Questions tagged [determinism]
The doctrine that every event has a cause. The main philosophical interest of determinism has been in assessing its implications for free will.
165
questions
13
votes
14answers
2k views
Why do people still believe in free will?
If we assume that macro-scale matter like we have in brains only acts in ways that are caused, then would not all actions in human behavior be a result of prior physical events beginning with ...
2
votes
1answer
62 views
Heaviness in eternal recurence
In The Unbearable Lightness of Being, it is said that:
In the world of eternal return the weight of unbearable responsibility lies heavy on every move we make. That is why Nietzsche called the idea ...
1
vote
0answers
107 views
Boethius, Logical Necessity, and Accidental Necessity: A Solution to Free Will and Foreknowledge?
In his classic book, the Consolation of Philosophy (Book V), Boethius attempts to make an argument that libertarian free will and [divine] foreknowledge are not incompatible. His argument goes ...
4
votes
0answers
74 views
Some questions on causality and modern science
Note: I'm translating the vocabulary from Spanish so there may be some erroneous terms. If so, please edit them.
In Causality: the place of the causal principle in modern science by Mario Bunge, the ...
2
votes
3answers
100 views
If cause C has the mutually exclusive effects Y and Z, then is causality held? Why?
Imagine there is a cause but several effects. Of course determinism is not held, but my question is about causality. If cause C has two mutually exclusive effects Y and Z, then at each given time ...
-1
votes
1answer
217 views
I could prove: Copenhagen QM is NOT causal. Is my argument acceptable?
A quantum system consists of some states. It is in all of the states but beCAUSE of the act of the measurement, the wavefunction collapses into one state. I am really confused because I can repeat the ...
1
vote
1answer
42 views
Does the principle of sufficient reason imply mechanistic determinism?
The principle of sufficient reason states that any fact has a cause (https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/sufficient-reason). To some authors, this principle led to extrapolated mechanistic determinism ...
1
vote
1answer
160 views
Does our experience with habits lead us to believe in free will?
Notoriously intractable, free will have had no success in being proven physically. Even phenomenally it is difficult to pin down precisely. So why do people believe each other when claiming that they ...
1
vote
1answer
176 views
Deterministic or stochastic universe?
Just a little bit before my graduation from computer science, I attended a course about computational intelligence, and my professor then challenged us to debate on whether the world/universe follows ...
2
votes
2answers
104 views
How do I prove an incompatibilist argument wrong?
I found a classical incompatibilist argument that looks that this:
If a person acts of her own free will, then she could have done otherwise
If determinism is true, no one can do otherwise ...
1
vote
1answer
84 views
If we are rationally obliged to be moral, and morality is not arbitrary, then are some decisions not freely made?
If we are rationally obliged to be moral, and morality is not arbitrary, then are some decisions not freely made?
I mean 'not arbitrary' to mean that some values, e.g. courage, are more rational than ...
2
votes
2answers
104 views
Do Aristotle's three laws of logic apply to statements about the future?
I have just read about Aristotle's Three Laws of Logic. I was wondering if statements such as "There is a chance of it raining in the next hour" can be evaluated using the three laws. Can you apply ...
1
vote
1answer
149 views
What was Camus’ opinion of hedonism and determinism?
I’ve read The Myth Of Sisyphus, and it prompted some questions that I’m hoping other readers of Camus might be able to answer:
Did Camus see unbridled hedonism as a solution to the nihilism caused by ...
1
vote
4answers
152 views
What is the case for free will?
By understanding the laws of nature, I've come to the conclusion that everything evolves according to the laws of physics, and that includes the formation of conscious and unconscious thoughts in the ...
4
votes
1answer
82 views
Historicism vs Determinism
Can anyone explain the difference between historicism and determinism (e.g. economic determinism)? I've found articles that describe them as different things, while others treat them as synonyms.
If ...
2
votes
4answers
329 views
If you are predictable do you have free will?
Let there be a person that acted in some way. Also there is another person who had predicted that behaviour of first person.
