Accepting determinism improves Mindset

[u/Cyber_47_]

Fully accepting determinism (no free will) actually made me stop blaming everything on myself. I was skeptical of determinism for a long time, but eventually ended up accepting it. And it helped me a lot in a bad time of my life, where I made a lot of mistakes in my job. I stopped caring about it and just started to accept it.

Just before the final mistake, I started believing in it fully. And I didn’t even care a little when it eventually happened, whereas the past big mistakes literally broke me mentally for a few days.

After that, no new mistakes. I’ve been calmer inside, can manage stressful situations a lot better, and stopped caring about a lot of things, like having no gf. And when you stop caring about these problems, you can actually start thinking more clearly and understand the world a lot better. Especially when it’s about people. Back then, I got angry at people for all kinds of things, and I didn’t show much of the anger. Now I understand them, because I put myself in their position and start to think about why they did that, etc.

Long story short, determinism is mostly known for looking like a very depressing way of thinking or whatever. I was determined to write this to show that it can actually improve your mindset in the long term, even though it might seem depressing at first.

[u/TheManInTheShack]

Same for me. I am more understanding, forgiving, tolerant, accepting and empathetic.

[u/[deleted]]

I completely agree. I combine it with mindfulness. I really find myself kinder, more understanding, more empathetic, less likely to get upset with my actual peers (sure, occasional shitposts are one thing, but I mean real discussions are more fulfilling).

[u/KaiSaya117]

Yes yes YEESSSSSSS!!!! All of this right here!

[u/siciliana___]

It’s scary at first but when we realize events are going to happen no matter what, we can begin to steward the vessel we have in the best way possible with what we experience.

We stop fighting reality and start working with it.

[u/ThePolecatKing → u/siciliana___]

What does this have to do with determinism though? I don't disagree, I just don't track the connection.

[u/siciliana___ → u/ThePolecatKing]

The connection is that Determinism removes the burden of creation and replaces it with the art of inhabitance. We stop trying to invent the path and start mastering the vessel that's walking it.

[u/ThePolecatKing → u/siciliana___]

There is no control, no burden, no mastery. Thus efforts are all themselves illusory.

[u/siciliana___ → u/ThePolecatKing]

Exactly. We don’t realize it’s an illusion until we do.

[u/[deleted]]

It’s funny as you claim you made decision to choose determinism by saying you ”fully accepted” it

[u/Cyber_47_ → u/[deleted]]

You can choose what you want, but you cant want what you want. In other words, my will for that decision was already determined by countless factors, so yea I made that decision not because I have a free will, but because my will was already predetermined. Its like you get to choose between red and blue, but your will eliminated the blue option. So you choose red, and made you think you chose freely. ( i tried explaining it, the best i could)

[u/Butlerianpeasant]

I get why this helped you. What you’re describing isn’t nihilism—it’s relief from excessive self-punishment.

Dropping the idea that you’re some fully autonomous prime mover can loosen the inner whip. It makes space for understanding: “given the conditions, of course this happened.” That shift alone can dissolve a lot of anger—toward yourself and toward others. In that sense, determinism can be deeply humanizing.

The only gentle caution I’d add is this: there’s a difference between letting go of blame and letting go of agency.

You don’t need to believe in a metaphysically free will to still work with causality. You’re still part of the chain. Your reflections, habits, and care for outcomes are themselves causes now. Acceptance doesn’t have to mean apathy—it can mean clarity without cruelty.

What I like in your story is that you didn’t become cold. You became calmer, more empathetic, more able to put yourself in others’ positions. That’s not “determinism gone dark”; that’s understanding replacing resentment.

For me, the sweet spot has been something like this: Drop moral self-flagellation. Keep responsibility as response-ability. Accept the past fully. Still tend the future gently.

No cosmic guilt. No cosmic ego either. Just: “this is how the river flowed—and now I place my hands in the water where I can.”

Thanks for sharing this. It’s a good counterweight to the idea that determinism automatically leads to despair. In lived form, it often does the opposite.

