I've been a determinist for a long time without having a name for it, that was until I heard Tom Clark on the Point of Inquiry podcast. So since finding out that my little sacred cow actually had a name and, unfortunately, I wasn't it's creator I did some digging. It seems that determinism is okay at the macro level, but the evidence is somewhat against it at the quantum level.
Can we test for determinism? Could there be a mechnism to explain the apparently random events in quantum physics in terms of determinism? More importantly, am I making any sense?
Yes you're making sense. In theory the events at a quantum level could be chaotic ratehr than random. In which case they'd be deterministic from a "god's eye view" which could know a particles motions precicely without the limitations of heisenbergs uncertain principle.Originally Posted by NorthernSoul
From our point of view however the differences don't appear to be testable.
I tend to lean towards the theory of "chaos" as opposed to "random" when dealing with anything at the quantum level, which would indicate a correlation to determinism.
In other words, I agree with Matt, lol.
And I can't conceive of a way this could be "tested".
I am also a determinist (although I've always called it "fatalist").
Off topic here, I concede; but these aren't the same.
The determinist looks both ways before crossing the road. The fatalist doesn't bother.
Does fatalism require a deity, or something to predetermine an event without consideration of prior events?
And in determinism, if all events are the result of previous events then there must be a first event which had no cause but started the chain or alternatively an infinite chain of events, right? Also does determinism mean that whole mirror universe Star Trek "every decision we make creates an alternate timeline" stuff (I'm sure it has a more concise name) wouldn't happen?
So there can't be many fatalists left by now ...
A pessimist looks both ways before crossing a one-way street.
(When I first heard that it was before it was usual to find cyclists going the wrong way along a one-way street, or along any other bike-friendly surface in any direction they choose, without lights.)
Hmmm, I think of fatalism as something that's predetermined, and requires no type of deity. But I guess there is a difference between the two as it does not rely upon past events to lay a path (I had thought it did, but it does not).
And I think determinism can exist within the framework of the ST parallel universe theory - is that what you're talking about?
ROFL, Mulder, you've got a zinger in every thread!So there can't be many fatalists left by now ...
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks