Editing Determinism (section)

== History ==
Determinism was developed by the Greek philosophers during the [[7th century BC|7th]] and [[6th century BC|6th]] centuries [[Common Era|BCE]] by the [[Pre-Socratic philosophy|Pre-socratic philosophers]] [[Heraclitus]] and [[Leucippus]], later [[Aristotle]], and mainly by the [[Stoicism|Stoics]]. Some of the main philosophers who have dealt with this issue are [[Marcus Aurelius]], [[Omar Khayyam]], [[Thomas Hobbes]], [[Baruch Spinoza]], [[Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz|Gottfried Leibniz]], [[David Hume]], [[Baron d'Holbach]] (Paul Heinrich Dietrich), [[Pierre-Simon Laplace]], [[Arthur Schopenhauer]], [[William James]], [[Friedrich Nietzsche]], [[Albert Einstein]], [[Niels Bohr]], [[Ralph Waldo Emerson]] and, more recently, [[John Searle]], [[Ted Honderich]], and [[Daniel Dennett]].

Mecca Chiesa notes that the [[Probability|probabilistic]] or selectionistic determinism of [[B. F. Skinner]] comprised a wholly separate conception of determinism that was not [[Mechanism (philosophy)|mechanistic]] at all. Mechanistic determinism assumes that every event has an unbroken chain of prior occurrences, but a selectionistic or probabilistic model does not.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chiesa |first=Mecca |title=Radical Behaviorism: The Philosophy and The Science. |date=1994 |publisher=Authors Cooperative |isbn=9780962331145 |location=Boston |oclc=30655079}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ringen |first1=J. D. |year=1993 |title=Adaptation, Teleology, and Selection by Consequences |url=https://dx.doi.org/10.1901/jeab.1993.60-3 |journal=Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis |volume=60 |issue=1 |pages=3–15 |doi=10.1901/jeab.1993.60-3 |issn=0022-5002 |oclc=5156682422 |pmc=1322142 |pmid=16812698 |via=Wiley Online Library}}</ref>

===Western tradition===
In the West, some elements of determinism have been expressed in Greece from the 6th century BCE by the [[Pre-Socratic philosophy|Presocratics]] [[Heraclitus]]<ref>Stobaeus ''Eclogae'' I 5 ([[Heraclitus]])</ref>{{Full citation needed|date=March 2025}} and [[Leucippus]].<ref>Stobaeus ''Eclogae'' I 4 ([[Leucippus]])</ref>{{Full citation needed|date=March 2025}} The first notions of determinism appears to originate with the [[Stoicism|Stoics]], as part of their theory of universal causal determinism.<ref>[[Susanne Bobzien]] ''Determinism and Freedom in Stoic Philosophy'' (Oxford 1998) chapter 1.</ref> The resulting philosophical debates, which involved the confluence of elements of Aristotelian Ethics with Stoic psychology, led in the 1st–3rd centuries CE in the works of [[Alexander of Aphrodisias]] to the first recorded Western debate over determinism and freedom,<ref>Susanne Bobzien ''The Inadvertent Conception and Late Birth of the Free-Will Problem'' (Phronesis 43, 1998).</ref> an issue that is known in theology as the [[Argument from free will|paradox of free will]]. The writings of [[Epictetus]] as well as [[Middle Platonism|middle Platonist]] and early Christian thought were instrumental in this development.<ref>[[Michael Frede]] ''A Free Will: Origins of the Notion in Ancient Thought'' (Berkeley 2011).</ref> Jewish philosopher [[Maimonides|Moses Maimonides]] said of the deterministic implications of an omniscient god:<ref>Though Moses Maimonides was not arguing against the existence of God, but rather for the incompatibility between the full ''exercise'' by God of his [[omniscience]] and genuine human [[free will]], his argument is considered by some as affected by modal fallacy.</ref> "Does God know or does He not know that a certain individual will be good or bad? If thou sayest 'He knows', then it necessarily follows that [that] man is compelled to act as God knew beforehand he would act, otherwise God's knowledge would be imperfect."<ref name="maimonides">''The Eight Chapters of Maimonides on Ethics (Semonah Perakhim)'', edited, annotated, and translated with an Introduction by Joseph I. Gorfinkle, pp. 99–100. (New York: AMS Press), 1966.</ref>

