determinism

noun de·ter·min·ism \ di-ˈtər-mə-ˌni-zəm , dē- \

Definition of determinism

1 philosophy

a : a theory or doctrine that acts of the will (see ²will 4a), occurrences in nature, or social or psychological phenomena are causally determined by preceding events or natural laws

b : a belief in predestination

2 : the quality or state of being determined

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determinist

play \-nəst\ noun or adjective

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deterministic

play \-ˌtər-mə-ˈnis-tik\ adjective

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deterministically

play \-ti-k(ə-)lē\ adverb

See determinism defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of determinism from the Web

Researchers shy away from calling children psychopaths; the term carries too much stigma, and too much determinism.

— barbara bradley hagerty, The Atlantic, "When Your Child Is a Psychopath," 16 May 2017
I’d spent more than enough time thinking about determinism.

— mark greif, New York Times, "AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY," 3 Nov. 2016
In her wonderful book Close to the Machine, author Ellen Ullman tells stories of technological determinism in action.

— jennifer granick, WIRED, "Sowing the Seeds of Surveillance," 31 Jan. 2007
Stereotyping a person or a whole group of people does not help, especially if such labeling is rooted in biological determinism.

— The Christian Science Monitor, "The lesson of the Google firing for innovation," 11 Aug. 2017
Power, happiness, self-determinism and opportunity are not zero-sum things.

— michael harriot, The Root, "Why White People Feel Oppressed, Explained," 4 Aug. 2017
Beyond our ability to see In the nineteenth century, microscopic determinism led to the first great success of probabilistic reasoning in physics: the kinetic theory of gases.

— lee phillips, Ars Technica, "A brief history of quantum alternatives," 28 July 2017
A century ago the Bolshevik revolution was seen as an endorsement of Marx’s determinism.

— The Economist, "A tsar is born," 26 Oct. 2017
That’s understandable enough—simple economic determinism, as the Marxists might say.

— george melloan, WSJ, "Democrats Have the Green Party Blues," 6 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'determinism.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of determinism

see determine

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1838

See Words from the same year

Other Psychology Terms

fetish, hypochondria, intelligence, mania, narcissism, neurosis, pathological, psychosis, schadenfreude, subliminal

DETERMINISM Defined for English Language Learners

determinism

noun

Definition of determinism for English Language Learners

philosophy : the belief that all events are caused by things that happened before them and that people have no real ability to make choices or control what happens

Medical Dictionary

determinism

noun de·ter·min·ism \ di-ˈtər-mə-ˌniz-əm \

medical Definition of determinism

1 : a theory or doctrine that acts of the will, occurrences in nature, or social or psychological phenomena are causally determined by preceding events or natural laws