The doctrine that every event has a cause. The main philosophical interest of determinism has been in assessing its implications for free will.
0
votes
1answer
12 views
How do moral skepticists 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 ...
0
votes
0answers
51 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
82 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
3answers
230 views
Being a determinist and a believer in a multiverse seems contradictatory
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
161 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
321 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 ...
1
vote
1answer
71 views
Many worlds defeats Doomsday argument (betting version)?
Here is a calculation regarding observers placing bets in the many-worlds scenario.
Let us assume that an observer has some current rank n in the human race (there have been n-1 humans born before ...
2
votes
1answer
63 views
What term describe 'future events can't have a truth value until they occur' and 'even if the future isn't fixed, what'll happen will happen'?
Source: Benatar, D. The Human Predicament (2017 1 edn). p. 235, for p. 114 Footnote 30.
I add this qualification because some people may think that unless determinism is true, [1.] future events ...
0
votes
1answer
104 views
Is there any formal axiomatized definition of Determinism in First Order Logic (FOL), or any other logical system for that matter?
Is there any formal axiomatized definition of Determinism written in First Order Logic (FOL), with a semantic interpretation maybe rooted in Set Theory, or based on any other logical system and ...
3
votes
3answers
139 views
How is free-will formally defined as distinct from determinism, randomness and determinism-randomness hybrid to support moral responsibility?
Usually free-will is assumed by most faith traditions as a prerequisite for moral responsiblity in order to justify eternal punishment. The argument goes as "you are truly responsible for your immoral ...
0
votes
2answers
67 views
Free will, what do philosophers think this is? [closed]
My personal definition of free will is my ability to be the prime mover of all my practical actions.
I am a physical being bounded by my physical and psychological needs, but I can choose and apply ...
2
votes
3answers
122 views
Is it unfair to eternally punish people in hell if determinism is true?
If determinism happens to be true, then people just do what the laws of Physics governing the chemical interactions of neurons in their brains make them do. In such a scenario, wouldn't it be unfair ...
1
vote
1answer
59 views
Against Historical (or Geographical) Determinism
It seems that determinism has gained tremendously in terms of being accepted as a general theory of everything by a large number of people. Books like The Selfish Gene and Guns, Germs, and Steel have ...
5
votes
1answer
125 views
Can small random pieces produce a deterministic whole?
Quantum mechanics offers some statistical reasoning for small pieces of length in the Universe (please correct me if I'm wrong). To some extent everything has uncertainty. We might even say that it is ...
3
votes
13answers
622 views
Sketch of a proof for real free will?
I have read many contemporary philosophers and the mainstream view seems to be that real free will is an illusion in the sense that consciousness is an emergent phenomenon which is only set on top of ...
7
votes
1answer
142 views
Why does Newcomb's paradox seem to have different solutions depending on when the choice is made despite determinism?
I believe the Newcomb's paradox is a significant problem in philosophy, since I regard it as a well formulated version of the lazy argument (under certain conditions) with real life implications.
...
1
vote
1answer
138 views
Can someone explain Compatibilism to me?
Here is the definition of Free will:
Free Will: Ability to choose between different possible courses of action unimpeded.
and that of Determinism:
Determinism: All events are completely ...
1
vote
2answers
53 views
Richard Taylor’s determinism
What are the premises he’s stating:
…determinism cannot be reconciled with [the fact that] it is sometimes up to me what I am going to do. For
if it is ever really up to me whether to do this thing ...
1
vote
1answer
89 views
Why does utilitarianism presuppose that objective utility can exist and is to the benefit of a society?
Utilitarianism asserts that a society can operate according to the benefit of the most members of the population, and that actions on behalf of a society should maximize utility. Why does it assert ...
2
votes
2answers
114 views
Is the existence of an omniscient creature impossible?
I'm not talking about God, so the subject doesn't have to be omnipotent. Is there any logical inconsistency that would make the existence of such creature impossible? How would determinism affect the ...
2
votes
5answers
224 views
How can our actions be regarded as free if they are causally determined?
After all, soft determinists are determinists, so they believe that our actions are causally determined. How can our actions be regarded as free if they are causally determined?
3
votes
1answer
75 views
Would there be free will if we assume a stochastic component in the decision making?
I was reading this answer regarding materialism and free will. It says that, under the assumption that there isn't a random process underlying decision making, there is no free will.
And isn't that a ...
3
votes
1answer
79 views
Which known philosophers are firm determinists?
I'm aware of the compatibilist attitude by some philosophers, such as Hegel and Daniel Dennet. I am interested in some philosophers who are firm determinists (deny free will).
2
votes
3answers
98 views
Is the way we love deterministric?
Is the only way we are able to love the way we have been loved?
In other words: Do we learn how to love? What is the relation between giving love and receiving love? (regardless of the definition of ...
1
vote
2answers
106 views
Logical Fallacies in Blomstrom's Wager
I discovered a discussion of logical fallacies inherent in Pascal's Wager. It occurred to me that a similar strategy could be used to sidestep the debate regarding determinism: It simply makes sense ...
3
votes
1answer
153 views
Determinism vs Coin Flip
Some have argued that you can escape determinism (assuming it's real to begin with) by flipping a coin: heads = chocolate, tails = strawberry.
But determinists can argue that you were preordained to ...
3
votes
5answers
635 views
What is the purpose of consciousness?
Please jump to the 'Edit' portion of the question, because the below portion MAY seem confusing or irrelevant.
Assuming that the control over things we have is illusory, as beautifully explained by ...