==== Newtonian mechanics ====
{{Tone|section|date=April 2022}}
Determinism in the West is often associated with [[Classical mechanics|Newtonian mechanics/physics]], which depicts the physical matter of the universe as operating according to a set of fixed laws. The "billiard ball" hypothesis, a product of Newtonian physics, argues that once the initial conditions of the universe have been established, the rest of the history of the universe follows inevitably. If it were actually possible to have complete knowledge of physical matter and all of the laws governing that matter at any one time, then it would be theoretically possible to compute the time and place of every event that will ever occur (''[[Laplace's demon]]''). In this sense, the basic particles of the universe operate in the same fashion as the rolling balls on a billiard table, moving and striking each other in predictable ways to produce predictable results.

Whether or not it is all-encompassing in so doing, Newtonian mechanics deals only with caused events; for example, if an object begins in a known position and is hit dead on by an object with some known velocity, then it will be pushed straight toward another predictable point. If it goes somewhere else, the Newtonians argue, one must question one's measurements of the original position of the object, the exact direction of the striking object, gravitational or other fields that were inadvertently ignored, etc. Then, they maintain, repeated experiments and improvements in accuracy will always bring one's observations closer to the theoretically predicted results. When dealing with situations on an ordinary human scale, Newtonian physics has been successful. But it fails as velocities become some substantial fraction of the [[speed of light]] and when interactions at the atomic scale are studied. Before the discovery of [[Introduction to quantum mechanics|quantum]] effects and other challenges to Newtonian physics, "uncertainty" was always a term that applied to the accuracy of human knowledge about causes and effects, and not to the causes and effects themselves.

Newtonian mechanics, as well as any following physical theories, are results of observations and experiments, and so they describe "how it all works" within a tolerance. However, old western scientists believed if there are any logical connections found between an observed cause and effect, there must be also some absolute natural laws behind. Belief in perfect natural laws driving everything, instead of just describing what we should expect, led to searching for a set of universal simple laws that rule the world. This movement significantly encouraged deterministic views in Western philosophy,<ref>Swartz, Norman (2003) ''The Concept of Physical Law''. Chapter 10: "Free Will and Determinism" https://www.sfu.ca/philosophy/physical-law/</ref> as well as the related theological views of [[classical pantheism]].

