Determinism

Determinism is the philosophical view that all present and future events are determined by the antecedent circumstances/events. This is intuitive in two ways. The first by analogy of dominoes falling down: the first domino falls on the second, the second falls on the third, the third falls on the fourth, etc. They are completely determined in that things could not have happened another way (i.e. a domino couldn’t have jumped up and away to avoid getting knocked over). A second intuitive way of how determinism works, and is also a powerful argument for this view, is that with recent advancements in chemistry, physics, and psychology - it seems to be the case that there is no such thing as free will or the mind or the soul. It is all just neurons firing, and chemicals responding in a determined way. These neuronal firings and chemical processes completely determine our future actions and desires. Nonetheless, it is important to note that determinism is a philosophical view, and not a scientific one, primarily because it is not fully accepted as a grand working theory yet. For example, recent discoveries in physics and quantum mechanics may point to an indeterminate spontaneity that challenges this view that everything is determined. A major working point for determinists has been to not only lay out the theory descriptively, but also prescriptively. If everything is determined in the universe, including human will, then what becomes of morality? This is still a continuing debate, though many answers have arisen - such as the belief that determinism and free will are actually compatible.