deterministic

de·ter·min·ism   (dĭ-tûr'mə-nĭz'əm)    n.  The philosophical doctrine that every state of affairs, including every human event, act, and decision is the inevitable consequence of antecedent states of affairs. de·ter'min·ist n., de·ter'min·is'tic adj., de·ter'min·is'ti·cal·ly adv.

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.

Main Entry: de·ter·min·ism
Pronunciation: di-'t&r-m&-"niz-&m
Function: noun
1 : a theory or doctrine that acts ofthe will, occurrences in nature, or social or psychological phenomena are causally determined by preceding events or natural laws determinism>
2 : the quality or state of being determined —de·ter·min·is·tic /-"t&r-m&-'nis-tik/ also de·ter·min·ist /-'t&rm-(&-)n&st/ adjective —de·ter·min·is·ti·cal·ly /-"t&r-m&-'nis-ti-k(&-)lE/ adverb

determinism de·ter·min·ism (dĭ-tûr'mə-nĭz'əm)
n.
The philosophical doctrine that every event, act, and decision is the inevitable consequence of antecedents, such as genetic and environmental influences, that are independent of the human will.

deterministic
1. Describes a system whose time evolution can be predicted exactly.
Contrast probabilistic.
2. Describes an algorithm in which the correct next step depends only on the current state. This contrasts with an algorithm involving backtracking where at each point there may be several possible actions and no way to chose between them except by trying each one and backtracking if it fails.
(1995-09-22)