“Knowledge of some principles easily compensates for ignorance of some facts,” said Helvetius. Indeed, many events in our world are subject to certain general schemes that regulate natural phenomena, stages of development of man and society as a whole. This objective interconnection of events, which is repeated under certain circumstances, is called regularity - as opposed to random, chaotic events. However, the line between randomness and regularity is sometimes rather blurred.
Instructions
Step 1
There are philosophical theories according to which the world is a chaotic jumble of facts and events. According to other theories, everything around us is reasonable, orderly and obeys certain patterns. As Master Yoda said, accidents are not accidental, but what seems to be chaos are only those patterns that have not yet been identified.
Step 2
It is difficult to comprehend all the laws of the world around us because they rarely appear in their pure form. The phenomenon can obey the laws of the first order, and then change under the influence of a deeper regularity of the second order. This situation can create the impression of uncertainty, randomness. The "queen of laws" mathematics was lucky: in her kingdom they are so stable and constant that they have grown into the rank of laws. For example, the sum of the angles of a triangle is 180 degrees, no matter which triangle is considered. Such patterns are called statistical. But in a society where multidirectional processes operate, there are no such clear rules. For example, women are known to live on average longer than men. But the Azerbaijani Shirali Mislimov, who lived for 168 years, and other long-lived men make this pattern invalid in some cases. This is an example of a dynamic pattern.
Step 3
The concept of "regularity" is used in other sciences as well. Historical patterns ensure the progressive development of social life. So, the transformations of Peter the Great can be called natural, because Russia sooner or later had to embark on the path of bourgeois development. But according to another version, bowing to the West, the tsar was guided by spontaneous impulses and disrupted the natural course of Russian history. Another science - biology - considers evolution as a natural process. True, it is based on random mutations that change the DNA of living beings. Thus, regularity and randomness are closely related, and some event can be predetermined in relation to one process and random in relation to another.
Step 4
Repetition is the main feature of a regularity, but not always the succession of one event after another several times in a row indicates their clear relationship. The 20th century empiricist Bertrand Russell explains this with the following example. The chick, as a result of daily observations, concludes that the receipt of feed is a consequence of the arrival of the poultry house. But one day the poultry house comes and … breaks his neck. The investigative-logical connection was cut off. However, for the poultry house itself, everything was quite natural. Conclusion: evaluate the event from different points of view and do not jump to conclusions!