Why would God use evolution if it results in flawed beings?

[Paraleptopecten (Timothy Campbell)]

@Relates

Weather is random in that it cannot be predicted in advance, although it can be predicted, so certainly it is not totally random, which is why we need a better label for it. On the other hand, when I did read up on chaos theory the conclusion was that weather was best predicted by using computer models, which is what they are doing today.

Yes, that’s exactly what I would mean by “chaotic”.

@paleomalacologist

But we need to define “random”. Both those promoting randomness and those objecting often confuse different senses. “Random” can mean a specific mathematical pattern where something is best described (from a human perspective) by a probability. For example, flipping a coin, casting lots, will this particular atom decay in the next year, will a particular mutation occur. It can also mean something that is humanly unpredictable, but not probabilistic in that sense. For example, mathematically chaotic behavior has a precise outcome for any given input value, not a range of probabilities. But the outcome is so sensitive to the input value that it is practically unpredictable in the long term. Long-term weather is an example. Another category of unpredictable outcomes would be things that have no math formula, such as the long-term course of history (human history or earth history). Yet another sense of “random” is “unguided” or “purposeless”. But at what level? I can have a purpose for flipping a coin, but no amount of study of the coin or the laws of physics governing it will detect my purpose for it.

@Paraleptopecten

If they exclusively mean philosophically random (i.e. unguided), then yes, that is philosophy, not science. If they include chaotic probabilistic events (e.g., dice rolls, where there are a low, set number of outcomes that are highly dependent on initial conditions), thoroughly chaotic events (like weather: exact knowledge of initial conditions could predict it perfectly), and quantum-mechanically random events (known probabilities, no way to measure without altering), then that is completely disjoined from reality.