[Avodah] Evolution, Hashgachah and Tehillah

[shalomyitz at comcast.net]

RavMBerger has done a much better job than I ever could at describing how 
one can believe in evolution by natural selection and also believe in hashgachah 
pratis. However, I wanted to restate one point that he makes, and also add in one 
more element to the discussion: 

One problem that comes up is in the discussion of 'random mutation' that plays a 
role in natural selection. One problem in understanding this idea is that we have 
two uses of the term random. In common parlance, the word random means without 
reason or order. This is the usage that I think people see as incompatible with hashgachah 
pratis. 

However, in science/mathematics, there is a different definition. The fact that you can identify 
the underlying distribution of a random process is stark evidence that there IS order to the process. 
The role of a die is a random process, but, given enough throws it is going to come out as a rectangular 
distribution between 1 and 6. Furthermore, the role of the die is clearly based on the physical features 
of the die, the throw, and the surface where it hits. If one could calculate all the physical forces & properties, 
one could predict how the die would come out. (On this topic, I recommend the book "The Eudaemonic Pie" 
about a group who tried to predict the outcome of a casino roulette wheel in real time. It has been over 25 
years since I read this book, so although I do not recall anything that would bother someone frum reading it, 
I cannot guarantee it). 

--- 

On another note: Evolution is a process over time. It really only appears as organisms changing because we 
live our human life as a passage of time. HaShem, however, lives out of time. Or, perhaps all time is a single 
moment for Him. All this is beyond our understanding, but couldn't that explain how evolution can exist from our 
human perspective, but the Torah account of creation -- which seems to imply fixed species created in Gan Eden 
and never changing -- could exist too? 
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