Erklären von Determinismus in der Physik
“Deterministic—everything already defined—physics”: what that actually means
1. Classical (Laplacian) determinism
In Newtonian mechanics every particle’s future state is fixed by its present position, velocity and the timeless laws that link them. Pierre-Simon Laplace imagined a super-intellect (“Laplace’s demon”) that, knowing all positions and momenta at one instant, could compute the entire past and future of the universe. That picture is what philosophers call causal determinism: every event is necessitated by prior events plus the laws of nature. (Stanford Enzyklopädie der Philosophie)
2. Why “unpredictable” isn’t the same as “indeterministic”
Modern chaos theory showed that even perfectly deterministic equations can generate behaviour that is practicallyunpredictable because tiny errors in initial data explode exponentially. Weather models are the stock example: the equations are deterministic; our knowledge of the exact starting state never is. Determinism ≠ predictability.
3. Quantum mechanics: genuine randomness or “hidden” determinism?
Standard (“Copenhagen”) quantum theory adds a postulate: when you measure, outcomes occur with only statistical probabilities. If those probabilities are truly fundamental, nature contains ontic randomness and Laplace’s demon is impossible in principle.
Deterministic reinterpretations exist, however:
| Approach | How it stays deterministic | Price it pays |
|---|---|---|
| Bohmian (pilot-wave) mechanics | Particles have exact positions guided by a deterministic wave function. | Non-local influences are built-in. |
| Many-Worlds | The wave function never collapses; it evolves deterministically, branching into multiple outcomes. | You get an ever-growing multiverse. |
| Superdeterminism | Measurement choices are themselves pre-correlated with hidden variables, so Bell-type “freedom-of-choice” loopholes disappear. | You must give up the statistical-independence assumption that experiments can be freely chosen. (3 Quarks Daily, Forschungsinformation Bristol, arXiv) |
No decisive experiment has yet ruled all of these out, so whether quantum physics is “really” indeterministic remains an open—and lively—research question.
4. Does determinism kill free will?
Philosophers split:
- Hard determinists (e.g., neurobiologist Robert Sapolsky) say that if every neural firing was fixed from the Big Bang, moral responsibility evaporates. (The New Yorker)
- Compatibilists argue that what matters is not metaphysical openness but whether your choices flow from yourreasons, beliefs, and character. Determinism, on this view, can coexist with meaningful agency.
5. Reconciling the two outlooks you raised
The motivational line “life is coming from you, not at you” highlights an internal locus of control: you still author your responses, even in a law-governed universe. Physics may determine the option-space, but within that space your deliberations (themselves physical processes) are part of the causal chain. That is exactly the compatibilist position: you—as the bundle of neural, biological and social processes that constitute a person—are what tips the scales one way rather than another.
Take-away:
Classical physics offered clockwork inevitability; quantum physics complicates the story but doesn’t settle it. Whether or not the universe is ultimately deterministic, the practical question becomes: how do you steer the causal river you’re embedded in? Seeing life as “coming from you” is a commitment to shape those causal links deliberately, rather than denying they exist.
Elephant in the room 
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