free will is incompatible with both determinism and indeterminism, the libertarians that determinism does not hold, and free will might exist, and the hard Determinism is the metaphysical view that all events within the universe can occur only in one possible way. Deterministic theories throughout the history of philosophy have developed from diverse and sometimes overlapping motives and considerations. Like eternalism, determinism focuses on particular events rather than the future as a concept. Determinism is often contrasted with free will, althou P…

iews about human free action on the other. In both of these general areas there is no agreement over whether determinism is true (or even whether it can be known true or false), and what the import for human agency would be in either case. 1. Introduction 2. Conceptual Issues in Determinism 2.1 The World 2.2 The way things are at a time t 2.3 Thereafter 2.4 Laws of nature 2.5 Fixed 3. The Epistemology of Determinism 3.1 Laws again 3.2 Experience 3.3 Determinism and Chaos 3.4 Metaphysical arguments 4. The Status of Determinism in Physical Theories 4.1 Classical mechanics 4.2 Special Relativistic physics 4.3 General Relativity (GTR) 4.4 Quantum mechanics 5. Chance and Determinism 6. Determinism and Human Action Bibliography Academic Tools Other Internet Resources Related Entries 1. Introduction In most of what follows, I will speak simply of determinism , rather than of causal determinism . This follows philosophical practice of sharply distinguishing views and theories of what causation is from any conclusions about the success or failure of determinism (cf. Earman, 1986; an exception is Mellor 1995). Traditionally determinism has been given various, usually imprecise definitions. This is only problematic if one is investigating determinism in a specific, well-defined theoretical context; but it is important to avoid certain major errors of definition. In order to get started we can begin with a loose and (nearly) all-encompassing definition as follows: Determinism: Determinism is true of the world if and only if, given a specified way things are at a time t , the way things go thereafter is fixed as a matter of natural law . The italicized phrases are elements that require further explanation and investigation, in order for us to gain a clear understanding of the concept of determinism. The notion of determinism may be seen as one way of cashing out a historically important nearby idea: the idea that everything can, in principle, be explained , or that everything th