Does the first person has free will? Is it just possible to do something ...
1
vote
2answers
186 views
Is determinism logically flawed?
If determinism is true, every event shall have a cause.
So, what is the cause of the first event (which is the first cause)?
Conflict (paradox):
1) every event shall have a cause -> First event/...
1
vote
5answers
204 views
If each of our thoughts is entirely determined by the brain, can there be free will or a soul?
Supposing that every single thing that exists in our mind is due to the brain, and supposing that each and every decision we have is determined by our neurons, can there be free will? How? If ...
1
vote
1answer
93 views
Free Will and Causeless Causes
When searching on free will, what will often be found is that free will is incoherent (Sam Harris) or an illusion. Other references will claim it exists while citing clinical studies which ...
0
votes
1answer
76 views
Why do people argue in favor of IQs, while then encouraging people (of any IQ) to use hard work to obtain the same successes?
At the same time people will say (science included) that IQ is a very important thing -- while at the same time saying that people with lower IQs can do things that people with higher IQs can -- while ...
4
votes
1answer
124 views
Did anyone argue against the possibility of a perfect prediction from within a system?
Did anyone offer an argument against the possibility of a perfect and complete prediction about a system from within that system along the following lines:
Let's imagine a machine (like a desktop ...
1
vote
1answer
175 views
Is the event of death deterministic?
It's 5 months since I lost my dad in a factory accident. His manner of death is obviously the biggest tragedy of my life, but now when I contemplate about it, the Physics of the event seem so unlikely....
1
vote
0answers
59 views
When did the idea of free will begin? Same for determinism
Hey so I'm doing this free will v determinism thing for class and I've tried but I can't seem to find when the separate beliefs came about. I know Socrates and Aristotle had something to do with them ...
-1
votes
1answer
66 views
Why is the word “however” used here? What does it mean? [closed]
I was reading a Wikipedia article on fatalism and the idle argument. It says a Stoic philosopher "attempted to refute" it and then it states the argument. The very next line it uses the word "however"....
1
vote
1answer
465 views
How does Quantum Mechanics disprove determinism? [duplicate]
I personally believe in determinism and understand the basics of quantum mechanics, but don't see how any of it disproves that the universe is deterministic. Electrons cannot move change momentum or ...
2
votes
9answers
295 views
How can we be accountable if we are chemically programmed?
If we accept that neuro-chemistry largely explains cognitive function, deterministically, how can we be accountable? Not how or why can we be held accountable but how can we earnestly be in fact ...
1
vote
0answers
99 views
Standard Argument against free will rebuttal
The Standard argument against free will states that an action is either predetermined or random and that these two options exhaust all the possibilities, leaving no room for true free will.
To ...
2
votes
4answers
280 views
How can Determinism be true in light of the Free Will Theorem
The Free Will Theorem states:
Given the axioms, if the two experimenters in question are free to make choices about what measurements to take, then the results of the measurements cannot be ...
3
votes
2answers
180 views
If everything is ruled by determinism, what rules determinism itself?
If everything is ruled by determinism, what rules determinism itself?
Has any philosopher ever explored this matter?
1
vote
2answers
141 views
Why should we even think about determinism?
So I've browsed through some questions here but none of them really fits my thought process: If you assume that determinism is not the case, your actions will therefore be the right decision. If ...
5
votes
3answers
211 views
Could reality be a projection of another reality?
I'm new to metaphysics.
So, I apologize if this is an established question.
I've been asking the question, could reality be a projection of another reality?
In geometry, you can project a three ...
1
vote
1answer
182 views
What puts Christians off “hard determinism”?
Scott Christensen has written a book, "What about free will?" published 1995, in which two Christian positions are examined. They are, page 238, Libertarian Beliefs and Compatabilist Beliefs. However, ...
2
votes
1answer
100 views
Is free will required in order to differentiate between the subconscious and the conscious?
If the subconscious motivates actions in a way that we are not aware of, then its fair to say that we don't have control over our subconscious. If I were to look at this from a determinist perspective,...
