If determinism is true, does that mean my choices do not matter?

Not in the way fatalism suggests. Under determinism your deliberations and choices are themselves part of the causal chain that produces outcomes, so they make a difference. Fatalism, by contrast, claims outcomes are fixed regardless of what you choose, a stronger and widely rejected view.

Determinism and Fatalism

Determinism says the past and the laws fix a unique future; fatalism says certain outcomes are unavoidable whatever we do. This topic distinguishes these theses and examines their bearing on freedom.

Definition

Causal determinism is the thesis that the state of the world at a time together with the laws of nature entails a unique subsequent state; fatalism is the thesis that some events are unavoidable independently of how we act.

Scope

Covers the formulation of causal determinism, the contrast with logical fatalism and theological foreknowledge, the consequence argument linking determinism to the loss of control, and the question whether physics supports determinism.

Core questions

What exactly does determinism claim?
How does determinism differ from fatalism?
Does determinism entail that we lack control over our actions?
Is the actual world deterministic according to physics?

Key concepts

Causal determinism
Fatalism
Laws of nature
Consequence argument
Bivalence
Up-to-us-ness

Key theories

The consequence argument: Van Inwagen argues that if determinism holds, our acts follow from the remote past and the laws, neither of which is up to us, so the acts are not up to us either, supporting incompatibilism.
Logical fatalism: Taylor reconstructs the ancient argument that, given bivalence about future-tensed statements, every event is unavoidable; most philosophers reject the inference while debating where it fails.

History

Aristotle discussed the sea-battle argument for logical fatalism; the Stoics defended a causal determinism. Laplace gave determinism its classic formulation through the idea of a predicting intelligence. In the twentieth century van Inwagen's consequence argument made determinism central to the free will debate, while physics complicated the empirical question.

Debates

Is fatalism a consequence of determinism?: Some conflate the two, but most philosophers hold that determinism leaves our actions among the causes of outcomes, whereas fatalism makes outcomes unavoidable regardless of action; the question is whether the consequence argument shows determinism still undermines control.

Key figures

Peter van Inwagen
Richard Taylor
Pierre-Simon Laplace
Aristotle
Carl Hoefer

Seminal works

vanInwagen1983
taylor1962

Frequently asked questions

If determinism is true, does that mean my choices do not matter?: Not in the way fatalism suggests. Under determinism your deliberations and choices are themselves part of the causal chain that produces outcomes, so they make a difference. Fatalism, by contrast, claims outcomes are fixed regardless of what you choose, a stronger and widely rejected view.