall under the category of chance.

For example:

Natural selection- The process by which in every generation individuals of lower fitness are removed from the population- Mayr "What Evolution Is"

The first step in selection, the production of genetic variation, is almost exclusively a chance phenomenon except that the nature of the changes at a given locus is strongly constrained. Chance also plays an important role even at the second step, the process of elimination of less fit individuals. Chance may be particularly important in the haphazard survival during periods of mass extinction. Ibid

Ooops there's that darn word "chance".

And if one reads Darwin's "On the Origin of Species...", one will see that the word "chance" is used quite often.

So there you have it Lizzie- hopefully that helps you become a little more educated.