=== Eastern tradition ===
Throughout history, the [[belief]] that the entire [[universe]] is a [[Deterministic system (philosophy)|deterministic system]] subject to the will of [[fate]] or [[destiny]] has been articulated in both [[Eastern religions|Eastern]] and [[Western religions|Western]] religions, philosophy, music, and literature.<ref name="Iran. J. Public Health">{{cite journal |last1=Durmaz |first1=H. |last2=Çapik |first2=C. |date=March 2023 |title=Are Health Fatalism and Styles of Coping with Stress Affected by Poverty? A Field Study |journal=[[Iranian Journal of Public Health]] |publisher=[[Tehran University of Medical Sciences]] |volume=52 |issue=3 |pages=575–583 |doi=10.18502/ijph.v52i3.12140 |issn=2251-6093 |pmc=10135518 |pmid=37124894 |s2cid=257501917 |quote=Fatalism is the belief that everything an individual may encounter in his life is determined against his will and that this destiny cannot be changed by effort. In a fatalistic attitude, individuals believe that they cannot control their lives and that there is no point in making choices. Fatalism is a response to overwhelming threats that seem uncontrollable.}}</ref><ref name="SEP">{{cite encyclopedia |author-last=Rice |author-first=Hugh |url=https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2018/entries/fatalism/ |title=Fatalism |editor-last=Zalta |editor-first=Edward N. |editor-link=Edward N. Zalta |encyclopedia=[[Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy]] |date=Winter 2018 |publisher=[[Center for the Study of Language and Information]] |location=[[Stanford University]] |access-date=5 April 2020}}</ref><ref name="Solomon 2003">{{cite journal |title=On Fate and Fatalism |author-last=Solomon |author-first=Robert C. |author-link=Robert C. Solomon |date=October 2003 |journal=[[Philosophy East and West]] |publisher=[[University of Hawaii Press]] |volume=53 |issue=4 |pages=435–454 |doi=10.1353/pew.2003.0047 |jstor=1399977 |s2cid=170753493}}</ref><ref name="Stambaugh 1994">{{cite book |author-last=Stambaugh |author-first=Joan |author-link=Joan Stambaugh |title=The Other Nietzsche |publisher=[[SUNY Press]] |year=1994 |isbn=9781438420929 |pages=79–81 |chapter=''Amor dei'' and ''Amor fati'': Spinoza and Nietzsche |quote= |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qytXzUMTEfQC&pg=PA79}}</ref><ref name="Taylor 1962">{{cite journal |title=Fatalism |author-last=Taylor |author-first=Richard |author-link=Richard Taylor (philosopher) |date=January 1962 |journal=[[The Philosophical Review]] |publisher=[[Duke University Press]] on behalf of the Sage School of Philosophy at [[Cornell University]] |volume=71 |issue=1 |pages=56–66 |doi=10.2307/2183681 |issn=1558-1470 |jstor=2183681}}</ref>

The ancient Arabs that inhabited the [[Arabian Peninsula]] [[Pre-Islamic Arabia|before the advent of Islam]] used to profess a widespread belief in [[fatalism]] (''ḳadar'') alongside a fearful consideration for [[Worship of heavenly bodies|the sky and the stars as divine beings]], which they held to be ultimately responsible for every phenomena that occurs on Earth and for the destiny of humankind.<ref name="Al-Abbasi 2020">{{cite journal |last=al-Abbasi |first=Abeer Abdullah |date=August 2020 |title=The Arabsʾ Visions of the Upper Realm |url=https://archiv.ub.uni-marburg.de/ep/0004/article/view/8301/8105 |journal=[[Marburg Journal of Religion]] |publisher=[[University of Marburg]] |volume=22 |issue=2 |pages=1–28 |doi=10.17192/mjr.2020.22.8301 |issn=1612-2941 |access-date=23 May 2022}}</ref> Accordingly, they shaped their entire lives in accordance with their [[Astrology|interpretations of astral configurations and phenomena]].<ref name="Al-Abbasi 2020"/>

In the ''[[I Ching]]'' and [[Taoism|philosophical Taoism]], the ebb and flow of favorable and unfavorable conditions suggests the path of least resistance is effortless (''see'': [[Wu wei]]). In the [[Indian philosophy|philosophical schools of the Indian Subcontinent]], the concept of ''[[karma]]'' deals with similar philosophical issues to the Western concept of determinism. Karma is understood as a spiritual mechanism which causes the [[Saṃsāra|eternal cycle of birth, death, and rebirth]] (''saṃsāra'').<ref name="Bodewitz 2019">{{cite book |author-last=Bodewitz |author-first=Henk |year=2019 |chapter=Chapter 1 – The Hindu Doctrine of Transmigration: Its Origin and Background |editor1-last=Heilijgers |editor1-first=Dory H. |editor2-last=Houben |editor2-first=Jan E. M. |editor3-last=van Kooij |editor3-first=Karel |title=Vedic Cosmology and Ethics: Selected Studies |location=[[Leiden]] and [[Boston]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |series=Gonda Indological Studies |volume=19 |doi=10.1163/9789004400139_002 |doi-access=free |pages=3–19 |isbn=978-90-04-40013-9 |issn=1382-3442}}</ref> Karma, either positive or negative, accumulates according to an individual's actions throughout their life, and at their death determines the nature of their next life in the cycle of Saṃsāra.<ref name="Bodewitz 2019"/> Most [[Indian religions|major religions originating in India]] hold this belief to some degree, most notably [[Hinduism]],<ref name="Bodewitz 2019"/> [[Jainism]], [[Sikhism]], and [[Buddhism]].

