Image Source
Nature -- all life for that matter -- may have started out originally as all chaos and chance, but then it "discovered" if you can accept that word, a rhythm that worked ... and was repeatable and predictable. And because this supported other creative projects -- like life itself -- it became the norm and established an inherent order.
An order that works and can support, sustain and reproduce itself always has a better chance of surviving -- compared to something that doesn't. Obviously. What doesn't work in the manner I just mentioned becomes an anomaly, a one-hit-wonder ... an experiment that failed.
This doesn't necessarily presuppose an "intelligent design" behind it all -- nor does it preclude one. It's possible that a Supreme Intelligence itself developed over time through the process of trial-and-error ... and that it naturally sustains its successes ... through what has become inherent order in nature. The one thing Life does -- often despite incredible challenges and obstacles -- is opt to continue. As the line from Jurassic Park declared, "Life finds a way."
I can't cite a lot of scientific evidence. (It's possible scientists themselves are divided on this issue.) My "belief" comes from a lifetime of casual-but-interested observation.
Image Source
In the course of that, I noticed how all of life (including human societies) follow the principles illustrated by the Oriental yin-yang symbol -- that everything contains within itself the opposite of itself ... and things flourish to a point of over-saturation and then collapse into the opposite -- where the process is repeated.
Even humans can't seem to break this cycle -- or shake free of this structure. This leads to a number of philosophical questions I find disturbing -- but that's not the point of this essay.
This is not confined only to nature -- and biology. Chemistry and physics are involved in it, too. Atoms adhere to a certain order -- almost a certain preference -- that create stability in some elements when the conditions are met -- and instability in others. Elements with an extra electron in their make-up are constantly looking to give that puppy away. Elements who want an additional electron to become "stable" -- are perpetually looking for one to grab. In my book, this isn't chaos and chance ... it's the very definition of order.
It's almost as if the atoms themselves have a sort of intelligence -- which gives rise to this preference. Otherwise, why should they care? I know I'm reading a lot into this -- but the questions asks what I believe ... which is essentially how I feel about this question. Oriental philosophy again seems to cover this phenomenon buy proposing the concept of chi.
Image Source
This is basically the notion that everything -- absolutely everything -- is composed of energy. Everything has its own energy -- its own chi. Rocks, rabbits, lilies, water, colors, textures, shapes -- even intangible things like light, location, aromas and thoughts -- they all have chi ... because chi is everywhere. Nothing exists without chi.
Chi can become disturbed and disordered. It can become stagnant and stale. There is a living active quality to chi that is undeniable. Those of us who are sensitive / psychic feel this. It's part of our intuitive information. (Anyone can feel this, but it comes more naturally to some than to others.) By the same token, chi can be enlivened and revived.
This suggests there is a kind of immortal quality to chi. It doesn't really die, but it can change form and it can go dormant -- until it is nourished or resurrected again. Once again, this touches on questions like the immortality of the soul ... and a spiritual / immortal component to all living things. Again, that's an essay for another time.
Image Source
and has clear preferences
Like the physical / chemical law that used to be (and maybe still is) known as The Conservation of Mass / Energy ... a fundamental principle of classic physics, chi can be neither created nor destroyed, but it can change form -- and does so, constantly. ("It is true that mass/energy (usually written as mass-energy) cannot be created or destroyed. In total it cannot even be reduced or increased at all, but can of course be transferred or converted to a different form." Citation = PhD candidate in Physics )
The fact that chi follows identifiable, predictable rules (something that forms the basis of the practice of feng shui and is part of the foundation of Oriental medicine) -- and also seems to have preferences -- suggests at least a rudimentary intelligence exists in chi. First Nation people and those in some primitive contemporary cultures often speak of a thing's "spirit." It would seem they are naming the same thing. (Spirit = chi )
Image Source
I would argue that intelligence routinely opts for order -- but from there it is playfully creative. It is always experimenting, which gives the appearance sometimes that it is chaotic and arbitrary. It "keeps" what works and discards what doesn't. Thus there is the creation of inherent order in nature. While intelligence can exist in conditions of chaos and chance -- but notice how uncomfortable a sentient, intelligent being is when surrounded by this -- it directs its energy toward the creation of some kind of stability and order.
That, then, becomes the predictable, observable cycle of life. Chaos moves gradually into a condition of stability -- and at a certain tipping point, it devolves back into chaos ... from which comes a new and different (and quite often improved ) condition of stability and order ... and the process continues ad infinitum.
Image Source
Thus I believe there is an inherent order in nature. It goes through constant, predictable cycles of chaos and change ... but always returns somewhere to a state of stability -- like a flower that blooms ... and decays ... and blooms again ... and decays again. That predictability is the definition of order. I could also argue that there is obvious order in how things feed and fertilize each other throughout the food chain, but that's just an extension of what I've already described.
So, there you have my answer. I believe there is an inherent order in nature as opposed to it being all chaos and chance. Maybe it's all circular arguments, and as people say about matters of faith, "I'm not really up for debating this" -- but I sure had fun writing it.
