A very simple philosophical question that can trigger an existential crisis. Do not sue me if you do get an existential crisis, that was probably a pre-determined event… or is it?
spoiler
I mean I personally don’t see why the universe is non-deterministic, every time you flip a coin, or roll a dice, if you knew the initial conditions and the forces applied to the coin/dice, the atmosphere, wind, etc., you could predict the results with absolute certainty. And free will does not exist. But that’s just my view on this matter, who knows what the universe really is.
The licanius trilogy explores this really nicely. If you’re a sci-fi or fantasy fan I really do highly recommend them.
Hopefully without spoiling too much, the future being predetermined doesn’t necessarily prohibit free will. In the same way we can’t travel backwards in time we can’t travel forwards faster. Everything has happened, both in the past present and future, but it’s still the decisions of the people that led to and lead to the outcomes that exist. The past is just as postdetermined as the future is predetermined, if that makes any sense.
It’s weird but I liked it.