--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One way to express the answer is that it…" description: "\"“One way to express the answer is that it might happen by 'chance'. But 'chance' is just a word expressing ignorance. It means 'determined by some as y..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/599/richard-dawkins-115_chance_one-way-to-express-the-answer-is-that-it_789885.jpg" --- # One way to express the answer is that it might happen by… ![“One way to express the answer is that it might happen by 'chance'. But 'chance' is just a word expressing ignorance. It means 'determined by some as yet unknown, or unspecified, means'.” quote by Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/599/richard-dawkins-115_chance_one-way-to-express-the-answer-is-that-it_789885.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/599/richard-dawkins-115_chance_one-way-to-express-the-answer-is-that-it_789885.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/599/richard-dawkins-115_chance_one-way-to-express-the-answer-is-that-it_789885.jpg) > ““One way to express the answer is that it might happen by 'chance'. But 'chance' is just a word expressing ignorance. It means 'determined by some as yet unknown, or unspecified, means'.”” [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Chance is a placeholder for unknown causes; it signals that we lack explanation, not randomness. **In simple terms:** Chance means we don't know why. Key Takeaway Accept uncertainty, seek deeper causes. Themes knowledge uncertainty science Mood curious analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - research - problem solving - critical thinking Key Concepts philosophy epistemology causality Questions to Reflect On - What unknown factors might be hidden? - How can we move beyond labeling something as chance? A Different Perspective Chance can be misused to avoid investigation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chance/) [Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) [Luck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luck/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) ## Related quotes > [The former ruling class kept the community of actors in ignorance by means of various lies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bela-lugosi/the-former-ruling-class-kept-the-community-of-actors-in-ignorance-by/) [Bela Lugosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bela-lugosi/) > [An ignorance of means may minister to greatness, but an ignorance of aims make it impossible to be great at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/an-ignorance-of-means-may-minister-to-greatness-but-an-ignorance-of/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [“Ignorance means that you have not yet learned a skill, whereas stupidity means that you can never learn it no matter how much practice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-paul-hauck/ignorance-means-that-you-have-not-yet-learned-a-skill-whereas/) Dr. Paul Hauck > [“It is never a good idea to do anything if you do not understand the process, asking questions does not represent ignorance, it means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anath-lee-wales/it-is-never-a-good-idea-to-do-anything-if-you-do-not-understand-the/) [Anath Lee Wales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anath-lee-wales/) > [Use your second chance as your last chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syed-muhd/use-your-second-chance-as-your-last-chance/) Syed Muhd > [“If you don't seize the opportunity, how do you know what will happen? Sometimes you have to take the chance”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-cook/if-you-don-t-seize-the-opportunity-how-do-you-know-what-will-happen/) [Eileen Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-cook/) > [India happen to me by chance. It's in my destiny. As soon as I landed here, it only took me 4 months to know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-fatehi/india-happen-to-me-by-chance-it-s-in-my-destiny-as-soon-as-i-landed/) [Nora Fatehi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-fatehi/) > [All of the very important events in my life happen by chance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalia-makarova/all-of-the-very-important-events-in-my-life-happen-by-chance/) [Natalia Makarova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalia-makarova/) > [“If I don’t say this to you now, I’ll regret it for the rest of my entire life. So I am saying this now.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-stedronsky-adams/if-i-don-t-say-this-to-you-now-i-ll-regret-it-for-the-rest-of-my/) Kimberly Stedronsky Adams > [The dream is a world in which anyone who has anything bad happen to them has a chance of getting their story uploaded, being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-gabriel/the-dream-is-a-world-in-which-anyone-who-has-anything-bad-happen-to/) [Peter Gabriel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-gabriel/) > [It's amazing what can happen if you give someone a chance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-amazing-what-can-happen-if-you-give-someone-a-chance/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The thing about roads is sometimes you happen upon them again. Sometimes you get another chance to travel down the same path.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-santopolo/the-thing-about-roads-is-sometimes-you-happen-upon-them-again/) [Jill Santopolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-santopolo/) > [Did you ever observe to whom the accidents happen? Chance favors only the prepared mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-pasteur/did-you-ever-observe-to-whom-the-accidents-happen-chance-favors-only/) [Louis Pasteur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-pasteur/) > [BREAKUPS Aren't Always Meant To Make Up, Sometimes They Happen To Give You A Chance To WAKE UP...:p](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/breakups-aren-t-always-meant-to-make-up-sometimes-they-happen-to-give/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Success is a choice, it doesn't happen by chance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-paul-worthen/success-is-a-choice-it-doesn-t-happen-by-chance/) Jason Paul Worthen ## More by Richard Dawkins > [At the deepest level, all living things that have ever been looked at have the same DNA code. And many of the same genes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/at-the-deepest-level-all-living-things-that-have-ever-been-looked-at/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The word 'mundane' has come to mean 'boring' and 'dull', and it really shouldn't - it should mean the opposite. Because it comes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-word-mundane-has-come-to-mean-boring-and-dull-and-it-really/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [We animals are the most complicated things in the known universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-animals-are-the-most-complicated-things-in-the-known-universe/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“The fundamentalist Kurt Wise proclaims that all the evidence in the universe would not change his mind. The true scientist, however passionately he may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-fundamentalist-kurt-wise-proclaims-that-all-the-evidence-in-the/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“I have found it an amusing strategy, when asked whether I am an atheist, to point out that the questioner is also an atheist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-have-found-it-an-amusing-strategy-when-asked-whether-i-am-an/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Religions do make claims about the universe--the same kinds of claims that scientists make, except they're usually false.