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On the Conflict Between Determ

 

This might very well be true, and to this I would reply that this is obviously due to a lack of human understanding and not due to an essentially random nature of matter. If we can't predict the motions of electrons, it is because we lack sufficient knowledge of the causal laws that govern their motion. To use a somewhat simplistic model, consider the flight path of a Frisbee. Suppose we create a machine that can control the force and direction of the release of our Frisbee. We take our machine to a field and launch the Frisbee a number of times, and observe where it lands. We would expect some variation in the landing site of the Frisbee due to discreet variations in the air currents or what not, but also some similarity. We might even come up with a set of statistical laws governing the flight path of the Frisbee. But though we may never be able to predict with absolute certainty the exact site the Frisbee will land on a given launch, we certainly would not say that the flight path of the Frisbee was not governed by some sort of causal laws. It may be that we will never be able to completely account for all of the factors determining the flight of our Frisbee, but it would be absurd for us to then conclude that the flight path is essentially random and that no causal laws governing it's flight can in theory be found. .
             I believe I have laid down all of the necessary foundations to adequately understand the concept of Determinism. The known world is composed entirely of matter, which is governed by causal law. Therefor, if one could in theory be aware of all causes and understand the laws governing them, one could in theory predict all future events. Our actions, when seen in this light do seem to loose a sense of freedom, which seems to make the notion of free will unfeasible. It is for this reason that some have said that our notions of moral responsibility are unjustified, and in the rest of this essay, I want to undertake to show that this is simply a misunderstanding of the consequences of Determinism and of our notions of moral responsibility.


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