accidentalism

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. The condition or quality of being accidental; accidental character.
2. n. That which is accidental; accidental effect; specifically, in painting, the effect produced by accidental rays of light. Ruskin. See accidental, n., , and accidental light, under accidental, a.
3. n. In medicine, the hypothesis by which disease is regarded as an accidental modification of health.
4. n. In philosophy, the opinion that events are sometimes modified without adequate cause: a use of the word proposed by J. M. Baldwin.

Wiktionary

1. n. Accidental character or effect.
2. n. The belief that outward appearance often contrasts with substance or essence (after Thomas Aquinas).
3. n. A system of medicine based on belief that symptoms of disease are caused by external factors.
4. n. The belief that events happen by random chance, without cause or purpose.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. Accidental character or effect.