Free Will And DeterminismSo what is determinism? Put simply, determinism is the idea that every action is ultimately caused by previous actions cause & effect. From what you decide to eat for dinner, to the position of every speck of dust in your house, to the temperature outside at this very second, these things were all determined by the physics of the Big Bang. An endless chain of cause and effect where everything happens because of the laws of nature...
With this in mind, it then becomes necessary to consider the idea of Free Will. The idea that we have the ability make choices independent of outside influences, and more specifically, regardless of those outside influences. Essentially, defying the cause and effect chain that lead up to you making the choice you made. Now, I personally have a naturalistic worldview, which basically means that I believe the world is essentially made up of mass and energy, or the physical Universe and nothing else. I dont believe in a God, spirits or souls, or any type of supernatural energy. From this standpoint, it becomes very difficult to get away from a strictly deterministic view of the Universe.
To read the rest of this transcript, visit my blog... http://j.mp/6f4ymT
