Before Henry entered the elevator, where his memory bank was switched with that of model citizen Hank, he committed a murder. Although he no longer has the memory of that murder, the fact that he in fact committed it makes him guilty. The laws of physics when applied to the neurons and brain of Henry, according to determinism, state that the guilt of the murder falls on Henry, for his brain functions are responsible for his actions. The murder was determined by existing causes in Henry's brain. According to hard determinism, there are no unexplainable events due to the belief that an event is explained by citing its cause. Each event is the effect of some set of causes. Hard determinism states that if the cause is present, the effect must occur, and since everything that happens is the effect of some cause or set of causes, everything must occur. So nothing is free. Although it may appear clear that Henry had control over his previous actions and mental states, he really had no control. And if he had no control, he certainly can't be held morally responsible for what he did. In recent scientific studies, there is a significant amount of evidence that mental processes are implemented in brain functions. These mental processes are for example those of having desires, making decisions and initiating actions. When we tie determinism to guilt and responsibility, we see that guilt is tied to the facts about the brain of the murderer that were causally involved in generating the criminal act. Therefore we can conclude that even if the memories have switched, the function of the brain of each individual is still the same. .
Hard determinism has been theorized by Paul Heinrich Dietrich, also known as Baron Holbach, in his work System of Nature in 1770. Dietrich, as a determinist, materialist and atheist of the French Revolution, that the universe consisted of a complex system of physical substances.
