Definition of Determinism

1. Noun. (philosophy) a philosophical theory holding that all events are inevitable consequences of antecedent sufficient causes; often understood as denying the possibility of free will.

Specialized synonyms: Fatalism
Category relationships: Philosophy
Generic synonyms: Philosophical Doctrine, Philosophical Theory
Derivative terms: Determinist, Deterministic

Definition of Determinism

1. n. The doctrine that the will is not free, but is inevitably and invincibly determined by motives.

Definition of Determinism

1. Noun. (context: ethics) The doctrine that all actions are determined by the current state and immutable laws of the universe, with no possibility of choice. ¹

2. Noun. (computing) The property of having behavior determined only by initial state and input. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Determinism

1. [n -S]

Medical Definition of Determinism

1. The doctrine that the will is not free, but is inevitably and invincibly determined by motives. "Its superior suitability to produce courage, as contrasted with scientific physical determinism, is obvious." (F. P. Cobbe) Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Determinism

determinator
determinators
determine
determined
determinedly
determinedness
determiner
determiner phrase
determiners
determines
determinest
determineth
determining
determining(a)
determining factor
determinism (current term)
determinisms
determinist
deterministic
deterministic model
deterministically
determinists
determinization
determinize
determinized
determinizes
determinizing
deterr
deterrabilities
deterrability

Literary usage of Determinism

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Heredity and Environment in the Development of Men by Edwin Grant Conklin (1922)
"determinism AND RESPONSIBILITY Many persons who have thought upon these subjects have felt, apparently, that there was no tenable middle ground between ..."

2. Some Dogmas of Religion by John McTaggart Ellis McTaggart (1906)
"But what made them horrible was not the belief in determinism, but the belief in hell. The belief that we are predestined to salvation is, ..."

3. Psychological Review by American Psychological Association (1902)
"POST-HYPNOTIC SUGGESTION AND determinism. In his essay on ' The Dilemma of ... 150) : "Now, evidence of an external kind to decide between determinism and ..."

4. Problems of Science by Federigo Enriques (1914)
"PSYCHOLOGICAL determinism AND FREE WILL. But in truth biological determinism would not be seriously contested by any one, if from accepting it in its widest ..."

5. A Study of Origins: Or, The Problems of Knowledge, of Being and of Duty by Edmond de Pressensé (1884)
"determinism AND FREE-WILL. We are thus brought to the essential principle of utilitarian morality, which is determinism. If it is true, then the morality of ..."

6. Religion as Credible Doctrine: A Study of the Fundamental Difficulty by William Hurrell Mallock (1903)
"I have spoken of the determinism of the will as considered under its ... He is so preoccupied with the determinism of molecules that he forgets the ..."

7. Ethics: An Investigation of the Facts and Laws of the Moral Life by Wilhelm Max Wundt (1901)
"(c) Indeterminism and determinism. The ordinary view confuses this impossibility of foreseeing events with a denial of their causation. ..."

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