2
votes
1answer
164 views
Many-worlds defeats Doomsday argument (improved version)?
This is a more carefully argued version of my previous post Many-worlds Interpretation defeats the Doomsday argument?
Standard Doomsday Argument
Let N be the total number of humans who will ever ...
8
votes
4answers
235 views
Is there a term for the position “no determinism but no free will”?
Often when free will is discussed, there are three main positions espoused:
Libertarian: The universe is not deterministic and there is free will
Hard-determinism: The universe is deterministic and ...
5
votes
4answers
194 views
Many-worlds Interpretation defeats the Doomsday argument?
By making the a priori assumption that we are equally likely to be anywhere along the chronological list of humans, the Doomsday argument implies that our position n is correlated with the future ...
1
vote
0answers
38 views
What are the arguments in favour of hard incompatibalism leading to better social outcomes?
If free will is not compatible with determinism or a non-deterministic universe, so is moral responsibility; that is, if hard incompatibilism is true.
If we punish those who commit crimes with less ...
1
vote
1answer
963 views
Truth Claims - Free Will - Determinism
In this video, Ravi Zacharias when asked how we can have free will if God already knows what we are going to do, says the following:
"The moment you make a truth claim you are rising above the ...
1
vote
3answers
83 views
Is nothing a theoretical possibility unless it actually happens?
If determinism is true, would that mean that in a scientific theory, everything that is a theoretical possibility actually happens? I apologize if this question is similar to previous questions of ...
4
votes
2answers
140 views
How does Hegel overcome determinism without noumena?
Hegel rejects the noumena/phenomenical dichotomy developed by Kant in his transcendental idealism and replaces it with his idea of absolute idealism. Kant, embedded in a Newtonian paradigm, holds the ...
8
votes
3answers
237 views
Aren't Determinism and Free Will indiscernible from the mortal perspective?
The title sort of says it all.
Aren't Determinism and Free Will indiscernible from the mortal perspective?
Under Determinism if I don't know what the plan is then whatever I do is was and always ...
5
votes
5answers
2k views
Can I predict my future by observing all humans/events
There is NO RANDOM in the Universe (Atleat in our universe)
Humans have NO FREE WILL (Determinism vs Free Will: Crash Course Philosophy #24)
I believe everything happened/happening in the universe is ...
0
votes
2answers
171 views
Can order come from chaos?
I've been considering the idea that matter, or some material substance, has either always existed, or just began to exist because it's necessary that it exist. In either event, it was chaotic, ...
3
votes
4answers
335 views
Can spontaneous body movements confirm or infirm free will?
When explaining to someone why I don't believe in freewill, it is almost certain that they will flap their arms around or do some sort of strange dance with their arms.
I know the reason why they do ...
3
votes
2answers
301 views
Are there any philosophers who believe “If Determinism is true, there are no counterfactual possibilities”?
I am a person who believes that conditional proposition. I am not sure if the theory of everything that describes the world is a deterministic one or not, so it is an open question. But are there any ...
2
votes
1answer
309 views
Is quantum indeterminacy inextricable from observation?
I understand uncertainty from a combinatorial and game theoretic perspective, as functions of incomplete or imperfect information, or intractability which is a type of inaccessible information in that ...
2
votes
1answer
294 views
Free will and hard determinism
Can we say that hard determinism and free will are mutually exclusive by definition?
7
votes
6answers
563 views
Counter Proof to determinism?
I have recently been thinking a lot about determinism and pretty much decided there was no reason to refute it as there was no evidence of free will that I could find. However, a couple of days ago, ...
2
votes
1answer
174 views
Can a deterministic model of the universe account for an agent's free will? [duplicate]
If the divergence caused by an act of free will cannot be sustained temporally, then would a material-deterministic universe self-correct? Or am I just changing the frame of reference here to account ...
2
votes
0answers
27 views
Has anyone described what the universe must be like for agent-caused free will to be possible? [duplicate]
Let's define free will as the ability for a human being to make a choice that does not completely depend on the history of the universe. The universe may be assumed to be indeterministic. Any simple ...
4
votes
5answers
206 views
Am I just a force of nature? (physicalist determinism)
I was pondering for a while on determinism and had a hard time explaining how we living things are seemingly able to change our surroundings by force of will. Inanimate object can change their ...
8
votes
2answers
200 views
Is Compatibilism just a word game?
I understand compatibilism to mean that an action can be free if it is self-determined by the agent, even if it would have been impossible for the agent to choose any other action. Consider the ...
2
votes
2answers
174 views
Is a suicidal person who continues to live disproving/contradicting determinism? [closed]
Consider someone who has repeatedly considered suicide, but who does not carry it out. There are two ways you can look at this (for the sake of argument here at least):
1.The person doesn't do it ...
5
votes
3answers
252 views
Relation between Existence of Free Will and Existence of the Self
So, I am a student in mathematics and physics with no formal training in philosophy whatsoever, although I enjoy reading popular discussions of philosophical questions. However, my question is bound ...
1
vote
2answers
74 views
Can chance be both the determining factor as well as that which breaks the chain of causality? [closed]
Chance as the determining factor in the sense that it may be the prima causa of an event or set of events. For example, you were born by accident into a rich family, and this rich family enabled you ...
1
vote
1answer
67 views
Do we make spontaneous decisions or are our decisions based on prior experience and sub conscience evaluation
Do humans ever make spontaneous decisions in its true meaning?
Or our decisions, including the ones made spontaneously, the product of our previous experiences, thoughts and sub conscience ...