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/religions-do-make-claims-about-the-universe-the-same-kinds-of-claims/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“much of the Bible is not systematically evil but just plain weird, as you would expect of a chaotically cobbled-together anthology of disjointed documents,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/much-of-the-bible-is-not-systematically-evil-but-just-plain-weird-as/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The recurrent laryngeal nerve - which runs from the head to the voice box - goes all the way down into the chest, loops…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-recurrent-laryngeal-nerve-which-runs-from-the-head-to-the-voice/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The Roman Catholic Church is an institution for whose gains the phrase "ill-gotten" might have been specially invented. And of all its money-making rip-offs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-roman-catholic-church-is-an-institution-for-whose-gains-the/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Let us understand what our own selfish genes are up to because we may then at least have the chance to upset their designs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/let-us-understand-what-our-own-selfish-genes-are-up-to-because-we-may/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [What's going to happen when I die? I may be buried, or I may be cremated, I may give my body to science. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/what-s-going-to-happen-when-i-die-i-may-be-buried-or-i-may-be/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Or why it is acceptable to train fast runners and high jumpers but not to breed them. I can think of some answers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/or-why-it-is-acceptable-to-train-fast-runners-and-high-jumpers-but/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [We have seen that living things are too improbable and too beautifully 'designed' to have come into existence by chance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-have-seen-that-living-things-are-too-improbable-and-too/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“We will not go quietly away. If in the future that requires violence”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-will-not-go-quietly-away-if-in-the-future-that-requires-violence/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [It's a truly disgusting idea that the creator of the universe - capable of inventing the laws of physics and designing the evolutionary process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/it-s-a-truly-disgusting-idea-that-the-creator-of-the-universe-capable/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) [Explore all 1,239 Richard Dawkins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) ## More Chance quotes > [Before I debuted, it was my goal to make my debut, and afterwards, I aimed at winning champion titles on television music shows, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hyuna/before-i-debuted-it-was-my-goal-to-make-my-debut-and-afterwards-i/) [Hyuna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hyuna/) > [I understand it's promotion, but no one ever gave me a chance. No one ever thought I'd be the champ, and look where I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stipe-miocic/i-understand-it-s-promotion-but-no-one-ever-gave-me-a-chance-no-one/) [Stipe Miocic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stipe-miocic/) > [I might, by chance, write something just as shoddy; But then I wouldn't show it to everybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/i-might-by-chance-write-something-just-as-shoddy-but-then-i-wouldn-t/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [When I get a chance to play golf or go on a boat with good people, take the boat out and put some lobsters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mac/when-i-get-a-chance-to-play-golf-or-go-on-a-boat-with-good-people/) [Bernie Mac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mac/) > [The happy medium is television. And if you find a good suitor, you can do it for years. With movies, you roll the dice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-campbell/the-happy-medium-is-television-and-if-you-find-a-good-suitor-you-can/) [Bruce Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-campbell/) > [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/) [Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/) > [I have heard that if you pull a bent breath through the second hole of a harmonica tuned to the key of Georgia while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buddy-wakefield/i-have-heard-that-if-you-pull-a-bent-breath-through-the-second-hole/) [Buddy Wakefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buddy-wakefield/) > [There are times when we can feel destiny close around us like a fist around a doorknob. Sure, we can resist. But a knob…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/there-are-times-when-we-can-feel-destiny-close-around-us-like-a-fist/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [Pain held no terror for him. Pain was, if not friend, then family, something he had grown up with in his crèche, learning to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-bacigalupi/pain-held-no-terror-for-him-pain-was-if-not-friend-then-family/) [Paolo Bacigalupi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-bacigalupi/) > [Love changes people, for better or for worse. You could look at it as a chance for you to change. The best kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-changes-people-for-better-or-for-worse-you-could-look-at-it-as-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It's not who, it's when”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-taubas/it-s-not-who-it-s-when/) Alejandro Taubas > [Childhood is Last Chance Gulch for happiness. After that, you know too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/childhood-is-last-chance-gulch-for-happiness-after-that-you-know-too/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [I thought my first few jobs would just be off, off, off, off, off broadway. And by chance and how the world works, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-dorfman/i-thought-my-first-few-jobs-would-just-be-off-off-off-off-off/) [Tommy Dorfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-dorfman/) > [If you’re worrying about the past, you’ve got a good chance of screwing up the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-a-tullman/if-you-re-worrying-about-the-past-you-ve-got-a-good-chance-of/) [Howard A. Tullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-a-tullman/) > [To be successful, one must take chances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-stargell/to-be-successful-one-must-take-chances/) [Willie Stargell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-stargell/) [Browse all 12,460 Chance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“One way to express the answer is that it might happen by 'chance'. But 'chance' is just a word expressing ignorance. 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