Title: Determinism: Examples and Definition | Philosophy Terms
Headings: Determinism
Determinism
I. Definition
II. Types of Determinism
III. Determinism versus Free Will
IV. Controversies about Determinism
Does quantum mechanics necessarily mean that the universe is non-deterministic?
V. Quotes about Determinism
Quote #1:
Quote #2:
VI. Determinism in Pop Culture
Example #1: The Matrix
Example #2: Minority Report
VII. The History of Determinism
Quiz

Content: because that is what current science seems to imply: if quantum theory is correct, determinism is probably false
if neuroscience is correct, free will is probably false
As far as we know, our minds are entirely part of our brains, which simply obey the laws of physics. So, how could the activity of our brains not be determined by physical law? Quantum theory doesn’t help, because even if quantum events in our brain are un-determined, they’re random; random is just as much the opposite of free will as deterministic! But, of course, philosophers are always coming up with new ways to justify belief in determinism and / or free will—so there are lots of debates to be had and the jury is still out! One promising idea for allowing free will into natural law comes from the theory of complex systems – the idea of emergence . Emergence is when something new appears in nature, something which could not have been predicted due to its complexity, like weather events. Your brain might be deterministic (at least to a quantum degree) yet nevertheless unpredictable due to its complexity. Whether this makes free will possible or not is still an open question.