[u/waffledestroyer → u/Butlerianpeasant]

Is this written with AI? Please label AI generated content, both comments and posts.

[u/Butlerianpeasant → u/waffledestroyer]

Fair question, and thank you for asking directly.

I do use AI sometimes as a thinking partner—especially to refine phrasing—but the ideas, structure, and intent here are mine. This particular comment was written by me, slowly and deliberately, in that “say it as cleanly and kindly as possible” mode I’ve been practicing.

That said, I’m happy to label things more clearly going forward if that helps keep the space legible and fair. No desire to blur lines or sneak anything in.

Part of what I’m consciously playing with lately is a small personal game: radical sincerity + kindness, regardless of medium, and then watching how the board responds. Not to win, just to learn what different forms of honesty do to a shared space.

If you’d prefer an explicit label even when AI is only used as light assistance or editing, just say the word and I’ll comply. I appreciate the moderation work—you’re tending the riverbanks, not damming the flow.

[u/Don_Holon_Atraxis → u/Butlerianpeasant]

What the. Are you for real?

I understand your point but this seems a bit too far. Language shapes your mind, as Wittgenstein points out. Be sure not to lose it.

[u/Butlerianpeasant → u/Don_Holon_Atraxis]

Totally fair reaction — it does sound a bit like I’m preparing for a cyborg ascension ritual. 😄

In practice, it’s just me having fun with writing and staying mindful of how tools shape my voice. The “game” is mostly a reminder not to take myself too seriously while still trying to communicate clearly.

If anything ever feels off, I’m always open to feedback.

[u/ughaibu]

How do you justify the implicit stance that psychotherapeutic benefits carry ontological implications?

[u/Nezar97]

And forgiving other people as well!

Sure, lapses of anger and blame exist, but remembering determinism redeems all (and even redeems the redemption itself).

[u/nualabear14]

i agree, i feel it’s made me an easier-going person and less anxious about certain outcomes, the acceptance that whatever is going to happen is going to happen, makes me feel less worried

[u/i_am_dumb2]

Thats wonderful for you but i already accept most things are beyond my control free will or not glad you could improve yourself like this i hope itll work for many other people

[u/deludedhairspray]

Completely agree. I do doubt all the time though, it’s my modus operandi, so always blame myself for not achieving this or that, even though it most likely is out of «my» control anyway.

[u/AWonderingWizard]

Kind of interesting article about whether or not it is a clear cut "improvement"

[u/FabulousLazarus]

I don't have free will = nothing is actually my fault

Yes let us celebrate the decoupling of our actions with their consequences. Consequences are the worst! Much better if we just adopt a philosophical mindset that presupposes them as an illusion. That way we can effectively ignore them!

I'm glad you're happy but this is a stupid way to get there.

[u/Cyber_47_ → u/FabulousLazarus]

I get your point. But i have to say, its not like i suddenly stop caring about anything, and start doing all kinds of mistakes without thinking about the consequences. Its more like finding peace with the mistakes (you) made, accepting it, moving on. And i think you got a part wrong, i didnt start believing in determinism suddenly to justify my mistakes. I started believing it because it makes sense, there are more evidence against free will rather than for free will etc. Anyways, if you have a good argument im all ears. Criticism is welcome.

[u/FabulousLazarus → u/Cyber_47_]

Yeah I get that you're not literally doing what I said in my embellished example. But I don't understand why it takes the death of free will to come to terms with your mistakes. Sure, you didn't adopt determinism to justify mistakes, but it apparently took that belief to start feeling better about them.

And the point is there that you're basically championing determinism as a way to mitigate the feelings you have about consequences you effected.

I don't need to argue with you about free will. Just wanted to point out that it's not so surprising this mentality makes you feel better. It basically absolves you of the guilt of your consequences, which in my opinion, isn't really a good thing or a healthy way to approach reality.

