Determinism

Summary

Dominique Pagani presents determinism as the antonym of freedom: if everything is determined, asking "what ought I to do" no longer makes sense1. He traces it back to Descartes's long chains of reasons and sees it as the synthesis of empiricism and rationalism: facts follow one another like a logician's propositions, on the model y = f(x)2. Reality would thus conform to the laws of language, which grounds predictability, the condition of all human action3. In his view, quantum mechanics does not abolish causality: it extends determinism and makes prediction statistical. He consistently distinguishes natural determinism, which cannot be erased ("the Moon has no choice"), from historical and social determinism, which human beings can undo but which those in power pass off as natural45. He holds that the opposition between determinism and freedom decides the very destiny of philosophy, as the point where it passes from knowledge to action6.

1. 1Pagani without detours21 Sept 2019 · 22:44
2. 2#9.17 The geopolitical metaphor: Planck, Descartes, Clouscard17 Mar 2021 · 47:29
3. 3#2.7 Between crisis and war: philosophising?1 Aug 2017 · 1:27:51
4. 4On Marx6 Oct 2018 · 45:51
5. 5Clouscard by you: answers to your questions28 Feb 2024 · 1:40:52
6. 6The eternal return… of the death camps?13 Oct 2024 · 14:53

Summary produced automatically from 33 of the passages below, to be reviewed; the numbers link to the moment in the session.