Determinism: The doctrine that every fact in the universe is guided entirely by the laws of nature, not by any supernatural laws; that all the facts in the physical universe, and hence also in human history, are absolutely dependent upon and conditioned by their causes. In psychology this is the doctrine that the will is not free but determined by mental states and at the same time by physical conditions, since the former cannot exist without the latter. (adapted from the Dictionary of Philosophy: Runes (1942)) ;
"in opposition to the doctrine of free will, that all man's volitions are invariably determined by pre-existing circumstances. It may take diverse forms...Biological, materialistic, and Psychological Determinism. (adapted from New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia) For more on determinism, see Online Papers.
hard v. soft determinism Soft determinism believes that the will is not free, but still capable of making decisions. This major website makes that all clear. http://naturalism.org/ Look at the names on the Advisory Board to the site's sister site http://www.centerfornaturalism.org/ These are major players, famous names.
Hard determinism believes in a determined fate not set absolutely in the future but determined absolutely in the present by everything that happens to us and by every decision we make. The philosophy of Objectivism as put forth by Ayn Rand is sometimes viewed even by its adherents and admirers as more-or-less deterministic. For a refutation, see Free Will and Causality. Dialectic: [SEP] "concerned with logic, philosophy of language, metaphysics, and philosophy of mind. (Describing Abelard's)
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