Why Something Rather Than Nothing?

[datc]

Yes, but the word "choice" is these days used in compatibilistic circles to refer to the subjective experience of the resolution of a weighted decision. So it may be inevitable that I choose the Mars Bar rather than the Skittles, but I still experience the back-and-forth that goes on until I finally reach out my hand.

That's cool; let then "making a choice intelligently" generally mean the act of contemplation in the intellect and weighing in the will (for expected utility) of the alternatives. The choice may well be deterministic still, and compatibilism may be true, but it's a different type of determination than a physical cause.

So, instead of "A deterministic cause definitely results in a particular effect..." I should've said "A physical cause..."