Philosophy: Determinism Accurately Describes Reality

In this debate, my opponent is taking the hard determinist stance that everything in the whole of existence is predetermined. My duty is to demonstrate that some things are not determined, and I will also present a case for free will. Definitions: Determinism - The philosophical doctrine that every state of affairs, including every human event, act, and decision is the inevitable consequence of antecedent states of affairs. [1] Free Will - The philosophical doctrine that the conduct of human beings expresses personal choice and is not simply determined by physical or divine forces. [1] ========== The Microcosm ========== On a small scale, it is quite clear that quantum particles are indeterministic and here's why: The Copenhagen Interpretation (standard interpretation) of Quantum Theory holds that the laws of nature are indeterministic and probabilistic. [2] In this interpretation, a small particle swerves in a particular direction at a particular time and can only be described by probabilistic equations. However, the movement of the particle is indeterministic or random. [2] In classical physics, the future motion of a particle can be exactly predicted or determined based on physical laws. However, Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle contradicts this and we find that quantum particles are unpredictable and indeterministic. The future motion of a particle cannot be known, but only a range of possibilities. It is also true that the position and momentum cannot even be precisely measured. [3] So it can be concluded, that absolutely, on a small scale, determinism is demonstrably false. ========== The Macrocosm ========== On a large scale, there are two things that need to be considered: objects and conscious beings. It is obvious that objects are most certainly deterministic as can be predicted by physics and laws of motion. An object such as a ball, is bound by predetermined events and physical laws. If it moves, it's because it reacted to an external agent exerting force on it and inevitably moved a certain distance. However, the decisions and actions of humans and animals are not entirely deterministic. We have minds that have the ability to contain, process, and analyze information, and based on the analysis of that information, a person can choose freely, how to react. A hard determinist would like to view things as if there is only one way to react to a prior action. For example, someone gets hungry, and therefore eats to satisfy that need. However, a person will also have conflicting information in the mind that suggests otherwise. If that person is on a strict diet, they have a desire or urge to eat to appease the hunger, but may choose not to eat for other personal reasons. But the choice could go either way, and no prior action can trigger an inevitable reaction in that case. That person was free to choose. This is rather quite common in everyday life where someone has to choose, whether it be something they want to do, something against their will, or something they don't want to do, but do it in order to achieve something. One must also take into consideration that a person can clear their mind, disregard previous experiences, and make decisions that are not influenced by past experiences. This will enable free choices to be made, regardless of prior external agents or actions. =========== Other Arguments =========== Determinism, is essentially this: if you push a domino, the domino after that will fall, and the one after that will also fall as the result of action and inevitable reaction. You can predict that the next domino in line will fall, but if this were true for reality, we should also be able to predict future outcomes in the same manner. Of course though, reality doesn't work like that. There are choices in reality, and the analogy of dominoes does not allow for alternative choices. It's just a straight line of action-reaction. In life, there are actions, and *many possible reactions* in which a conscious entity has the free will to choose from. In a deterministic framework, everything is a logical if-then statement of "if this occurs, then this inevitable reaction occurs." However, human beings have made many *illogical and irrational* choices. Therefore, under determinism, irrationality and illogicality do not exist and every action is an inevitable, logical reaction to a prior condition. Another point to be made is that something may be probable to occur after a certain action, but it cannot be proven that it will happen. My opponent is unable to prove that a certain reaction will occur as the result of an action. It might be probable that A --> B, but she cannot prove that it will be B, for it is an unknown, undetermined future event. It could be C, D, E, F, or any other letter or outcome. ====== Free Will ====== In the philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre, he suggests that people can decide to break with their past, and such a person must continually redefine himself. Sartre holds that things are far from being determined, and that people are so free, it terrifies them into believing they are determined. [4] ======= Conclusion ======= In conclusion, I have demonstrated that determinism is not true for quantum particles nor is it wholly true for objects and conscious beings. There can sometimes be multiple external agents and multiple possible reactions that a deterministic framework cannot account for. It instead presents a false paradigm of a strict action-reaction model. "Man is condemned to be free." - Jean-Paul Sartre [1] http://www.dictionary.com... [2] http://www.iep.utm.edu... [3] http://www.aip.org... [4] http://instruct.westvalley.edu...