RE: An Argument Against Determinism
March 13, 2026 at 9:03 pm
(This post was last modified: March 13, 2026 at 9:04 pm by The Grand Nudger.)
You know, IDK that randomness helps determinism.
Epistemological randomness, sure. The bus factor. As in, everything is going one particular way with one generally predictable end and you get hit by a bus. In the bus example we probably think we have a good explanation for why things went sideways to our expectations (though that;s only because we haven't asked enough questions...). Maybe it's a bus we don't know about - but there are bus facts, bus mechanics. Metaphysical randomness, maybe maybe not. Random x's might be included as prior events in the natural laws and prior events understanding of determinism. It does seem to say, though, that if truly random x's exist then not everything is deterministic in the strongest sense of the term we might want to employ.
Does randomness actually get us freedom, though? We don't generally think of things that randomly happen as an instance of us using our will. We think our will as a determinitive causal agent. Maybe you can add all the randomness you want, and maybe it breaks determinism, and maybe we still aren't free in the sense that these arguments always stalk around. Maybe genuine metaphysical freedom (if it's distinct from randomness), even, exists in the universe. Maybe it is possible. We just don't have it.
Epistemological randomness, sure. The bus factor. As in, everything is going one particular way with one generally predictable end and you get hit by a bus. In the bus example we probably think we have a good explanation for why things went sideways to our expectations (though that;s only because we haven't asked enough questions...). Maybe it's a bus we don't know about - but there are bus facts, bus mechanics. Metaphysical randomness, maybe maybe not. Random x's might be included as prior events in the natural laws and prior events understanding of determinism. It does seem to say, though, that if truly random x's exist then not everything is deterministic in the strongest sense of the term we might want to employ.
Does randomness actually get us freedom, though? We don't generally think of things that randomly happen as an instance of us using our will. We think our will as a determinitive causal agent. Maybe you can add all the randomness you want, and maybe it breaks determinism, and maybe we still aren't free in the sense that these arguments always stalk around. Maybe genuine metaphysical freedom (if it's distinct from randomness), even, exists in the universe. Maybe it is possible. We just don't have it.
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