A Case for Chaos

Chaos seems to be largely misunderstood. We hold order in high regard while chaos is associated with evil and fear. This isn't unfounded, but these designations probably add to the anxiety that surround the concept.

Like evil, chaos is the void where knowledge hasn't trespassed. It's the noise where the signal seems absent. But, with the right tools and disposition, the signal and the noise can be differentiated. When this occurs things become intelligible. Disease stops being explained in terms of spiritual retribution and starts being cured. Humans fly through the air in giant hunks of metal and land on the moon. Yesterday's chaos becomes increasingly tamed. 

Instead of chaos being seen as a negative, it is a place where the answers to life's problems reside. Moving into the chaos, as opposed to retreating from it, is a necessity. If we didn't, the structures of order that have been given to us would inevitably suffocate us. This isn't because an evil genius embedded oppression into the system, but because human understanding suffers from fallibilism. As a result, we will always need to reconstitute our explanations. And, to do this, we will continually need to reach into chaos in order to understand what reality is.