Does anyone really think determinism is true?

Question

I know there are good arguments that we don't have freewill, but one thing is always left out of those argument: spontaneity.

People argue with have no freewill because off a bunch of different reasons, including that we can't be any different than our environment and genes made us. In a certain situation, we will always be more likely to do a certain thing.

That's where spontaneity come in. What if you just feel like trying something new? What if the weather makes you want something hot to drink, but you go into Starbucks, and a song playing inspires a random thought in your head which reminds you of a time that you got a frappacino. So you get a frappacino. So many things could affect your choice. You could happen to overhear someone talking about one drink, and another person talking about another while you look at the menu and think of the song thats on- there are so many factors it doesn't really seem there could be order.

How could your choice be completely determined?

Answer 1

No, determinism is just another nonsensical idea. Read a little chaos theory, or even just consider that movement at the sub-atomic level contains a large random element, and you'll better understand why.

Of course we have free will.

Answer 2

I am a determinist and a compatibilist. Please read the article on wikipedia on determinism. I will explain my philosophy.

I believe that everything that has and will happen is caused by an unbroken chain of prior occurrences. Ultimately you are not being spontaneous at all. If enough information was gathered about you, every decision you ever make could be determined.

I believe that despite this, we still have free will. Our decisions determine the future. We have the ability to make decisions based on many criteria like our mood, history, experiences, genetics, and what appears to many to be complete randomness. We are basically very complex emotional and spiritual robots. I also believe in God, and am a very logical individual.

I know you must think I’m off my rocker, and I don’t blame you for thinking that. You simply don’t understand, and I would have to write a book to adequately explain why I think this way.

Answer 3

Claiming that you discovered free will within quantum mechanics or math is a joke. We all have the illusion of free will because we can all do the unexpected. But just because something is unexpected doesn't mean it has escaped from cause-and-effect.

Every single branch of science, including physics, shows 100% causality. The 'randomness' of QM doesn't mean every particle has been granted free will. We will never achieve perfect determinism because we can't measure the current state of everything in the universe.

Your choice, no matter how spontaneous, was determined by the state just proceeding the moment you made that choice. Every neuron and molecule in your mind played a part in your choice, right before you become consciously aware of the choice.

Answer 4

I wanted to say something different but my fingers typed this instead :-)

It is an interesting idea and I don't think anyone can provide a yes or no answer, of course we all like to think that we have total free will but then you see cases of twins that were seperated at birth, never knew each other , lived in different states but still had the same job, named their dog with the same name, married at the same age to women who looked the same and various other similarities.

I'm not saying we live in the Matrix or anything, it's just that some things have to be pre determined for us.

Answer 5

Determinism is hog wash.
Of course I do things based on preceding thoughts which may be based on several preceding causes such as my senses.
This line of thinking does not consider choice.
I can at any time choose to act according to or against my inclination and disposition.

All that being said, I can make those choices if I am determined.
Ha, Ha!

Answer 6

BOTH!!!

and please read this for your own good.

the truth is that god DOESNT plan our futures. lol, yes i do believe in god. if u really want to know what he does, i can tell you. this is what god does: the very akward thing is that god is smart and has tricked us for more than 2,000 years. he doesnt give us FREE WILL OR DESTINY. he mixes them together.

to understand this imagine (hypothetically) that god gives you 2 choices. one is to smoke and the other is to not smoke. god plans out what happens if u smoke and he plans out i what happens if u dont smoke. This gives you free will to decide which path to choose, BUT it makes it destined because the path of what you chose is already carved out. so ur basically choosing which carved out/predestined path u want to take.

now the reason why god exist is becuase hes like your mother or father or your boss at work. when your boss at work gives you a job to do, you have many ways to do it. first imagine that your boss is basically mean and is trying to find a exuse to fire you. now your boss gives u 2 choices of how to finish the job. he breaths down your neck and just waits for u to make a mistake so he CAN fire you. this might seem like its not god, and its not. god goes according to these rules, however he does it in a VERY nice way. he gives u many choices all with predestined paths and whichever one u pick leads to how god can judge you on the final day(when u die and go to him).

Now this is how god adds up ur choices. depending on the paht u took from the predestined paths god gave u, god "grades" you. as doing so, if u picked to smoke then your "overall grade" goes down from this one "quiz/test". now just like in school where your overall grade is determined by averaging all your HW and test, quizzes, projects, etc. this is what god does. he "averages" all your "grades"(your choices made). by averaging your "grades" a "C" is a pass means you go to earth to retry(still thinking about his grading so these are estimates). an "A" takes you to heaven, and a "C-" or below takes you to hell(still working on what happens in hell, but i think you stay there for some time like a jail and are released and sent back to earth to try again after some time)

I hope this helps 1) give you a sense that god exists
2) gives you a sense that god is not as dumb as thought
and 3) gives you a sense of direction in your life

Answer 7

determination which has orignated only thru one's heart is true,and this is beyond mind and any arguements/reasons.so one must allow the freedom to choose/select to one's heart,not mind.

Answer 8

LOL! Determinism is brought up by monies!