Determinism

Notes

Claim

Determinism is the idea that theoretically, everything is a result of a chain of events, led by cause and effect.

Explanation

The easiest field that we believe is deterministic is mechanics. Things move according to the forces that influence them, in a very expectable way. Like when a ball hits another ball, that one didn't have the ability to do anything other than moving in the exact location that can be calculated by physics formulas. Reminds:: Complex things are best understood by their core parts

Similarly, other scientific fields such as electricity, chemistry, all are limited by rules that are universal and unbreakable such that it is technically possible to calculate the outcome of each situation.

Why it matters

If this is true, what are the conclusions for human action? After all, human actions are perhaps just a collection of chemical responses, or electrical signals. Aren't we like the ball that was hit, being forced to act in a certain way? That is the greatest challenge to free will.

Examples

Supporters

We wish to think that it's wrong, since humans often act in an unpredictable way, but perhaps that's just because We can't read minds, and because life is complex. We also assume we have Agency is the ability to connect desires and actions over our actions. That doesn't mean that we are acting in an indeterministic way, but rather we haven't been able to identify all the relevant variables, and find the formula that will produce the exact predictions.

Opposers

Open questions

Maybe it's all just a façade, like a video game character that thinks it is real. Maybe free will is just a biological bias, meant to help us remain active, while it is not more than an illusion.

Visual

Overview

🔼Topic:: Freedom and Agency 🔗Link::