Determinism is a name employed by writers, especially since J. Stuart Mill,
to denote the philosophical theory which holds -- in opposition to the
doctrine of free will -- that all man's volitions are invariably determined
by pre-existing circumstances. It may take diverse forms, some cruder, some
more refined. Biological and materialistic Determinism maintains that each
of our voluntary acts finds its sufficient and complete cause in the
physiological conditions of the organism. Psychological Determinism
ascribes efficiency to the psychical antecedents. In this view each
volition or act of choice is determined by the character of the agent plus
the motives acting on him at the time. Advocates of this theory, since
Mill, usually object to the names, Necessarianism and Fatalism, on the
ground that these words seem to imply some form of external compulsion,
whilst they affirm only the fact of invariable sequence or uniform causal
connectedness between motives and volition. Opposed to this view is the
doctrine of Indeterminism, or what perhaps may more accurately be called
Anti-determinism, which denies that man is thus invariably determined in
all his acts of choice. This doctrine has been stigmatized by some of its
opponents as the theory of "causeless volition", or "motiveless choice";
and the name Indeterminism, is possibly not the best selection to meet the
imputation. The objection is, however, not justified. The
Anti-determinists, while denying that the act of choice is always merely
the resultant of the assemblage of motives playing on the mind, teach
positively that the Ego, or Self, is the cause of our volitions; and they
describe it as a "free" or "self-determining" cause. The presence of some
reason or motive, they ordinarily hold, is a necessary condition for every
act of free choice, but they insist that the Ego can decide between
motives. Choice is not, they maintain, uniformly determined by the
pleasantest or the worthiest motive or collection of motives. Nor is it the
inevitable consequent of the strongest motive, except in that tautological
sense in which the word strongest simply signifies that motive which as a
matter of fact prevails. Determinism and the denial of free will seem to be
a logical consequence of all monistic hypotheses. They are obviously
involved in all materialistic theories. For Materialism of every type
necessarily holds that every incident in the history of the universe is the
inevitable outcome of the mechanical and physical movements and changes
which have gone before. But Determinism seems to be an equally necessary
consequence of monistic Idealism. Indeed the main argument against monistic
and pantheistic systems will always be the fact of free will.
Self-determination implies separateness of individuality and independence
in each free agent, and thus entails a pluralistic conception of the
universe. (See DUALISM; MONISM.) In spite of the assertions of
Determinists, no true logical distinction can be made between their view
and that of Fatalism. In both systems each of my volitions is as inexorably
fated, or pre-determined, in the past conditions of the universe as the
movements of the planets or the tides. The opponents of Determinism usually
insist on two lines of argument, the one based on the consciousness of
freedom in the act of deliberate choice, the other on the incompatibility
of Determinism with our fundamental moral convictions. The notions of
responsibility, moral obligation, merit, and the like, as ordinarily
understood, would be illusory if Determinism were true. The theory is in
fact fatal to ethics, as well as to the notion of sin and the fundamental
Christian belief that we can merit both reward and punishment. (See FREE
WILL; ETHICS; FATALISM.)
MICHAEL MAHER
Submitted by Rick McCarty
Taken from the New Advent Web Page (www.knight.org/advent).
This article is part of the Catholic Encyclopedia Project, an effort aimed at placing the entire Catholic Encyclopedia 1913 edition on the World Wide Web. The coordinator is Kevin Knight, editor of the New Advent Catholic Website. If you would like to contribute to this worthwhile project, you can contact him by e-mail at (knight.org/advent). For more information please download the file cathen.txt/.zip.
