tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post1572760511086639806..comments2024-03-14T11:50:14.761-04:00Comments on DarwinCatholic: Scott Carson on the Death of DeterminismDarwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08572976822786862149noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-71510957031207947042007-02-16T19:45:00.000-05:002007-02-16T19:45:00.000-05:00Perhaps I introduced confusion here: I do not thi...Perhaps I introduced confusion here: I do not thing that Netwonian physics in any way necessitated absolute determinism, nor that it was an obstacle to belief, but I do think that many people were inspired by Netwonian physics to believe in a deist/clockwork universe model of the supernatural, and also to accept determinism at a metaphysical as well as a material level.<BR/><BR/>I would hold that absolute (as in metaphysical as well as physical) determinism was never a supportable belief, but it certainly _appeared_ more supportable before the advent of quantum physics.Darwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08572976822786862149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-83000867612372859352007-02-16T19:25:00.000-05:002007-02-16T19:25:00.000-05:00Let me put it differently: Whether you are in the ...Let me put it differently: Whether you are in the world of Newtonian mechanics (deterministic) or of quantum mechanics (probabilistic), you are in a mechanistic world. If free will is inconsistent with the former, then it is also inconsistent with the latter.<BR/><BR/>Personally, I'm not convinced it is inconsistent with either. But if Newtonian mechanics presented an obstacle to belief in free will, I don't see how quantum mechanics overcomes that obstacle.Arimatheanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06783088995172601340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-726526253822710502007-02-16T10:24:00.000-05:002007-02-16T10:24:00.000-05:00RolandTo say that the human will is not part of a ...Roland<BR/><BR/>To say that the human will is not part of a deterministic system is not to say that it is therefore part of a random or stochastic system, so the point is not that randomness is more campatible with free will than determinism is. Rather the soul is nether determined by external forces nor is it random: it is free in the sense that it can genuinely choose one course of action over another without that choice being either random or determined by forces extraneous to it.Vitae Scrutatorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12808120163472036743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-18517400859369136212007-02-15T19:14:00.000-05:002007-02-15T19:14:00.000-05:00Why is randomness any more compatible with free wi...Why is randomness any more compatible with free will than determinism is?Arimatheanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06783088995172601340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-61911927324232518842007-02-15T10:23:00.000-05:002007-02-15T10:23:00.000-05:00Religion hasn't got anything to do with probabilit...Religion hasn't got anything to do with probabilities and miracles. Its about the soul. See http://ofaman.blogspot.com/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com