Keylee Crutcher Section 8
Introducing you to Determinism
A Definition of Determinism:
“Determinism, in philosophy, theory that all events, including moral choices, are completely determined by previously existing causes. Determinism is usually understood to preclude free will because it entails that humans cannot act otherwise than they do. The theory holds that the universe is utterly rational because complete knowledge of any given situation assures that unerring knowledge of its future is also possible.”
( Read more here: https://www.britannica.com/topic/determinism )
For more of a deeper explanation of determinism (and free will) watch this YouTube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCGtkDzELAI
This video, that I linked above, gives a more detailed explanation of the thinking around determinism, libertarian free will, and reductionism. I really suggest you watch it if you thought the definition above didn’t make sense to you.
To understand determinism, you also need to understand reductionism: “the view that all parts of the world, and of our experience, can be traced back- or reduced down- to one singular thing.” (from the video). Your “choice” to read this right now is only happening because you’re on this website right now, in this class, in this university, the list goes on all the way back to when you were born, when your ancestors was born, and ends up at the first thing that started everything.
Determinism brings about some interesting questions, here is one that I would like you to think about:
Question: If we can’t actually control or choose what we do, should murders, for example, be held accountable?
My input: I do believe that it’s not entirely their fault they committed their crimes, they could’ve had a mental disorder for example, but I don’t think using determinism to justify what they did works. If we used this as a way to pardon these people, they’d just do it again or more people would start doing it seeing that there’s no penalty. When people learn things like this, and it actually affects them, some can feel like they’ve lost control of themselves and result to their urges. That’s not going to help anyone.
If you would like to read more about determinism, free will, and questions like the one I just mentioned, I personally recommend Free Will by Sam Harris. It’s the book that first introduced me to the concept, and I think it did a good job of broadening my knowledge on it.
I would just like to say, determinism doesn’t have to make you feel like William James (described in the book we read Sick Souls, Healthy Minds) for example, it can also make you confident. It all just depends on you and how you “choose” to take this information. You could disbelieve it of course, but if you do believe it, it doesn’t have to make you depressed. Just try to think of it in terms like “I’m going to do all the things I want and be happy because that’s what’s meant to happen for me. This thinking isn’t negative because it just means I’ll do whatever is meant for me to do, because that’s what I’m going to end up doing anyways.” I understand this sounds a little convoluted, but I just wanted to share that this is how I think about it.
Another thing I’d like to leave you with: obviously, don’t go around doing bad things because you think it’s fate or because you have no other choice, that is not the point of me writing this. On another note, I hope this gave you a nice introduction to determinism and intrigued you to want to learn more about it.☺
Total posts for the Semester: 26 = 24 discussion posts, midterm summary, and final blog post
Posted my introduction on Jan 28th
Responded to questions for Jan 28
Responded to questions for Feb 2nd
Responded to questions for Feb 4th
Responded to questions for Feb 9th
Responded to questions for Feb 11th
Responded to questions for Feb 16th
Responded to questions for Feb 18th
Responded to questions for Feb 25th
Responded to questions for March 2nd
Responded to questions for March 4th
Responded to questions for March 9th
Posted my Midterm summary under Questions March 11th
Responded to questions for March 23rd
Responded to questions for March 25th
Responded to questions for March 30th
Responded to questions for April 1st
Responded to questions for April 6th
Responded to questions for April 8th
Responded to questions for April 13th
Responded to questions for April 15th
Responded to questions for April 20th
Responded to questions for April 22nd
Responded to questions for April 27th
Final Blog post May 2nd
It's true, not everyone recoils from determinism as James did. Spinoza, for instance, seems to have been gratified and even exhilarated by the thought that all events in the world (including human behavior) are rationally necessitated and beyond spontaneous human interference. Personal temperament is a huge factor in "determining" one's reaction to determinism. Can we choose to alter our temperamants? A determinist presumably would say no, where free willists insist yes. And a pragmatist will say the only way to decide is to act on one or another hypothesis and then evaluate the results in the light of subsequent experience. If we ARE free, we can then make a new plan. But if we accede to the idea of a master plan of divine or rational/universal perfection, we should not want to. And THAT's what troubled James, and troubles many still. Our world so clearly is imperfect, or at least humans are bound to think so.
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