determinism
the doctrine that all facts and events exemplify natural laws.
the doctrine that all events, including human choices and decisions, have sufficient causes.
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Origin of determinism
1Other words from determinism
- de·ter·min·ist, noun, adjective
- de·ter·min·is·tic [dih-tur-muh-nis-tik] /dɪˌtɜr məˈnɪs tɪk/ adjective
- non·de·ter·min·ist, noun, adjective
Words that may be confused with determinism
- determinism , fatalism, necessitarianism
Words Nearby determinism
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use determinism in a sentence
We now understand that this is not about technological determinism.
Europe Is Saving Democracy From Big Tech, Says the Author of Surveillance Capitalism | Karl Vick | May 11, 2022 | TimeIn the early 1950s physicist David Bohm developed such a theory of “hidden variables” that restored determinism to quantum physics, but made no predictions that differed from the standard quantum mechanics math.
A century of quantum mechanics questions the fundamental nature of reality | Tom Siegfried | January 12, 2022 | Science NewsThis view, known as technological determinism, is historically flawed, politically dangerous, and ethically questionable.
The dangerous appeal of technology-driven futures | Sheila Jasanoff | June 30, 2021 | MIT Technology ReviewBiological determinism, the idea that human behavior is entirely innate, rightly makes people nervous.
This son has begun thrumming the strings of hereditary determinism, and is finding them holding taut.
Michael Hainey and Aleksandar Hemon’s Chicago Dreams | Chris Wallace | March 3, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
“The idea that our genes control our fates is called genetic determinism,” Lewis says.
I have discussed this question at length in my "determinism or Free Will."
Theism or Atheism | Chapman CohenThe same method should be followed with all the other expressions in the Bible which appear to teach determinism.
A History of Mediaeval Jewish Philosophy | Isaac HusikWe shall see that Hasdai Crescas was more consistent, and admitted determinism.
A History of Mediaeval Jewish Philosophy | Isaac HusikIn the present instance the objections to determinism are much greater and more serious than those to freedom.
A History of Mediaeval Jewish Philosophy | Isaac HusikThis determinism is in the one case what Bergson calls "radical finalism," and in the other "radical mechanism."
The Behavior of Crowds | Everett Dean Martin
British Dictionary definitions for determinism
/ (dɪˈtɜːmɪˌnɪzəm) /
Also called: necessitarianism the philosophical doctrine that all events including human actions and choices are fully determined by preceding events and states of affairs, and so that freedom of choice is illusory: Compare free will (def. 1b)
the scientific doctrine that all occurrences in nature take place in accordance with natural laws
the principle in classical mechanics that the values of dynamic variables of a system and of the forces acting on the system at a given time, completely determine the values of the variables at any later time
Derived forms of determinism
- determinist, noun, adjective
- deterministic, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for determinism
In ethics, the view that human actions are entirely controlled by previous conditions, operating under laws of nature. Determinism is often understood as ruling out free will.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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