Determinism, a currently popular theory of metaphysics, has rather interesting implications for everyday decision-making. Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy that focuses on various issues about how the world works, such as what kind of stuff it’s made of, what causes events to occur, and what identity consists of. Determinism is a theory of this variety.

More specifically, determinism is the notion that everything that happens is determined by everything that happened before it. For example, the car crashed into the telephone pole because the driver slipped on an ice patch, which was due to their lack of attentiveness behind the wheel, caused in this case by their conversation on a cell phone with their son, who they got into a fight with this morning, and on and on until the beginning of time. So if determinism is true, everything that happens to you is somewhat inevitable because it was caused by a bunch of stuff that happened before you were around, and which you have no control over.

Determinism for things like nuclear particles and other inert materials seems relatively benign. But for humans, this theory has unbelievable implications. If determinism were true, human free will is something of an illusion. Our choices, while they appear to be meaningful, are in fact the only choices that we could have made, and they make no difference in any significant way, because whatever we choose to do is as pre-established as the act of choosing itself.

Most philosophers, even those who support some notion of determinism, agree that human free will is not an illusion. Our choices do make a difference, and they are not preordained by the molecules bouncing around in our brains. Softer versions of determinism leave room for some degree of human freedom, though they do maintain that a lot of what happens in our lives is the result of things that happened long ago and far away from where we are now.

What are we to make of determinism from the standpoint of our own normal decision making habits? There are a couple of valuable lessons to consider. First, the idea that humans are entirely self-made simply cannot be true if determinism is even vaguely true. This is an important realization, I think, because it reminds us that we are, to some extent, a product of our environment and our upbringing. Violent people have been “determined” to be violent, liars are “determined” as liars. This does not mean that unethical people are off the hook, but it does help with regard to perspective. It is certainly important for both our normal interaction with others and our notions of justice to remember that some aspects of who other people are was not really decided by them.

The other important point to take from the determinists is that, despite any deterministic elements in our own world, our choices do make a difference. Every time we choose to lie, steal, or be violent, we are choosing to let determined factors control us. When we choose otherwise, we are taking control of our own lives and making an effort to overcome the determined aspects of our selves. We may not always win the battle, but we always have a say, and reshaping ourselves in the image we choose often means breaking free of our determined traits and behaviors, embracing a higher vision of ourselves in the process.

About the Author

Eli Weber is a graduate student in Environmental Ethics and a Graduate Teaching Assistant at Colorado State University. He holds bachelor’s degrees in sociology and philosophy from Chapman University and currently lives in Fort Collins, Colorado with his wife Laura. He is a regular contributor to Mindful Source.

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