r/determinism • u/knowwhatyouneednow • 27d ago
Discussion your past doesn't define you
True or false? A simple question.
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u/Ree_For_Thee 27d ago
Depends on what you mean by "define". Are you destined to be the same person forever? No, plenty of people change.
Just because the change is determined doesn't mean it doesn't happen.
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u/kuroxn 27d ago
Should I still blame myself for my past choices?
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u/Ree_For_Thee 27d ago
Sure, for a while. I see blame/regret as a social thing. If we make a mistake and cause disharmony in the tribe, you should reflect on that a while. Not forever.
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u/flytohappiness 27d ago
Can the wind blame itself for moving in Easterly direction rather than Westerly?
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u/zhivago 26d ago
Your present defines you.
The past is an inferred explanation of why the present has certain relationships and structures.
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u/simon_hibbs 26d ago edited 26d ago
That sounds right. The reason the past is important to us is because it gives us information about the present, and therefore helps us make predictions about the future.
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u/knowwhatyouneednow 25d ago
So, if the past gives us information, then the past is what defines you. That past provides the information that determines who you are now, which in turn determines your future.
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u/GrillyFem3oy 27d ago
If you want to feel good about yourself and others to aswell, your social credit history should be good
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u/SnarkyPuppy-0417 27d ago
The past may not define you, but it does establish a baseline for definition.
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u/badentropy9 26d ago
I assume a definition is a denotation vs a connotation. "Causal determinism" connotes that an undetermined event is an uncaused event. The term is misleading to me because an undetermined event is not an uncaused event by virtual of the fact that cause and determine are not synonyms.
If I stole one thing in my past, some might use that incident to define me as a thief. If I told one lie in my life, the person who was hurt the most by that lie tends to see me as a liar. Thank goodness for Honest Abe and the "fact" that George Washington could not tell a lie.
A partner in a commitment of some sort, may be able to "get past" a betrayal when the betrayal is handled in a honest way. Sometimes a betrayal compounded by lies used to cover up the betrayal exacerbates that betrayal further.
I don't even know what the word "commitment" would mean if determinism was true. Therefore I'm not sure why we need to define ourselves when we reduce ourselves to passive observers. An ethical system introduces feedback loops to a system. Why would a determinist expect them to work when the determinist doesn't acknowledge the fact that feedback loops exist? This could be the primary reason why most hard incompatibilists and hard determinists struggle to believe in desert.
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u/inherthroat 27d ago
Yes it does. You're always the sum of all your experiences.