Determinism (also called causal determinism) is the philosophical view that every event, including human cognition, behaviour, decision, and action is causally Causality is the relationship between an event and a second event (the effect), where the second event is a consequence of the first determined (completely predictable Predictability is the degree to which a correct prediction or forecast of a system's state can be made either qualitatively or quantitatively) by previous events.
Determinists believe the universe is fully governed by causal laws resulting in only one possible state at any point in time. With numerous historical debates, many varieties and philosophical positions on the subject of determinism exist, most prominently the free will debates involving compatibilism and incompatibilism Compatibilism is the belief that free will and determinism are compatible ideas, and that it is possible to believe both without being logically inconsistent.
Predeterminism Predeterminism is the idea that every event is caused, not simply by the immediately prior events, but by a causal chain of events that goes back well before recent events. For example, one's personal characteristics are predetermined by heredity, by a chain of events going back before one's birth proposes there is an unbroken chain of prior occurrences A chain reaction is a chain of events where one or more events in the chain causes additional reaction in an earlier stage of the chain. It results in a self-amplification of the chain of events back to the origin of the universe. Determinism should not be confused with Self-determination The right of nations to self-determination , or in short form self-determination is the principle in international law, that nations have the right to freely decide on their sovereignty and international political status without external compulsion or outside interference. The principle does not state how the decision is to be made, or what the of human actions by reasons, motives, and desires, or with predestination Predestination is a religious concept, which involves the relationship between God and God's creation. The religious character of predestination distinguishes it from other ideas about determinism and free will. Those who believe in predestination, such as John Calvin, believe that, before the Creation, God determined the fate of the universe, which specifically factors the existence of God God is the English name given to the singular omnipotent being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism into its tenets.
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Varieties of determinism
Causal determinism Causality is the relationship between an event and a second event (the effect), where the second event is a consequence of the first generally assumes that every event has an antecedent cause in an infinite causal chain going back to Aristotle Aristotle (384 BC – 322 BC) was a Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology. Together with Plato and Socrates (Plato's teacher), Aristotle is one of the most's Prime Mover Primum movens , in English usually referred to as the First Cause, is a term used in the philosophical and theological cosmological argument for the existence of God, and in thinking about cosmogony, the source of the cosmos or "all-being", and spontaneous generation of life or the beginning of the universe. Determinists believe that there is nothing uncaused or self-caused (causa sui Causa sui denotes something which is generated within itself. This concept was central to the works of Spinoza, Freud, and Ernest Becker, where it relates to the purpose that objects can assign to themselves. In Freud and Becker's case, the concept was often used as an immortality vessel, where something could create meaning or continue to create) - although quantum mechanics Quantum mechanics , also known as quantum physics or quantum theory, is a branch of physics providing a mathematical description of much of the dual particle-like and wave-like behavior and interactions of energy and matter. It departs from classical mechanics primarily at the atomic and subatomic scales. In advanced topics of QM, some of these complicates this position further (see 'Arguments' section below).
Logical determinism is the notion that all propositions, whether about the past, present or future, are either true or false. The problem of free will, in this context, is the problem of how choices can be free, given that what one does in the future is already determined as true or false in the present. This is referred to as the problem of future contingents The problem of future contingents is a logical paradox first posed by Diodorus Cronus from the Megarian school of philosophy and then reactualized by Aristotle in chapter 9 of On Interpretation . It was later discussed by Leibniz. Deleuze used it to oppose a "logic of the event" to a "logic of signification".
Nomological determinism is the thesis that future events are necessitated by past and present events combined with the laws of nature. Such determinism is sometimes illustrated by thethought experiment A thought experiment is a proposal for an experiment that would test or illuminate a hypothesis, theory, or principle of Laplace's demon In the history of science, Laplace's demon is a thought experiment described by Pierre-Simon Laplace in a paper published in 1814 involving a hypothetical entity envisioned such that if it knew the precise location and momentum of every atom in the universe then it could use deterministic principles to reveal the entire course of cosmic events,.