The views on the interaction of karma and free will are numerous, and diverge from each other. For example, in [[Sikhism#Liberation|Sikhism]], god's grace, gained through worship, can erase one's karmic debts, a belief which reconciles the principle of karma with a monotheistic god one must freely choose to worship.<ref>House, H. Wayne. 1991. "Resurrection, Reincarnation, and Humanness." ''[[Bibliotheca Sacra]]'' 148 (590). Retrieved 29 November 2013.</ref> [[Karma in Jainism#Material theory|Jainists]] believe in [[compatibilism]], in which the cycle of Saṃsara is a completely mechanistic process, occurring without any divine intervention. The Jains hold an atomic view of reality, in which particles of karma form the fundamental microscopic building material of the universe.

===Ājīvika===
In [[ancient India]], the [[Ājīvika]] school of philosophy founded by [[Makkhali Gosala|Makkhali Gosāla]] (around 500 BCE), otherwise referred to as "Ājīvikism" in [[Indology|Western scholarship]],<ref name="Balcerowicz">{{cite book |last=Balcerowicz |first=Piotr |year=2016 |chapter=Determinism, Ājīvikas, and Jainism |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nfOPCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA136 |title=Early Asceticism in India: Ājīvikism and Jainism |location=[[London]] and [[New York City|New York]] |publisher=[[Routledge]] |edition=1st |series=Routledge Advances in Jaina Studies |pages=136–174 |isbn=9781317538530 |quote=The Ājīvikas' doctrinal signature was indubitably the idea of determinism and [[fate]], which traditionally incorporated four elements: the doctrine of destiny (''niyati-vāda''), the doctrine of predetermined concurrence of factors (''saṅgati-vāda''), the doctrine of intrinsic nature (''svabhāva-vāda''), occasionally also linked to [[Charvaka|materialists]], and the doctrine of fate (''daiva-vāda''), or simply fatalism. The Ājīvikas' emphasis on fate and determinism was so profound that later sources would consistently refer to them as ''niyati-vādins'', or ‘the propounders of the doctrine of destiny’.}}</ref> upheld the ''Niyati'' ("[[Fate]]") doctrine of absolute [[fatalism]] or determinism,<ref name="Balcerowicz"/><ref name="Leaman 1999">{{cite book |editor-last=Leaman |editor-first=Oliver |editor-link=Oliver Leaman |year=1999 |chapter=Fatalism |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_4crBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA80 |title=Key Concepts in Eastern Philosophy |location=[[London]] and [[New York City|New York]] |publisher=[[Routledge]] |edition=1st |series=Routledge Key Guides |pages=80–81 |isbn=9780415173636 |quote='''Fatalism.''' Some of the teachings of [[Indian philosophy]] are fatalistic. For example, the Ajivika school argued that fate (''nyati'') governs both the [[Saṃsāra|cycle of birth and