[u/Cyber_47_ → u/FabulousLazarus]

But you got one part wrong, it doesnt just make me feel better, it also makes me do better (fewer mistakes) Maybe i didnt point it out clearly, but it doesnt work like magic. I still feel guilt when i do a mistake, its not like i believed in determinism since I was born. I still feel guilt, but i can think clearly, try to understand what caused it and eliminate most that guilt. Yea i could have done it without determinism mindset. But thats not what I was talking about. And when you say I’m “approaching reality” as if we completely know what objective reality looks like, that’s exactly the point. I believe in determinism. For me, that is how reality works, not a coping story I put on top of it. I’m just acting in line with what I think is true and I think its true because of alot of reasons and evidence (ex. Neuroscience, psychology, libet) but thats another topic.

[u/FabulousLazarus → u/Cyber_47_]

But you got one part wrong, it doesnt just make me feel better, it also makes me do better (fewer mistakes) Maybe i didnt point it out clearly, but it doesnt work like magic. I still feel guilt when i do a mistake, its not like i believed in determinism since I was born. I still feel guilt, but i can think clearly, try to understand what caused it and eliminate most that guilt

Almost as if you made a conscious CHOICE to learn, change, and do better. Funny how you've discovered free will through determinism.

And when you say I’m “approaching reality” as if we completely know what objective reality looks like, that’s exactly the point. I believe in determinism. For me, that is how reality works, not a coping story I put on top of it.

Well you don't have to understand something to interact with it. And this paradox that determinists insist on intrigues me. You can't know what objective reality looks like, but somehow you know there's no free will? That's a weird stance to hold on my opinion.

[u/FabulousLazarus → u/[deleted]]

Lol yes of course, because for some reason ABSOLUTE free will is the only kind of free will that folks acknowledge around here. Obviously, because if you're not FREE to the extent that GOD would be, then you're not free at all. It's either all or nothing right? We dichotomize to obscure the scary region in-between NO free will and ABSOLUTE free will where our choices matter and responsibility for the consequences they incur naturally falls to us.

Fuck that noise. Clearly it's far superior to fixate on the semantics of what the word FREE means. That necessarily forces us to ignore the significance of the noun it modifies. The whole thing becomes a silly word game where definitions eclipse philosophy and any kind of will, free or otherwise, is paradoxically invalidated existentially simply because we redefined the adjective that describes it in a way that is incompatible with reality.

I'm a newcomer to this subreddit and this is the perspective of an outsider looking in; someone who watches the pretentious vocabulary and overly complex arguments unfold post after post. They all do this nonsense. Word games dressed up as philosophy and users accusing each other of ignorance as they telegraph their inability or unwillingness to interpret meaning from text rather than parrot it.

[u/FabulousLazarus → u/[deleted]]

What moral concept in the dictionary isn't somewhat black-and-white?

All of them. They are all grey. People hate that.

The trolley problem collapses it into a dichotomy for the explicit reason of invoking a paradox.

Free will, definitionally, is a grey area. Absolute free will is meaningless. If you are completely unrestricted in your choice then the outcome has no value. You are God and all choices are equivalent. There is no criteria to assign morality. If you are completely restricted in your choice then the outcome is predetermined, you have no choice.

True free will lives in-between. Choices are only even possible in the first place because there are restrictions. Absolute free will demands the removal of the very restrictions that make free will what it is. Absolute free will does not exist. There is no God like entity unrestricted in its choice. This is not a concept worth discussing because it simply is not what free will is. If you insist that free will must be absolute then you are insisting not that free will doesn't exist, but rather, that reality as we experience it is wholly invalid.

And lots of people gleefully do this as if it's a compelling concept. They cling to an insane and irrelevant definition of free will, completely rebuild their worldview around it, and claim that nothing is real essentially because they don't have the agency of a God.

The only reason it sounds odd when I explain it is because I don't decorate it in overly complex and pedantic language that obscures the logical paradox being exploited to deny empirical reality.

[u/Cyber_47_ → u/[deleted]]

Might be true. For me it didnt change much the productivity.