Necessitarianism is a metaphysical principle that denies all mere possibility; there is exactly one way for the world to be. Leucippus Leucippus or Leukippos was the first Greek to develop the theory of atomism — the idea that everything is composed entirely of various imperishable, indivisible elements called atoms — which was elaborated in far greater detail by his pupil and successor, Democritus claimed there were no uncaused events. "Nothing occurs at random, but everything for a reason and by necessity." This view is similar, and often synonymous, with Fatalism Fatalism is a philosophical doctrine emphasizing the subjugation of all events or actions to fate or inevitable predetermination.[1]
Psychological determinism can mean that humans must act according to reason, but it can also be synonymous with some sort of Psychological egoism Psychological egoism is the view that humans are always motivated by self-interest, even in what seem to be acts of altruism. It claims that, when people choose to help others, they do so ultimately because of the personal benefits that they themselves expect to obtain, directly or indirectly, from doing so. It is a non-normative view, since it. The latter is the view that humans will always act according to their perceived best interest.
Linguistic determinism Linguistic determinism is the idea that language and its structures limit and determine human knowledge or thought. Determinism itself refers to the viewpoint that all events are caused by previous events, and linguistic determinism can be used broadly to refer to a number of specific views claims that our language determines (at least limits) the things we can think and say and thus know. The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis The linguistic relativity principle is the idea that the varying cultural concepts and categories inherent in different languages affect the cognitive classification of the experienced world in such a way that speakers of different languages think and behave differently because of it argues that individuals experience the world based on the grammatical structures they habitually use.
Historical determinism Historical determinism is the stance in explaining history or advocating a political position that events are historically predetermined by various forces. Since such explanation is the norm, it may be better understood in contrast to its negation, i.e. the rejection of historical determinism is the stance in explaining history or advocating a political position that events are historically predetermined Predeterminism is the idea that every event is caused, not simply by the immediately prior events, but by a causal chain of events that goes back well before recent events. For example, one's personal characteristics are predetermined by heredity, by a chain of events going back before one's birth (and/or currently constrained) by various forces. It is associated with the dialectical idealism of G.W.F. Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (August 27, 1770 – November 14, 1831) was a German philosopher, one of the creators of German Idealism. His historicist and idealist account of reality as a whole revolutionized European philosophy and was an important precursor to Continental philosophy and Marxism Economic determinism Economic determinism is the theory which attributes primacy to the economic structure over politics in the development of human history. It is usually associated with the theories of Karl Marx, although many Marxist thinkers have dismissed plain and unilateral economic determinism as a form of "vulgar Marxism", or "economism", is the theory which attributes primacy to the economic structure over politics in the development of human history. It is associated with thedialectical materialism Dialectical materialism is a strand of Marxist theorizing, predominant in the Soviet Union, composed of a synthesis of Hegel's dialectics and Feuerbach's materialism, based upon an interpretation of Karl Marx's work. According to certain followers of Karl Marx's thinking, it is the philosophical basis of Marxism, although this remains a of Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, political economist, historian, political theorist, sociologist, communist, and revolutionary, whose ideas played a significant role in the development of modern communism and socialism. Marx summarized his approach in the first line of chapter one of The Communist Manifesto, published in 1848: ".
Theological determinism Theological determinism is a form of determinism which states that all events that happen are pre-ordained, or predestined to happen, by a monotheistic God. Theological determinism exists in a number of religions, including Judaism, Christianity and Islam or predestination Predestination is a religious concept, which involves the relationship between God and God's creation. The religious character of predestination distinguishes it from other ideas about determinism and free will. Those who believe in predestination, such as John Calvin, believe that, before the Creation, God determined the fate of the universe is thethesis A dissertation or thesis is a document submitted in support of candidature for a degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings. In some countries/universities, the word thesis or a cognate is used as part of a bachelor's or master's course, while dissertation is normally applied to a doctorate, whilst, in that there is a God God is the English name given to the singular omnipotent being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism who determines all that humans will do, either by knowing their actions in advance, via some form of omniscience Omniscience (or omniscient point-of-view in writing) is the capacity to know everything infinitely, or at least everything that can be known about a character including thoughts, feelings, life and the universe, etc. In monotheism, this ability is attributed to God. The God of the Bible is often referred to as "The Great I Am," among[2] or by decreeing their actions in advance.[3] The problem of free will, in this context, is the problem of how our actions can be free, if there is a being who has determined them for us ahead of time.
