Determinism

What Dominique Pagani says

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 sans détours21 Sept 2019 · 22:44
2. 29 #17 La métaphore géopolitique • Planck • Descartes • Clouscard • Dominique Pagani17 Mar 2021 · 47:29
3. 3#2.7 Entre crise et guerre : Philosopher ?1 Aug 2017 · 1:27:51
4. 4Dominique Pagani "Sur Marx"6 Oct 2018 · 45:51
5. 5Clouscard par vous-même - Réponse à vos questions28 Feb 2024 · 1:40:52
6. 6L’éternel retour… des camps de la mort ?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.