Is determinism impossible?

Paola Dessì

pp. 147-155

in: Rosaria Egidi (ed), In search of a new humanism, Berlin, Springer, 1999

Abstract

So wrote von Wright in the introduction to his book Truth, Knowledge and Modality (1984). In a difference from his previous works, in the essays in this book the problem of determinism is dealt with not by means of a contrast between causal explanation and teleological explanation, but rather through the examination of modal ideas. This plurality in the approach to determinism permits von Wright to be a point of reference (even if almost always implicit) both for those who discuss the determinism-freedom relationship in terms of intentions, ends, aims or preferences, and for those interested in establishing the logical possibility of a reconciliation between determinism and freedom.