Abstract
What role does chance play in the universe? Quantum theory suggests that randomness is a fundamental part of how the universe works and yet we live mostly intentional, ordered lives. We make decisions with the expectation that our decisions matter. How is it possible for this directed and seemingly deterministic world to arise from mere randomness? In this essay I suggest that an answer to this question may lie in the seemingly mindless world of combinatorial mathematics and I discuss the implications of this for the concept of free will.
Ian Durham