rebirth]], and also individual lives. Suffering is not attributed to past actions, but just takes place without any cause or rationale, as does relief from suffering. There is nothing we can do to achieve '''''[[moksha]]''''', we just have to hope that all will go well with us. [...] But the Ajivikas were committed to '''[[asceticism]]''', and they justified this in terms of its practice being just as determined by fate as anything else.}}</ref><ref name="Basham 1981">{{cite book |author-last=Basham |author-first=Arthur L. |author-link=Arthur Llewellyn Basham |year=1981 |orig-date=1951 |chapter=Chapter XII: Niyati |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BiGQzc5lRGYC&pg=PA224 |title=History and Doctrines of the Ājīvikas, a Vanished Indian Religion |location=[[Delhi]] |publisher=[[Motilal Banarsidass]] |edition=1st |series=Lala L. S. Jain Series |pages=224–238 |isbn=9788120812048 |oclc=633493794 |quote=The fundamental principle of Ājīvika philosophy was Fate, usually called ''Niyati''. [[Buddhist texts|Buddhist]] and [[Jain literature|Jaina]] sources agree that [[Makkhali Gosala|Gosāla]] was a rigid determinist, who exalted ''Niyati'' to the status of the motive factor of the universe and the sole agent of all phenomenal change. This is quite clear in our ''locus classicus'', the ''[[Samaññaphala Sutta]]''. Sin and suffering, attributed by [[Āstika and nāstika|other sects]] to the laws of ''[[karma]]'', the result of evil committed in the previous lives or in the present one, were declared by Gosāla to be without cause or basis, other, presumably, than the force of destiny. Similarly, the escape from evil, the working off of accumulated evil ''karma'', was likewise without cause or basis.}}</ref> which negates the existence of [[free will]] and ''[[karma]]'', and is therefore considered one of the [[Āstika and nāstika|''nāstika'']] or "heterodox" schools of [[Indian philosophy]].<ref name="Balcerowicz"/><ref name="Leaman 1999"/><ref name="Basham 1981"/> The oldest descriptions of the Ājīvika fatalists and their founder Gosāla can be found both in the [[Buddhist texts|Buddhist]] and [[Jain literature|Jaina]] scriptures of ancient India.<ref name="Balcerowicz"/><ref name="Basham 1981"/> The predetermined fate of all sentient beings and the impossibility to achieve [[Moksha|liberation]] (''mokṣa'') from the [[Saṃsāra|eternal cycle of birth, death, and rebirth]] (''saṃsāra'') was the major distinctive philosophical and [[Metaphysics|metaphysical doctrine]] of this heterodox school of Indian philosophy,<ref name="Balcerowicz"/><ref name="Leaman 1999"/><ref name="Basham 1981"/> annoverated among the other ''[[Śramaṇa]]'' movements that emerged in India during the [[History of India#Second urbanisation (c. 600 – 200 BCE)|Second urbanization]] (600–200 BCE).<ref name="Balcerowicz"/>

