--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Among all the occurrences possible in the…" description: "\"“Among all the occurrences possible in the universe the a priori probability of any particular one of them verges upon zero. Yet the universe exists; p..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f36/jacques-monod-18055_a-priori_among-all-the-occurrences-possible-in-th_2591231.jpg" --- # Among all the occurrences possible in the universe the a… ![“Among all the occurrences possible in the universe the a priori probability of any particular one of them verges upon zero. Yet the universe exists; particular events must take place in it, the probability of which (before the event) was infinitesimal. At the present time we have no legitimate…” quote by Jacques Monod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f36/jacques-monod-18055_a-priori_among-all-the-occurrences-possible-in-th_2591231.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f36/jacques-monod-18055_a-priori_among-all-the-occurrences-possible-in-th_2591231.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f36/jacques-monod-18055_a-priori_among-all-the-occurrences-possible-in-th_2591231.jpg) > ““Among all the occurrences possible in the universe the a priori probability of any particular one of them verges upon zero. Yet the universe exists; particular events must take place in it, the probability of which (before the event) was infinitesimal. At the present time we have no legitimate grounds for either asserting or denying that life got off to but a single start on earth, and that, as a consequence, before it appeared its chances of occurring were next to nil. ... Destiny is written concurrently with the event, not prior to it... The universe was not pregnant with life nor the biosphere with man. Our number came up in the Monte Carlo game. Is it surprising that, like the person who has just made a million at the casino, we should feel strange and a little unreal?”” [Jacques Monod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-monod/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The universe’s existence is highly improbable, yet life emerged; randomness and chance shape destiny, not predetermined design. **In simple terms:** Life is a rare chance event, not pre‑planned. Key Takeaway Embrace uncertainty and explore possibilities. Themes science philosophy existentialism probability Mood reflective inquisitive Type philosophical scientific When to use this quote - research - education - personal worldview - philosophical inquiry Key Concepts randomness anthropic principle determinism Questions to Reflect On - Do we find meaning in randomness? - How does this view affect moral responsibility? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on chance can undermine agency and purpose. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [A-priori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/a-priori-1702/) [Biology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/biology/) [Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chance/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Monte carlo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monte-carlo/) [Physics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physics/) [Possible Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possible-universe-1862508/) [Present time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/present-time/) [Prior Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prior-universe-1862507/) [Probability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/probability/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Universe Exists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe-exists-850745/) [Universe Pregnant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe-pregnant-1862505/) [Universe Priori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe-priori-1862506/) ## Related quotes > [Among all the occurrences possible in the universe the a priori probability of any particular one of them verges upon zero. Yet the universe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-monod/among-all-the-occurrences-possible-in-the-universe-the-a-priori/) [Jacques Monod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-monod/) > [The universe is pregnant with signs that recall the presence of the Creator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/the-universe-is-pregnant-with-signs-that-recall-the-presence-of-the/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [Any possible universe could be explained as the work of some sort of designer. Even a universe that is completely chaotic...could be supposed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/any-possible-universe-could-be-explained-as-the-work-of-some-sort-of/) [Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/) > [We should always keep an open mind about any new phenomenon in nature. To merely say that's impossible, therefore it doesn't exist, is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-stein/we-should-always-keep-an-open-mind-about-any-new-phenomenon-in-nature/) [Gordon Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-stein/) > [Anything is possible in this universe. It could be that you turn the chair around it's just a glove handcuffed to a bomb, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-bob-waksberg/anything-is-possible-in-this-universe-it-could-be-that-you-turn-the/) [Raphael Bob-Waksberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-bob-waksberg/) > [“On the other hand, it is also characteristic of the state of philosophical inquiry today and has been for a long time that, while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heidegger/on-the-other-hand-it-is-also-characteristic-of-the-state-of/) [Martin Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-heidegger/) > [“Certainly, what Kant calls the transcendental reference, experience and object of experience are in a sense present in both opposed views of the nature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-scheler/certainly-what-kant-calls-the-transcendental-reference-experience-and/) [Max Scheler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-scheler/) > [“Eu já te amava a priori, eu ainda te amo a posteriori.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/filipe-russo/eu-j-te-amava-a-priori-eu-ainda-te-amo-a-posteriori/) [Filipe Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/filipe-russo/) > [“If it be true that there can be no metaphysics transcending human reason, it is no less true that there can be no empirical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-g-jung/if-it-be-true-that-there-can-be-no-metaphysics-transcending-human/) [C.G. Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-g-jung/) > [“Thus with the question of the Being of truth and the necessity of presupposing it, just as with the question of the essence of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heidegger/thus-with-the-question-of-the-being-of-truth-and-the-necessity-of/) [Martin Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-heidegger/) > [“The fundamental basis by which the court’s decision might be made is, in itself, imperfect and subject to contradictions. There is very little consideration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashim-shanker/the-fundamental-basis-by-which-the-court-s-decision-might-be-made-is/) [Ashim Shanker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashim-shanker/) > [The material universe exists only in the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-edwards/the-material-universe-exists-only-in-the-mind/) [Jonathan Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-edwards/) > [We know from science that nothing in the universe exists as an isolated or independent entity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-j-wheatley/we-know-from-science-that-nothing-in-the-universe-exists-as-an/) [Margaret J. Wheatley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-j-wheatley/) > [It is of great