Spatio-temporal Determinism or Eternalism is the view of special relativity. The "block universe" of Hermann Minkowski and Albert Einstein assumes that time is simply a fourth dimension that already exists, just like the spatial dimensions. The one possible future is already out there up ahead of where we are now, just like the city blocks to our left and right, according to J. J. C. Smart John Jamieson Carswell "Jack" Smart AC is an Australian philosopher and academic who is currently Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at Monash University, Australia. He works in the fields of metaphysics, philosophy of science, philosophy of mind, philosophy of religion, and political philosophy. He calls himself "somewhat of a fatalist" and describes his view that all times are present as "tenseless."
Fatalism Fatalism is a philosophical doctrine emphasizing the subjugation of all events or actions to fate or inevitable predetermination is the simple idea that everything is fated to happen, so that humans have no control over their future. Notice that fate has arbitrary power and need not follow any causal or otherwise deterministic laws.
Adequate determinism is the thesis that quantum indeterminacy can be ignored for most macroscopic events, since random quantum events "average out" in the limit of large numbers In probability theory and statistics, the expected value of a random variable is the integral of the random variable with respect to its probability measure of particles, where the laws of quantum mechanics asymptotically approach the laws of classical mechanics.
Technological determinism Technological determinism is a reductionist theory that presumes that a society's technology drives the development of its social structure and cultural values. The term is believed to have been coined by Thorstein Veblen , an American sociologist. The most radical technological determinist in America in the twentieth century was most likely is a reductionist theory that presumes that a society's technology drives the development of its social structure and cultural values. Media determinism, a subset of technological determinism, is a philosophical and sociological position which posits the power of the media to impact society. Two leading media determinists are the Canadian scholars Harold Innis Harold Adams Innis was a Canadian professor of political economy at the University of Toronto and the author of seminal works on media, communication theory and Canadian economic history. The affiliated Innis College at the University of Toronto is named for him. Despite his dense and difficult prose, many scholars consider Innis one of Canada's and Marshall McLuhan Herbert Marshall McLuhan, CC was a Canadian educator, philosopher, and scholar—a professor of English literature, a literary critic, a rhetorician, and a communication theorist. McLuhan's work is viewed as one of the cornerstones of the study of media theory.
Determined by nature or nurture
Looking at a sculpture after some time, one does not ask whether we are seeing the effects of the starting materials OR environmental influences - the two interactSome deterministic theories frame themselves as an answer to the Nature or Nurture debate, suggesting that one will entirely determine behaviour. As scientific understanding has grown, the strongest versions of these theories have been widely rejected as single cause fallacy.[4] In other words, the modern deterministic theories attempt to explain how the interaction of both nature and nurture is entirely predictable. The concept of heritability Heritability is the proportion of phenotypic variation in a population that is attributable to genetic variation among individuals. Phenotypic variation among individuals may be due to genetic and/or environmental factors. Heritability analyses estimate the relative contributions of differences in genetic and non-genetic factors to the total has been helpful to make this distinction.
Biological determinism Biological determinism is the interpretation of humans and human life from a strictly biological point of view, and it is closely related to genetic determinism. Another definition is that biological determinism is the hypothesis that biological factors such as an organism's individual genes (as opposed to social or environmental factors), sometimes called Genetic determinism Genetic determinism is the belief that genes determine physical and behavioral phenotypes. It is usually taken to mean "that the genotype completely determines the phenotype, that is, the genes completely determine how an organism turns out" or that genes alone determine human traits and behaviours. However, nowadays practically every, is the idea that each of our behaviors, beliefs, and desires are fixed by our genetic nature.
