The notion that free will does not exist.

"Since determinism is a constant force you can't make the prediction that far in advance and hope to be accurate. You might know the minute or the second before he makes the decision, but certainly not weeks, too much could change by then." Ah hah! See, if determinism existed, not only could we theoretically determine events about to happen in a split-second, we could determine all events because even the causes of far-future events would be the effect of things that exist right now. Yet you concede that "too much could change" between now and later events - you allow for an undetermined change, either random or willed! "The question would then become what is truly reality? If reality is the sphere of space in which you can experience life then wouldn't this be the exact definition of determinism? That decisions in your reality can't happen any other way. Sure there may be other realities, but they are nonconsequential because you can't experience life there." No. Even in that multiple-reality scenario, I'd still say: "IF I hadn't shot Bob (for choosing the wrong color button and defeating my prediction) THEN he would be alive. He might have been dead in an alternate reality, but he would be alive in this one, so my choice mattered." "We have this illusion of choice which makes us think that we have control over our choices and that our mind can control the things around us, when in actuality all of our choices are simply a reactionary element against all things around us with consideration of our life past and present. They don't have that illusion." So... Tourette's sufferers are the only true enlightened people? It's a fun thought, but it wouldn't explain how they think their desire to resist the impulses is voluntary. "However, another idea here, perhaps it's simply that what happens to them is unfavorable. Whenever our decisions are good we praise ourselves, whenever they are bad we curse luck, God, other people, et cetera." Interesting. Nonetheless, people are usually capable of feeling guilt, or at least responsibility/credit for their actions, and even Tourette's sufferers don't think they're being controlled by an outside force if they, say, vandalize a building. This once again proves that when people truly suffer from involuntary urges, they experience something unique. "But does not determinism control the material world? That is my argument, because determinism can be seen everywhere in the material universe and governs all relationships in the material universe then humans as part of the material universe must be also controlled by/affected by it." I have given a counterexample: spontaneous nuclear decay. No two things are more similar than two neighboring atoms in the middle of a sample, yet one may decay while the other may not. No one can even suggest what determines which does so. "Conscious choice though to me is an illusion and is only your past experiences, genetic predispositions, and current mood/attitude. So when a decision comes all of your past experiences, all of your genetic predispositions, all of your current mood/attitude are considered and all these causes are battled against each other until one side tips the balance and you are pushed into that direction. Is that not how decisions happen?" That just says decisions are rational rather than random. Attacking thought itself weakens your argument, and some choices are so SELF-determined that you cannot attribute them to outside causes alone. Like invention. Experiences can put you in a certain mood, but you can't give them credit for the melody you write when in that mood. And unless you believe in idea bubbles floating around, you can't give determinism credit when someone designs a radio or a better engine. His environment allowed him to do it and maybe made it easier, but it didn't put every word of his idea in his head.