determinism

IPA/dɪˈtɜːmɪnɪzəm/
KK[dɪtˈɚmənˌɪzəm]IPA/dɪˈtɜːrmɪnɪzəm/

determinism — noun

1. the philosophical idea that every event, action, or state of affairs is the nece

1.nounC1
Definition

the philosophical idea that every event, action, or state of affairs is the necessary result of what came before it, so that nothing could have happened differently — a view that typically denies that humans have free will

Example

Mira rejected hard determinism, arguing that people's choices genuinely shape their futures.

hard determinism + reject — disagreeing with the doctrine

In his lecture on determinism, Professor Tamar showed how the theory applies to human decision-making.

lecture on determinism — academic context phrase

Common collocations
  • hard determinism
  • soft determinism
  • biological determinism
  • economic determinism
  • reject determinism
  • determinism vs. free will
Synonyms
  • fatalism

    Fatalism is the belief that events are fixed by fate or destiny; determinism relies on cause-and-effect chains rather than a mysterious fate.

  • predestination

    Predestination is a theological concept (God has preordained everything), whereas determinism is usually a secular philosophical or scientific position.

  • necessitarianism

    A rare, formal synonym for determinism used mainly in academic philosophical writing.

Antonyms
  • free will

    The belief that humans can make genuine choices not fully determined by prior causes; the main debate in philosophy pits determinism against free will.

  • indeterminism

    The philosophical position that not all events are causally determined; often linked to quantum mechanics.

Usage Note

Frequently modified by adjectives that specify the kind of determinism: hard (denies free will entirely), soft (allows for some freedom within causal laws), biological, economic, or environmental. Distinguish from fatalism, which attributes events to fate rather than to a chain of physical causes.

Common Mistakes

Determinism means everything is random and unpredictable.
Determinism means every event is caused by what happened before it, so nothing is random.
Determinism is about causation and necessity, not randomness.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Determinism, fatalism, predestination, and necessitarianism all deal with the idea that events are fixed, but they differ in mechanism and domain. Determinism is a secular philosophical claim that every event follows necessarily from prior physical causes, operating through natural laws. Fatalism, by contrast, is vaguer: it asserts that outcomes are destined by fate, without requiring a causal chain — it is more common in everyday speech about resigned acceptance. Predestination is a theological term, specifically Christian, holding that God has eternally chosen who will be saved. Necessitarianism is a formal philosophical synonym for determinism, rarely used outside academic writing. In practice, a philosopher denies free will by appealing to determinism; a person who shrugs and says 'it was meant to be' expresses fatalism; a theologian speaks of predestination.

fatalism ↗predestinationnecessitarianism ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • debate about determinism
  • problem of determinism

Adverbs

Prepositions

  • of determinism
  • in determinism

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

The word 'determinism' was formed in English in the 1840s from the verb 'determine' (which came via French from Latin 'determinare', meaning 'to set limits or boundaries') and the suffix '-ism', which marks a doctrine or system of thought. It was coined during philosophical debates about free will and causal necessity in the 19th century.

First known use

1838

1838, in the meaning defined at sense 1a