#determinism

There are but few important events in the affairs of men brought about by their own choice. ↗

— Ulysses S. Grant

#determinism #freedom #will #freedom

It is impossible to trap modern physics into predicting anything with perfect determinism because it deals with probabilities from the outset. ↗

— Arthur Eddington

#because #deals #determinism #impossible #into

In one sense I feel that my book is a one-woman argument against determinism. ↗

— Susan Griffin

#argument #book #determinism #feel #i

Man is a masterpiece of creation if for no other reason than that, all the weight of evidence for determinism notwithstanding, he believes he has free will. ↗

— Georg C. Lichtenberg

#creation #determinism #evidence #free #free will

Life is like a game of cards. The hand you are dealt is determinism; the way you play it is free will. ↗

— Jawaharlal Nehru

#dealt #determinism #free #free will #game

The world changed from having the determinism of a clock to having the contingency of a pinball machine. ↗

— Heinz R. Pagels

#clock #contingency #determinism #having #machine

For anyone inclined to caricature environmental history as 'environmental determinism,' the contrasting histories of the Dominican Republic and Haiti provide a useful antidote. Yes, environmental problems do constrain human societies, but the societies' responses also make a difference. ↗

— Jared Diamond

#environment #environmental-determinism #history #societies #environmentalism

The idea of determinism combined with complete human responsibility struck me as very hard to reconcile with an idea of justice, let alone mercy. ↗

— Ken MacLeod

#combined #complete #determinism #hard #human

You can’t change the past. You can’t even change the future, in the sense that you can only change the present one moment at a time, stubbornly, until the future unwinds itself into the stories of our lives. ↗

— Larry Wall

#change #determinism #fatalism #free-will #change

Life calls the tune, we dance. ↗

— John Galsworthy

#determinism #fate #free #freedom #will