Chance

The philosophy that supports the I Ching is based on the Tao, or "the way" in Chinese. This concerns the way leading to any movement or displacement as in the case of the seasons or the course of things in a more general way.

The I Ching should not be considered as an oracle which says that this or that will take place tomorrow, because the change is not the result of a mechanical application of a principle but is rooted in chance. Therefore, chance should be considered as that which runs through all movements as that which opens it to new configurations. The moment one interprets the I Ching takes the part of the fabric of this tissue of the defined by chance.

Chance is not thought as in Western tradition where it is considered as opposed to that which is necessary, as 2 + 2 which is always equal to 4. Since Plato and Aristotle, the possible can be real (contingent) or necessary. The contingent is thus a modality of the possible, which is beyond the knowledge, because it covers only the necessities.

To take chance as a principle in itself is to consider that the real is not outside the contingent and that questions arise only at this level, rather than at that of what a necessary outside the world, which would deny the very effort of deciding one's life.

 

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