Behavioral determinism Behaviorism , also called the learning perspective (where any physical action is a behavior), is a philosophy of psychology based on the proposition that all things that organisms do—including acting, thinking and feeling—can and should be regarded as behaviors. The behaviorist school of thought maintains that behaviors as such can be is the idea that all actions are reflex reactions established by operant Operant conditioning is the use of consequences to modify the occurrence and form of behavior. Operant conditioning is distinguished from classical conditioning in that operant conditioning deals with the modification of "voluntary behavior" or operant behavior. Operant behavior "operates" on the environment and is maintained or classical Classical conditioning is a form of associative learning that was first demonstrated by Ivan Pavlov. The typical procedure for inducing classical conditioning involves presentations of a neutral stimulus along with a stimulus of some significance. The neutral stimulus could be any event that does not result in an overt behavioral response from the conditioning from the environment. This Nurture-focused determinism was developed to an extreme by John B. Watson John Broadus Watson was an American psychologist who established the psychological school of behaviorism, after doing research on animal behavior. He also conducted the controversial "Little Albert" experiment. Later he went on from psychology to become a popular author on child-rearing, and an acclaimed contributor to the advertising and B. F. Skinner Burrhus Frederic Skinner was an American psychologist, author, inventor, social philosopher, and poet. He was the Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology at Harvard University from 1958 until his retirement in 1974.
Cultural determinism Cultural determinism is the belief that the culture in which we are raised determines who we are at emotional and behavioral levels. This supports the theory that environmental influences dominate who we are instead of biologically inherited traits or social determinism Consider certain human behaviors, such as having a particular sexual orientation, committing murder, or writing poetry. A social determinist would look only at social phenomena, such as customs and expectations, education, and interpersonal interactions, to decide whether or not a given person would exhibit any of these behaviors. They would is the nurture-focused theory that it the culture in which we are raised that determines who we are.
Environmental determinism Environmental determinism, also known as climatic determinism or geographical determinism, is the view that the physical environment, rather than social conditions, determines culture. Those who believe this view say that humans are strictly defined by stimulus-response and cannot deviate, also known as climatic or geographical determinism holds the view that the physical environment, rather than social conditions, determines culture. Those who believe this view say that humans are strictly defined by stimulus-response (environment-behavior) and cannot deviate. Key proponents of this notion have included Ellen Churchill Semple, Ellsworth Huntington, Thomas Griffith Taylor Thomas Griffith "Grif" Taylor was a British / Australian geographer, anthropologist and world explorer. He was a survivor of Captain Robert Scott's ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition to Antarctica (1910-1913) and possibly Jared Diamond, although his status as an environmental determinist is debated.[5]
Free will and determinism
Main article: Standard argument against free willDeterminism and Libertarianism are the key elements in the standard argument against free will.[6]
Either determinism is true or indeterminism is true. These exhaust the logical possibilities, according to the philosopher J. J. C. Smart.[7]
If determinism is true, we are not free. If indeterminism is true, our actions are random and our will lacks the control to be morally responsible.
This standard argument is found in the philosophical works of many current philosophers, both those who deny libertarian free will, and those who defend it. It is known under various names. Peter van Inwagen divides it into two distinct parts, the "Consequence Argument"[8] (if determinism is true, we are not free) and the "Mind Argument"[9] (if our actions are random, we are not morally responsible).[10] Galen Strawson called it the "Basic Argument" (an infinite regress in which our actions are determined by character and our character determined by prior actions).[11] John Martin Fischer calls it the "Dilemma of Determinism."[12] Robert Kane describes it as the "Ascent and Descent of Incompatibility Mountain."[13]
Compatibilism and incompatibilism
Main article: Compatibilism and incompatibilism
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Sat, 07 Aug 2010 12:33:46 GMT+00:00
Nigerian Observer political resurgence and economic determinism . Can't you now see what I mean? Can't you now observe that Zik was a lover of Jaw- breaking, tongue ...
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Sat, 16 Feb 2008 15:18:13 PST
A 5 minute introduction to Unit 1 of Decoding the Digital Society. youtube.com.
