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Determinism: Varieties: Michael Lacewing

This document discusses different varieties of determinism. It defines determinism as the belief that a fixed set of conditions and laws of nature can only produce one possible outcome. It describes physical determinism as the view that everything in the physical universe is causally determined by the previous state of the universe and laws of nature. The document also outlines hard determinism and libertarianism, which disagree on whether free will is compatible with physical determinism. Finally, it addresses how chance and quantum mechanics relate to determinism.

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Rienalyn Galsim
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82 views8 pages

Determinism: Varieties: Michael Lacewing

This document discusses different varieties of determinism. It defines determinism as the belief that a fixed set of conditions and laws of nature can only produce one possible outcome. It describes physical determinism as the view that everything in the physical universe is causally determined by the previous state of the universe and laws of nature. The document also outlines hard determinism and libertarianism, which disagree on whether free will is compatible with physical determinism. Finally, it addresses how chance and quantum mechanics relate to determinism.

Uploaded by

Rienalyn Galsim
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Determinism: varieties

Michael Lacewing
[email protected]

© Michael Lacewing
Determinism defined
• Syllabus: ‘the belief that a determinate set
of conditions can only produce one possible
outcome given fixed laws of nature’
• Universal causation: every event – everything
that happens or occurs – has a cause
– Even if we don’t know the cause, we don’t allow
that something ‘just happened’
• Causal necessity: given the total set of
conditions under which the cause occurs,
only one effect is possible
Causal necessity
• Regularity: the same cause will operate in
the same way on different occasions (laws of
nature)
• If the usual effect fails to follow, there must
be something different about the situation
• We need to consider anything that could
have an effect. The situation in which effect
must follow cause is the entire state of the
universe at that moment.
Physical determinism
• Everything that happens in the physical
universe is causally determined by the state
of the universe + laws of nature.
– E.g. every decision is determined by the
previous state of my brain
• If we could know the position of every
particle in the universe + the laws of nature,
every future physical event could be
predicted in principle.
– E.g. every movement of your body
Prediction and freedom

• Being able to predict what


someone will do isn’t
enough to show that they
aren’t free.
– Preferences
– Character traits
• It depends on whether the
basis for prediction rules
out the possibility that a
different action can’t
happen.
Hard determinism and
libertarianism
• Agree: If physical determinism is true,
we do not have free will.
• Hard determinism: Physical
determinism is true. Therefore, we do
not have free will.
• Libertarianism: We have free will.
Therefore, physical determinism is
false.
Chance and determinism
• Chaos theory: a tiny change in cause can
have a big effect
– This is not only compatible with determinism, it
depends on it!
• Quantum mechanics
– Theory about sub-atomic particles
– Some believe there is genuine randomness at this
level, or that quantum states are not determinate
– E.g. Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle: you cannot
accurately measure the velocity and position of an
electron simultaneously - is this because it doesn’t
have a precise velocity/position until measured?
Chance and determinism
• Other physicists reject indeterminacy as ‘out
there’; Schrodinger’s equation shows that
sub-atomic states change with perfect
regularity
• Some say that the randomness and
indeterminacy reflects limitations on our
knowledge
• In any case, quantum indeterminacy does
not affect the supra-atomic level

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