Halvorson, Hans and Manchak, JB and Weatherall, James Owen (2025) Defining Determinism. [Preprint]

Text def-det.pdf - Submitted Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives. Download (497kB)

Abstract

Determinism is the thesis that the past determines the future, but efforts to define it precisely have exposed deep methodological disagreements. Standard possible-worlds formulations of determinism presuppose an "agreement" relation between worlds, but this relation can be understood in multiple ways -- none of which is particularly clear. We critically examine the proliferation of definitions of determinism in the recent literature, arguing that these definitions fail to deliver clear verdicts about actual scientific theories. We advocate a return to a formal approach, in the logical tradition of Carnap, that treats determinism as a property of scientific theories, rather than an elusive metaphysical doctrine.

We highlight two key distinctions: (1) the difference between qualitative and "full" determinism, as emphasized in recent discussions of physics and metaphysics, and (2) the distinction between weak and strong formal conditions on the uniqueness of world extensions. We argue that defining determinism in terms of metaphysical notions such as haecceities is unhelpful, whereas rigorous formal criteria -- such as Belot's D1 and D3 -- offer a tractable and scientifically relevant account. By clarifying what it means for a theory to be deterministic, we set the stage for a fruitful interaction between physics and metaphysics.

---

Export/Citation:

EndNote | BibTeX | Dublin Core | ASCII/Text Citation (Chicago) | HTML Citation | OpenURL

Social Networking:

Share |

---

Item Type:	Preprint
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Halvorson, Hans hhalvors@princeton.edu Manchak, JB jmanchak@uci.edu Weatherall, James Owen weatherj@uci.edu 0000-0003-1461-7821
Keywords:	Determinism
Subjects:	General Issues > Determinism/Indeterminism
Depositing User:	James Owen Weatherall
Date Deposited:	10 Mar 2025 14:01
Last Modified:	10 Mar 2025 14:01
Item ID:	24883
Subjects:	General Issues > Determinism/Indeterminism
Date:	2025
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/24883

Monthly Views for the past 3 years

Monthly Downloads for the past 3 years

Plum Analytics

Actions (login required)

View Item