determinism.

The view that events are fixed by prior conditions under the relevant laws.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• causal determinism
• determinism and free will

On the page

The chapter asks whether determinism is compatible with responsibility.

Usage notes

Primary category: academic / formal. Forms: Usually uncountable; no ordinary plural in this sense. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: analysis, explanation. Commonness: moderately common.