3
votes
2answers
181 views
Is the question of moral responsibility a valid one against determinism?
One of the questions I feel is most commonly asked about determinism is "how can people be responsible for their actions if they were following a determined fate? is it right to punish people for bad ...
2
votes
1answer
107 views
Can causally unconnected things become causally connected?
Things have properties and what it means by being in a causal connection is one object's property/properties determines the property/properties of the other object with which the first object ...
0
votes
2answers
254 views
If hard determinism is true, why should we try to better ourselves?
If hard determinism is true, then it was never really my choice to be the person I am at this exact moment. There’s also only one path from this point forward, so if I’m going to eventually be a good ...
14
votes
6answers
8k views
How can a person truly love another if hard determinism is true?
I have a wife and two kids. According to hard determinism, I was determined since time began moving forward to marry my wife and have my children. Every moment we share together was also predetermined,...
0
votes
2answers
261 views
How do I believe in free will? [closed]
After considering all possible ways that famous philosophers have tried to explain it, and reading so many articles that treat it like God’s greatest gift to mankind, I still don’t get it.
Is it that ...
0
votes
3answers
136 views
Łukasiewicz & statements about the past
I think this is a fair presentation of Łukasiewicz's view on past, present, and future statements in an answer by Johannes https://philosophy.stackexchange.com/a/31995/29944: "His view is that ...
1
vote
2answers
192 views
Can we control our emotions? [closed]
Suppose a man works 15 hour shifts to provide for his wife and 10 kids, and after a very long and exhaustive day, he comes home to find his wife in bed with another man.
At what point does the man ...
2
votes
1answer
362 views
How does free will give life “meaning”?
Many people have suggested that if we don’t have free will, then life is essentially meaningless because everything we’ve ever thought or done has already been determined. I’m not sure why determinism ...
4
votes
3answers
263 views
Are There Alternatives to Determinism and Stochasticism?
From my physicist's point of view, there are basically two ways of seeing the world: The world can be fundamentally deterministic or fundamentally stochastic (see also indeterminism). I believe that ...
2
votes
3answers
81 views
What role does “DESIRE” play in materialistic determinism?
Let us assume the worldview of extreme materialistic determinism. This is the belief that everything is the result of its material make up.
This view goes so far as to eliminate free will. Our ...
1
vote
0answers
69 views
About Aaron Snyder, The Paradox of Determinism
I am looking at Aaron Snyder's The Paradox of Determinism (American Philosophical Quarterly Vol.9, n.4, Oct. 1970)
Is it still discussed? Are his claims and arguments taken in account in present ...
1
vote
3answers
104 views
How do moral skeptics respond to the concept of permissible heinous acts
The Problem
Let's say I am debating my friend Jake who believes that morality exists. But I am a hard determinist who believes that all actions are predetermined by some act or event beforehand. Jake ...
1
vote
0answers
269 views
Is Freedom in existentialism compatible with determinism
Is freedom in existentialism compatible with determinism. Or does it simply refer to the subjective experience of deciding amongst a variety of possibilities
1
vote
2answers
110 views
Free will: is reality a record, a game or unpredictable?
If a world is a record (a film), then this scenario does not have conditional rules, i.e., if it can be implemented as a computer program, it will not have "if ... then ..." commands.
If a world is a ...
3
votes
5answers
722 views
Being a determinist and a believer in a multiverse seems contradictory
A determinist holds that everything is determined by the physical world around them and free will is an illusion.
A multiverse suggests there are an infinite number of alternative universes in ...
4
votes
5answers
225 views
Questioning determinism (example)
Questioning the world's deterministic behaviour, I shall present an example which seems to defy any certainty about the recurrence of events and is (obviously) a result of faulty logic, but I would ...
5
votes
5answers
720 views
I can't see how free will exists in a universe that's only causal or random, can I be convinced otherwise?
From what I've looked into on the topic of free will, I've found it difficult to see how it could exist in a universe of pure causality or randomness. However, I haven't fully abandoned the idea of ...
