(January 12, 2009 at 1:28 pm)josef rosenkranz Wrote: What I call statistic you call probabilistic but they are essentially the same feature of physical laws because the very notion of "possibility"or "probability" does not implicate total indeterminism but leaves open a factor to be completed for the whole of the picture whichHmm, I disagree. We say that shuffling cards of flipping coins is 'random', but only insofar as we our brains can't keep up with the mechanics of what's happening: we could, potentially, model the coin classically and determine whether heads or tails will come up.
is just determinism.
However, there is the added complication of quantum mechanics: there is a tiny (but non-zero) chance that the coin will do something quantum in the air, and the result will be different to what we classically expect.
This is what I mean by the universe being ultimately indeterminate. Macroscopic phenomena are deterministic only insofar as they have a very have probability of agreeing with the predictions of classical mechanics. When you get right down to it, there is an extraordinarily slim chance that, say, the underwear of that woman will 'pop' five feet to the left.
It is in this way that the universe is indeterminate: you cannot say with complete confidence what will happen to a given system at some arbitrary time in the future.
(January 12, 2009 at 1:28 pm)josef rosenkranz Wrote: I still affirm that most,if not all,laws of the universe and especially those concerning life are of a statistic (probabilistic) nature meaning the theyI'm not sure we're using the word 'determinism' and 'indeterminism' in the same way. When you say something has 'deterministic' features, what exactly do you mean?
are subject to both deterministic and indeterministic features.
In my opinion one shall not oppose within a physical law determinism versus indetreminism but rather speak of a duality of them.
"I am a scientist... when I find evidence that my theories are wrong, it is as exciting as if the evidence proved them right." - Stargate: SG1
A scientific man ought to have no wishes, no affections, -- a mere heart of stone. - Charles Darwin
A scientific man ought to have no wishes, no affections, -- a mere heart of stone. - Charles Darwin