<P> Determinism often is taken to mean causal determinism, which in physics is known as cause - and - effect . It is the concept that events within a given paradigm are bound by causality in such a way that any state (of an object or event) is completely determined by prior states . This meaning can be distinguished from other varieties of determinism mentioned below . </P> <P> Other debates often concern the scope of determined systems, with some maintaining that the entire universe is a single determinate system and others identifying other more limited determinate systems (or multiverse). Numerous historical debates involve many philosophical positions and varieties of determinism . They include debates concerning determinism and free will, technically denoted as compatibilistic (allowing the two to coexist) and incompatibilistic (denying their coexistence is a possibility). Determinism should not be confused with self - determination of human actions by reasons, motives, and desires . Determinism rarely requires that perfect prediction be practically possible . </P> <P> "Determinism" may commonly refer to any of the following viewpoints: </P> <Ul> <Li> Causal determinism is "the idea that every event is necessitated by antecedent events and conditions together with the laws of nature". However, causal determinism is a broad enough term to consider that "one's deliberations, choices, and actions will often be necessary links in the causal chain that brings something about . In other words, even though our deliberations, choices, and actions are themselves determined like everything else, it is still the case, according to causal determinism, that the occurrence or existence of yet other things depends upon our deliberating, choosing and acting in a certain way". Causal determinism proposes that there is an unbroken chain of prior occurrences stretching back to the origin of the universe . The relation between events may not be specified, nor the origin of that universe . Causal determinists believe that there is nothing in the universe that is uncaused or self - caused . Historical determinism (a sort of path dependence) can also be synonymous with causal determinism . Causal determinism has also been considered more generally as the idea that everything that happens or exists is caused by antecedent conditions . In the case of nomological determinism, these conditions are considered events also, implying that the future is determined completely by preceding events--a combination of prior states of the universe and the laws of nature . Yet they can also be considered metaphysical of origin (such as in the case of theological determinism). <Ul> <Li> Nomological determinism is the most common form of causal determinism . It is the notion that the past and the present dictate the future entirely and necessarily by rigid natural laws, that every occurrence results inevitably from prior events . Quantum mechanics and various interpretations thereof pose a serious challenge to this view . Nomological determinism is sometimes illustrated by the thought experiment of Laplace's demon . Nomological determinism is sometimes called' scientific' determinism, although that is a misnomer . Physical determinism is generally used synonymously with nomological determinism (its opposite being physical indeterminism). </Li> <Li> Necessitarianism is closely related to the causal determinism described above . It is a metaphysical principle that denies all mere possibility; there is exactly one way for the world to be . Leucippus claimed there were no uncaused events, and that everything occurs for a reason and by necessity . </Li> </Ul> </Li> <Li> Predeterminism is the idea that all events are determined in advance . The concept of predeterminism is often argued by invoking causal determinism, implying that there is an unbroken chain of prior occurrences stretching back to the origin of the universe . In the case of predeterminism, this chain of events has been pre-established, and human actions cannot interfere with the outcomes of this pre-established chain . Predeterminism can be used to mean such pre-established causal determinism, in which case it is categorised as a specific type of determinism . It can also be used interchangeably with causal determinism--in the context of its capacity to determine future events . Despite this, predeterminism is often considered as independent of causal determinism . The term predeterminism is also frequently used in the context of biology and hereditary, in which case it represents a form of biological determinism . </Li> <Li> Fatalism is normally distinguished from "determinism", as a form of teleological determinism . Fatalism is the idea that everything is fated to happen, so that humans have no control over their future . Fate has arbitrary power, and need not follow any causal or otherwise deterministic laws . Types of fatalism include hard theological determinism and the idea of predestination, where there is a God who determines all that humans will do . This may be accomplished either by knowing their actions in advance, via some form of omniscience or by decreeing their actions in advance . </Li> <Li> Theological determinism is a form of determinism which states that all events that happen are pre-ordained, or predestined to happen, by a monotheistic deity, or that they are destined to occur given its omniscience . Two forms of theological determinism exist, here referenced as strong and weak theological determinism . The first one, strong theological determinism, is based on the concept of a creator deity dictating all events in history: "everything that happens has been predestined to happen by an omniscient, omnipotent divinity". The second form, weak theological determinism, is based on the concept of divine foreknowledge--"because God's omniscience is perfect, what God knows about the future will inevitably happen, which means, consequently, that the future is already fixed". There exist slight variations on the above categorisation . Some claim that theological determinism requires predestination of all events and outcomes by the divinity (i.e. they do not classify the weaker version as' theological determinism' unless libertarian free will is assumed to be denied as a consequence), or that the weaker version does not constitute' theological determinism' at all . With respect to free will, "theological determinism is the thesis that God exists and has infallible knowledge of all true propositions including propositions about our future actions", more minimal criteria designed to encapsulate all forms of theological determinism . Theological determinism can also be seen as a form of causal determinism, in which the antecedent conditions are the nature and will of God . </Li> <Li> Logical determinism or Determinateness is the notion that all propositions, whether about the past, present, or future, are either true or false . Note that one can support causal determinism without necessarily supporting logical determinism and vice versa (depending on one's views on the nature of time, but also randomness). The problem of free will is especially salient now with logical determinism: how can choices be free, given that propositions about the future already have a truth value in the present (i.e. it is already determined as either true or false)? This is referred to as the problem of future contingents . Adequate determinism focuses on the fact that, even without a full understanding of microscopic physics, we can predict the distribution of 1000 coin tosses <Ul> <Li> Often synonymous with logical determinism are the ideas behind spatio - temporal determinism or eternalism: the view of special relativity . J.J.C. Smart, a proponent of this view, uses the term "tenselessness" to describe the simultaneous existence of past, present, and future . In physics, the "block universe" of Hermann Minkowski and Albert Einstein assumes that time is a fourth dimension (like the three spatial dimensions). In other words, all the other parts of time are real, like the city blocks up and down a street, although the order in which they appear depends on the driver (see Rietdijk--Putnam argument). </Li> </Ul> </Li> <Li> Adequate determinism is the idea that quantum indeterminacy can be ignored for most macroscopic events . This is because of quantum decoherence . Random quantum events "average out" in the limit of large numbers of particles (where the laws of quantum mechanics asymptotically approach the laws of classical mechanics). Stephen Hawking explains a similar idea: he says that the microscopic world of quantum mechanics is one of determined probabilities . That is, quantum effects rarely alter the predictions of classical mechanics, which are quite accurate (albeit still not perfectly certain) at larger scales . Something as large as an animal cell, then, would be "adequately determined" (even in light of quantum indeterminacy). </Li> <Li> The many - worlds interpretation accepts the linear causal sets of sequential events with adequate consistency yet also suggests constant forking of causal chains creating "multiple universes" to account for multiple outcomes from single events . Meaning the causal set of events leading to the present are all valid yet appear as a singular linear time stream within a much broader unseen conic probability field of other outcomes that "split off" from the locally observed timeline . Under this model causal sets are still "consistent" yet not exclusive to singular iterated outcomes . The interpretation side steps the exclusive retrospective causal chain problem of "could not have done otherwise" by suggesting "the other outcome does exist" in a set of parallel universe time streams that split off when the action occurred . This theory is sometimes described with the example of agent based choices but more involved models argue that recursive causal splitting occurs with all particle wave functions at play . This model is highly contested with multiple objections from the scientific community . </Li> </Ul>

The doctrine that every event is determined or necessitated