advantage that man should know his station, and not imagine that the whole universe exists only for him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maimonides/it-is-of-great-advantage-that-man-should-know-his-station-and-not/) [Maimonides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maimonides/) > [To say that the universe exists is silly, because it says that the universe is one of the things in the universe. So there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-minsky/to-say-that-the-universe-exists-is-silly-because-it-says-that-the/) [Marvin Minsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-minsky/) ## More by Jacques Monod > [One of the great problems of philosophy, is the relationship between the realm of knowledge and the realm of values. Knowledge is what is;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-monod/one-of-the-great-problems-of-philosophy-is-the-relationship-between/) [Jacques Monod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-monod/) > [Modern societies accepted the treasures and the power offered them by science. But they have not accepted - they have scarcely even heard -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-monod/modern-societies-accepted-the-treasures-and-the-power-offered-them-by/) [Jacques Monod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-monod/) > [Man's destiny is nowhere spelled out, nor is his duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-monod/man-s-destiny-is-nowhere-spelled-out-nor-is-his-duty/) [Jacques Monod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-monod/) > [Among all the occurrences possible in the universe the a priori probability of any particular one of them verges upon zero. Yet the universe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-monod/among-all-the-occurrences-possible-in-the-universe-the-a-priori/) [Jacques Monod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-monod/) > [The fundamental biological variant is DNA. That is why Mendel's definition of the gene as the unvarying bearer of hereditary traits, its chemical identification…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-monod/the-fundamental-biological-variant-is-dna-that-is-why-mendel-s/) [Jacques Monod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-monod/) > [In science there is and will remain a Platonic element which could not be taken away without ruining it. Among the infinite diversity of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-monod/in-science-there-is-and-will-remain-a-platonic-element-which-could/) [Jacques Monod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-monod/) > [One may well find oneself beginning to doubt whether all this could conceivably be the product of an enormous lottery presided over by natural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-monod/one-may-well-find-oneself-beginning-to-doubt-whether-all-this-could/) [Jacques Monod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-monod/) > [Even today a good many distinguished minds seem unable to accept or even to understand that from a source of noise natural selection alone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-monod/even-today-a-good-many-distinguished-minds-seem-unable-to-accept-or/) [Jacques Monod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-monod/) > [Every living being is also a fossil. Within it, all the way down to the microscopic structure of its proteins, it bears the traces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-monod/every-living-being-is-also-a-fossil-within-it-all-the-way-down-to-the/) [Jacques Monod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-monod/) > [There are living systems; there is no'living matter'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-monod/there-are-living-systems-there-is-no-living-matter/) [Jacques Monod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-monod/) > [Evolution in the biosphere is therefore a necessarily irreversible process defining a direction in time; a direction which is the same as that enjoined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-monod/evolution-in-the-biosphere-is-therefore-a-necessarily-irreversible/) [Jacques Monod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-monod/) > [“When one ponders on the tremendous journey of evolution over the past three billion years or so, the prodigious wealth of structures it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-monod/when-one-ponders-on-the-tremendous-journey-of-evolution-over-the-past/) [Jacques Monod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-monod/) > [The future of mankind is going to be decided within the next two generations, and there are two absolute requisites: We must aim at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-monod/the-future-of-mankind-is-going-to-be-decided-within-the-next-two/) [Jacques Monod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-monod/) > [The scientific attitude implies the postulate of objectivity-that is to say, the fundamental postulate that there is no plan; that there is no intention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-monod/the-scientific-attitude-implies-the-postulate-of-objectivity-that-is/) [Jacques Monod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-monod/) > [There are living systems; there is no living "matter." No substance, no single molecule, extracted and isolated from a living being possess, of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-monod/there-are-living-systems-there-is-no-living-matter-no-substance-no/) [Jacques Monod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-monod/) [Explore all 35 Jacques Monod quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-monod/) ## More A-priori quotes > [“The fundamental basis by which the court’s decision might be made is, in itself, imperfect and subject to contradictions. There is very little consideration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashim-shanker/the-fundamental-basis-by-which-the-court-s-decision-might-be-made-is/) [Ashim Shanker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashim-shanker/) > [“Thus with the question of the Being of truth and the necessity of presupposing it, just as with the question of the essence of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heidegger/thus-with-the-question-of-the-being-of-truth-and-the-necessity-of/) [Martin Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-heidegger/) > [“If it be true that there can be no metaphysics transcending human reason, it is no less true that there can be no empirical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-g-jung/if-it-be-true-that-there-can-be-no-metaphysics-transcending-human/) [C.G. Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-g-jung/) > [“Eu já te amava a priori, eu ainda te amo a posteriori.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/filipe-russo/eu-j-te-amava-a-priori-eu-ainda-te-amo-a-posteriori/) [Filipe Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/filipe-russo/) > [“Certainly, what Kant calls the transcendental reference, experience and object of experience are in a sense present in both opposed views of the nature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-scheler/certainly-what-kant-calls-the-transcendental-reference-experience-and/) [Max Scheler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-scheler/) > [“On the other hand, it is also characteristic of the state of philosophical inquiry today and has been for a long time that, while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heidegger/on-the-other-hand-it-is-also-characteristic-of-the-state-of/) [Martin Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-heidegger/) [Browse all 7 A-priori quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/a-priori-1702/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Among all the occurrences possible in the universe the a priori probability of any particular one of them verges upon zero. 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