PT 25 LR Part A Number 20 - Determinism
Posted: Thu Jul 29, 2010 7:55 pm
Can someone explain this to me? It's way over my head.
The conclusion states that the theory of determinism is false. Why? Because it is impossible know the state of the universe at any particular time because we cannot accurately measure both position and velocity of any given subatomic particle at a particular time.Anaconda wrote:Can someone explain this to me? It's way over my head.
But the passage states that determinism is the belief that the state of the universe a moment ago ensured that the events currently happening could not have failed to occur. Does it say that WE NEED TO KNOW what the state of the universe was a moment ago? No, it does not. The state of the universe could be completely unknown to us but does that mean there is no state of the universe at that particular time?
To put it more simply. Just because I don't know what's behind a door doesn't mean whatever behind the door doesn't exist. I simply just do not know what it is.
In this sense, the argument/conclusion is saying that since we cannot know what the state of the universe is at any particular time, there is no state of the universe...well, this is not exactly true. The state of the universe still exists, whether we know about it or not!
Going through the answer choices: Answer D picks up on this little shift!