Determinism: Difference between revisions
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== '''Etymology''' == | == '''Etymology''' == | ||
The word "determinism" comes from the latin verb "determinare" and translates to: define, establish, calculate, set out, cause, bring about and decide.<ref>Wiktionary contributors. (2023, June 25). Determinare. In ''Wiktionary''. Retrieved January 5, 2024 from https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/determinare#:~:text=From%20Latin%20d%C4%93termin%C4%81re%20(%E2%80%9Climit%2C%20set%20a%20bound%E2%80%9D)</ref> | The word "determinism" comes from the latin verb "determinare" and translates to: define, establish, calculate, set out, cause, bring about and decide (Wiktionary contributors, 2023).<ref>Wiktionary contributors. (2023, June 25). Determinare. In ''Wiktionary''. Retrieved January 5, 2024 from https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/determinare#:~:text=From%20Latin%20d%C4%93termin%C4%81re%20(%E2%80%9Climit%2C%20set%20a%20bound%E2%80%9D)</ref> | ||
== '''Definitions''' == | == '''Definitions''' == | ||
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==== Free Will (Indeterminism) ==== | ==== Free Will (Indeterminism) ==== | ||
Again referring to the [[Free will|article about free will]], free will (also called indeterminism) refers to having the full control to independently decide, which actions to carry out. In other words, free will can be described as ''"a significant kind of control over one’s actions”''<ref>O’Connor, | Again referring to the [[Free will|article about free will]], free will (also called indeterminism) refers to having the full control to independently decide, which actions to carry out. In other words, free will can be described as ''"a significant kind of control over one’s actions”'' (O’Connor & Franklin, 2022)<ref>O’Connor, T., & Franklin, C. (2022). Free Will. ''The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' (Winter 2022 Edition), Edward N. Zalta & Uri Nodelman (eds.). https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2022/entries/freewill</ref>, as cited in the article. | ||
==== Causal Determinism ==== | ==== Causal Determinism ==== | ||
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==== Compatibilism ==== | ==== Compatibilism ==== | ||
As explained in the [[Free will|article about free will]], compatibilism is the idea that determinism is fully compatible with free will, and also that the freedom or abscence of freedom of an action is defined independently from its determination or causation, but by whether the action is caused by the person in question itself or another person or circumstance. Moreover, compatibilism states that causation and determination are a necessity for free and responsible action.<ref name=":1">Russell, P. (2020, May 27). Hume on free will. ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy''. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/hume-freewill/#FreWilHumRel</ref> | As explained in the [[Free will|article about free will]], compatibilism is the idea that determinism is fully compatible with free will, and also that the freedom or abscence of freedom of an action is defined independently from its determination or causation, but by whether the action is caused by the person in question itself or another person or circumstance. Moreover, compatibilism states that causation and determination are a necessity for free and responsible action (Russell, 2020).<ref name=":1">Russell, P. (2020, May 27). Hume on free will. ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy''. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/hume-freewill/#FreWilHumRel</ref> | ||
==== Incompatibilism ==== | ==== Incompatibilism ==== | ||
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Since humans are prone to logical errors, their ability to always predict an event correctly would not be ensured, even given sufficient data. The informational content of a message about an event they failed to deduce correctly, might still be present to a certain level, but would be restricted by the extent of their error. | Since humans are prone to logical errors, their ability to always predict an event correctly would not be ensured, even given sufficient data. The informational content of a message about an event they failed to deduce correctly, might still be present to a certain level, but would be restricted by the extent of their error. | ||
Also, the average person lacks the scientific expertise to calculate all outcomes of any event as determined by all natural laws. This becomes even harder when we consider the idea of the butterfly effect, as Robert Bishop demonstrated in his article about Chaos, using the following example: " [...] the flapping of a butterfly’s wings in Argentina could cause a tornado in Texas three weeks later."<ref>Bishop, R. (2024, October 11). Chaos. ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy''. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/chaos/</ref> To predict an event, all small events, such as the flapping of a butterfly’s wings, should be considered carefully, and missing even one small event would lead to a false prediction. | Also, the average person lacks the scientific expertise to calculate all outcomes of any event as determined by all natural laws. This becomes even harder when we consider the idea of the butterfly effect, as Robert Bishop demonstrated in his article about Chaos, using the following example: " [...] the flapping of a butterfly’s wings in Argentina could cause a tornado in Texas three weeks later." (Bishop, 2024)<ref>Bishop, R. (2024, October 11). Chaos. ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy''. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/chaos/</ref> To predict an event, all small events, such as the flapping of a butterfly’s wings, should be considered carefully, and missing even one small event would lead to a false prediction. | ||
All in all, it can be said, that based on Shannon's idea of information, determinism might limit the presence of real information with a surprise factor, but not fully remove it, because any logic used to predict an event requires premises in the form of knowledge about previous events and natural laws. Furthermore, humans, might misapply their logic, leading to incorrect predictions, and would likely fail to consider all events that are causally linked to their prediction. | All in all, it can be said, that based on Shannon's idea of information, determinism might limit the presence of real information with a surprise factor, but not fully remove it, because any logic used to predict an event requires premises in the form of knowledge about previous events and natural laws. Furthermore, humans, might misapply their logic, leading to incorrect predictions, and would likely fail to consider all events that are causally linked to their prediction. | ||