indeterminism

A scientist draws a question mark on a chalkboard to illustrate indeterminism.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • Philosophical doctrine: "indeterminism" is the theory that not all events are causally determined by preceding events or natural laws; it posits that some events, particularly human choices, are free and uncaused.
   • Opposite of determinism: In metaphysics, it stands in contrast to determinism, which holds that every event is necessitated by prior causes.

Usage Examples

• (The belief that some events are not predetermined.)
• (The idea that particle behavior is not fully predictable by prior states.)

Advanced Usage

• "Indeterminism in ethics": The application of the doctrine to moral responsibility, suggesting that if actions are not determined, individuals can be held morally accountable.

  • Indeterminism is often invoked to justify the concept of moral desert in legal systems. (The idea that punishment is deserved only if the agent could have acted otherwise.)

• "Indeterminism vs. compatibilism": A key debate in philosophy where compatibilists argue that free will is compatible with determinism, while indeterminists insist on genuine randomness or uncaused choice.

  • The indeterminism-compatibilism debate centers on whether freedom requires a lack of causal necessity. (The philosophical disagreement about the nature of free will.)

Variants and Related Words

• Indeterministic (adj): relating to or characterized by indeterminism.

  • The indeterministic interpretation of quantum mechanics challenges classical physics. (The view that events are not fully determined.)

• Indeterminably (adv): in a manner that cannot be determined or fixed.

  • The outcome of the experiment was indeterminably random. (The result could not be predicted with certainty.)

Synonyms

• Non-determinism: the absence of determinism; often used in computer science for systems with unpredictable outcomes.
• Free will: the capacity of agents to choose among alternatives without external constraint (often conflated with indeterminism in popular discourse).

Related Idioms

• "Not set in stone": not fixed or predetermined; subject to change.

  • The schedule is not set in stone, reflecting a kind of indeterminism in our plans. (The plans are flexible and not causally fixed.)

• "A roll of the dice": an outcome determined by chance rather than by design.

  • Life is often a roll of the dice, an everyday example of indeterminism. (Events are random and not predestined.)