Meaning & use
determinism
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Meanings
noununcountable
The belief that everything that happens is caused by what happened before, so free choice is not real.
Grammar: Uncountable; used with a singular verb: determinism is often debated.
Patterns
- believe in determinism
- the idea of determinism
Hard determinism says that no one could ever have acted differently.
The debate about free will often centers on determinism.
She rejected determinism and argued that people can make genuine choices.
noununcountabletechnical
In science, the view that all events are fixed by natural laws and prior conditions.
Grammar: Often used with modifiers like 'biological' or 'economic'.
Patterns
- biological determinism
- economic determinism
Biological determinism claims that genes decide behavior.
Economic determinism sees history as driven by material conditions.
Common combinations
- hard determinism
- Hard determinism denies free will entirely.
- biological determinism
- Biological determinism is criticized for ignoring culture.
- economic determinism
- Economic determinism explains politics through class interests.
- the problem of determinism
- Philosophers still debate the problem of determinism.
Synonyms and how they differ
- fatalism
- Fatalism is the belief that events are fixed by fate and cannot be changed; determinism is the view that prior causes fix events, often without the emotional resignation of fatalism.
- predestination
- A religious idea that God has already decided who will be saved; determinism is a broader philosophical and scientific view.
Opposites
Word family
- determinist noun
- A person who believes in determinism.
- deterministic adjective
- Describing a system where everything follows necessarily from prior causes.
- determine verb
- To cause or decide something.
Commonly confused: determinism or determination?
determinism vs determination
Determination means the quality of being resolute or the act of deciding; determinism is the philosophical view about cause and free will.
Practice
If you believe that every choice you make is the inevitable result of earlier causes, you accept ______.
Choose one answer.
Determinism is the belief that all events, including choices, are caused by prior events. 'Determination' means resolve or the act of deciding, which does not fit the philosophical idea.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “determinism”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.