Determinism is the belief that all actions and events result from other actions, events, or situations, so people cannot in fact choose what to do.
[formal]
I don't believe in historical determinism.
determinism in British English
(dɪˈtɜːmɪˌnɪzəm)
noun
1. 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 (sense 1b)
2.
the scientific doctrine that all occurrences in nature take place in accordance with natural laws
3.
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 determinethe values of the variables at any later time
Derived forms
determinist (deˈterminist)
noun, adjective
deterministic (deˌterminˈistic)
adjective
determinism in American English
(diˈtɜrmɪˌnɪzəm; dɪˈtɜrmɪˌnɪzəm)
noun
the doctrine that everything, including one's choice of action, is the necessary result of a sequence of causes
Derived forms
determinist (deˈterminist)
noun, adjective
deterministic (deˌterminˈistic)
adjective
deterministically (deˌterminˈistically)
adverb
Examples of 'determinism' in a sentence
determinism
And therefore the reconciliation of free will and determinism must... have a correspondence with the Doctrine of the Halting.