Determinism

Determinism is the view that every event is fixed by prior conditions and the laws of nature. Given the same complete conditions and laws, only one future can occur.

Causality: Causality is the relation in which one event or condition produces or influences another. Determinism connects causal dependence across time into a uniquely fixed history.
Indeterminism: Indeterminism is the view that some events are not uniquely fixed by prior conditions and laws. It denies the central claim that a complete past permits only one future.
Classical mechanics: Classical mechanics describes motion using Newtonian laws and related pre-quantum frameworks. Its standard equations often determine a unique trajectory from suitable initial conditions.
Free will: Free will is the capacity to make choices in a way relevant to agency and responsibility. Whether determined choices can count as free is a central dispute about determinism.
Laws of nature: Laws of nature are general principles describing regularities or governing relations in the physical world. Determinism says prior conditions and these laws jointly fix what happens next.
Fatalism: Fatalism is the view that certain outcomes occur regardless of what people do. Determinism allows actions to help cause outcomes; fatalism makes them irrelevant to those outcomes.
Laplace's demon: Laplace's demon is a thought experiment imagining an intellect that knows every physical state and law. It illustrates the ideal of predicting the entire future under universal determinism.
Moral responsibility: Moral responsibility is the status of being appropriately answerable for actions and their consequences. Determinism prompts debate about whether agents deserve praise or blame for actions fixed by prior conditions.
Initial conditions: Initial conditions specify the state of a system at a chosen starting time. A deterministic law yields one evolution when paired with a fully specified starting state.
Compatibilism: Compatibilism is the position that free will can coexist with determinism. It rejects the assumption that determined actions must therefore be unfree.

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