Contingency (philosophy)

The word contingency with the adjective contingent (Greek τὰ ἐνδεχόμενα ( endechómena ), " something that is possible"; mlat contingentia, " chance coincidence .") Is a philosophical term which, inter alia, is used in modal logic and ontology. " Quota " means the status of facts, given their existence and is neither necessary nor impossible. Following up to locutions refer as " contingent being", also about the context of the philosophy of religion, a dependency of Vorursachen that a thing or a situation is and so is how this or that is.

Modallogische definition

The language of modal logic allows to speak formally about the possibility () and necessity (). expresses that might be true.

A is now called contingent ( cont ) when both A is possible as well as non -A is possible:

Contingency can therefore be regarded as a particularly active form of possibility.

Accident

Since this concept is hard to grasp, sometimes assertions about the relationship between accident probability and contingency were set up in the history of philosophy. From the perspective of today's contingency modal logic has nothing to do with probability.

In modern philosophy is the " contingency of the truth" of the U.S. Neopragmatikers and skeptic Richard Rorty important: Although it includes the possibility to image within conceptual systems truth, not from principle. However, Rorty explains any reflection on how such a truth status could generate, for idle. Thus, he claims in a polemical position against particular the classical idealism that truth is not just a random, but also a random mode of speech ultimately.

Contingency proof of God

One of the proofs of God is a Kontingenzbeweis. This has been worked out in the Natural Theology. Since nothing exists from its own essential necessity that God must exist as the only absolute, not essentially contingent being ( aseity ).

Unavailability

Anthropological contingency is understood as unavailability. Certain events we can not control. You are a translator's note ( Wilhelm Kamlah ). In the Stoic philosophy, the manipulable is not happiness relevant.