Hard Determinism: A brief overview

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  • Hard Determinism: A brief overview
    • Physical determinism: We're made of matter which obeys the laws of physics.
      • Example: Our bodies have to adhere to the laws of gravity.
    • Biological determinism: Our characters are determined by our genes.
    • Scientific determinism: Science tells us that for every physical event there is has a physical cause.
      • Example: if we consider the mind to be material activity in the brain, chemical impulses, then our thoughts and desires are also pre-determined.
    • Philosophical determinism: The theory of universal causation is the belief that everything in the universe has a cause.
      • Locke's example of someone in a locked room is an example of philosophical determinism.
    • Psychological Determinism: Nature-Nurture. According to psychological determinism our characters are determined by our upbringing and experiences. There are many influencing factors on human behaviour.
      • Examples: hereditary, society, culture and environment.
    • Theological (divine) Determinism: This is the belief that the causal chain can be traced back to an uncaused causer (the cosmological argument) and this is God. If God is omniscient and omnipotent (as suggested by Calvin), then we cannot have free-will and our actions must be pre-determined.

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