质疑前提和假设

Your argument for determinism hinges on the universality of cause and effect. But are you perhaps assuming that every event *must* have a discernible cause, or that causality itself is a strictly linear, billiard-ball model?

That's a fair question. My premise is indeed that causality is fundamental to our understanding of the universe, and that the absence of a discernible cause doesn't necessarily mean the absence of causality itself. It might simply be beyond our current empirical reach.

But isn't that a critical assumption? You're essentially positing a hidden cause whenever we can't find one. This feels like an unfalsifiable claim, which then makes the entire determinist argument somewhat circular, doesn't it?

I wouldn't say it's unfalsifiable. We continually refine our understanding of causality with scientific progress. My point is that the *principle* of causality remains an underlying framework, even if our specific models evolve. We assume order, not chaos, in the universe.

And there's the crux. You're assuming 'order' based on an interpretation of causation that might be too narrow. What if 'order' itself isn't a pre-existing condition, but rather an emergent property of complex systems that don't always adhere to strict linear cause-and-effect?

That's an interesting counter. So, you're challenging the very foundation of predictable predictability. You're suggesting that while local causality might exist, universal determinism falls apart because the 'rules' themselves can change or emerge differently at higher levels of complexity?

Precisely. If the underlying assumption is a fixed, universally applicable causal chain, then any deviation, like true randomness at a quantum level or emergent properties in complex adaptive systems, challenges that fundamental premise and, consequently, your deterministic conclusion.

I see your point. The real debate then isn't about the existence of causality, but the *nature* of it, and whether its scope is truly universal and rigidly fixed enough to support a comprehensive deterministic worldview. You've definitely given me something to rethink.