Q: Is everything that happens in the universe deterministic?
I’m not even going to answer this, because I don’t think the answer really matters.
A common phenomenon:
- Some thoughts happen in my head.
- Based on those thoughts I decide on something.
- And then I do something.
- And then some other stuff happens.
It seems productive to call this me causing something, choosing something.
In the counterfactual scenario where I chose not to do something, then the universe will look different.
Ultimately, for whatever mysterious reason I have consciousness, and have desires: preferences over states of the universe. I have responsibility.
And, so I shall define this to mean that determinism is False.
I think the confusion about determinism is actually resolvable via tabooing the word. If the question is “does the universe transition according to the laws of physics” then my answer is yes, kind of tautologically: the laws of physics are defined to be the laws that govern the state transitions of the universe :). On the other hand, if the question is “am I a conscious agent with desires” then the answer is of course yes. Dang taboo is amazing!