===Buddhism===
{{Buddhist Philosophy sidebar}}
{{Main|Enlightenment in Buddhism|Two truths doctrine}}
{{Further|Four stages of enlightenment|Sotāpanna|Three marks of existence}}

[[Buddhist philosophy]] contains several concepts which some scholars describe as deterministic to various levels. However, the direct analysis of Buddhist metaphysics through the lens of determinism is difficult, due to the differences between European and Buddhist traditions of thought.<ref name="Garfield 2014">{{cite book |author-last=Garfield |author-first=Jay L. |year=2014 |editor2-first=Edwin F. |chapter=Just Another Word for Nothing Left to Lose: Freedom, Agency, and Ethics for Mādhyamikas |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ru0VDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA172 |editor1-last=Dasti |editor1-first=Matthew R. |editor2-last=Bryant |title=Free Will, Agency, and Selfhood in Indian Philosophy |location=Oxford and New York |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |pages=172–185 |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199922734.003.0008 |isbn=9780199395675 |lccn=2013017925}}</ref>

One concept which is argued to support a hard determinism is the doctrine of [[Pratītyasamutpāda|dependent origination]] (''pratītyasamutpāda'') in the [[early Buddhist texts]], which states that all [[Dharma|phenomena]] (''dharma'') are necessarily caused by some other phenomenon, which it can be said to be ''dependent'' on, like links in a massive, never-ending chain; the basic principle is that all things (dharmas, phenomena, principles) arise in dependence upon other things, which means that they are [[Śūnyatā|fundamentally "empty" or devoid of any intrinsic, eternal essence]] and therefore [[Impermanence (Buddhism)|are impermanent]].<ref name="Garfield 2014"/><ref name="Stanford 2022">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Thakchoe |first=Sonam |date=Summer 2022 |title=The Theory of Two Truths in Tibet |url=https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/twotruths-tibet/ |url-status=live |editor-last=Zalta |editor-first=Edward N. |editor-link=Edward N. Zalta |encyclopedia=[[Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy]] |publisher=The Metaphysics Research Lab, [[Center for the Study of Language and Information]], [[Stanford University]] |issn=1095-5054 |oclc=643092515 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528014845/https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/twotruths-tibet/ |archive-date=28 May 2022 |access-date=5 July 2022}}</ref> In traditional Buddhist philosophy, this concept is used to explain the functioning of the [[Saṃsāra|eternal cycle of birth, death, and rebirth]] (''saṃsāra''); all thoughts and actions exert a [[Karma|karmic force]] that attaches to the individual's [[consciousness]], which will manifest through [[Rebirth (Buddhism)|reincarnation]] and results in future lives.<ref name="Garfield 2014"/> In other words, righteous or unrighteous actions in one life will necessarily cause good or bad responses in another future life or more lives.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tricycle.org/magazine/dependent-origination/|title=Dependent Origination: The Twelve Links Explained|last=Goldstein|first=Joseph|website=Tricycle: The Buddhist Review|date=4 June 2008 |language=en|access-date=2020-01-26}}</ref> The early Buddhist texts and later [[Tibetan Buddhist canon|Tibetan Buddhist scriptures]] associate dependent arising with the fundamental Buddhist doctrines of [[Śūnyatā|emptiness]] (''śūnyatā'') and [[Anatta|non-self]] (''anattā'').<ref name="Garfield 2014"/><ref name="Stanford 2022"/>

Another Buddhist concept which many scholars perceive to be deterministic is the doctrine of [[Anatta|non-self]] (''anattā'').<ref name="Garfield 2014"/> In Buddhism, [[Enlightenment in Buddhism|attaining enlightenment]] involves one realizing that neither in [[humans]] nor any other [[Sentient beings (Buddhism)|sentient beings]] there is a fundamental core of permanent being, identity, or personality which can be called the "soul", and that all sentient beings (including humans) are instead made of [[Skandha|several, constantly changing factors]] which bind them to the [[Saṃsāra|eternal cycle of birth, death, and rebirth]] (''saṃsāra'').<ref name="Garfield 2014"/><ref name="Stanford 2022"/> Sentient beings are composed of the [[Skandha|five aggregates of existence]] (''skandha''): matter, sensation, perception, [[Mental factors (Buddhism)|mental formations]], and consciousness.<ref name="Garfield 2014"/> In the ''[[Saṃyutta Nikāya]]'' of the [[Pali Canon|Pāli Canon]], the [[Gautama Buddha|historical Buddha]] is recorded as saying that "just as the word 'chariot' exists on the basis of the aggregation of parts, even so the concept of 'being' exists when the five aggregates are available."<ref>David Kalupahana, ''Causality: The Central Philosophy of Buddhism.'' The University Press of Hawaii, 1975, page 78.</ref> The early Buddhist texts outline different ways in which dependent origination is a middle way between different sets of "extreme" views (such as "[[Monism|monist]]" and "[[Pluralism (philosophy)|pluralist]]" ontologies or [[Materialism|materialist]] and [[Mind–body dualism|dualist]] views of mind-body relation).<ref>Choong, Mun-keat (2000). ''The Fundamental Teachings of Early Buddhism: A Comparative Study Based on the Sutranga Portion of the Pali Samyutta-Nikaya and the Chinese Samyuktagama'', pp. 192-197. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag.</ref> In the ''[[Kaccānagotta Sutta]]'' of the [[Pali Canon|Pāli Canon]] ([[Saṃyutta Nikāya|SN]] 12.15, parallel at [[Āgama (Buddhism)#Saṃyukta Āgama|SA]] 301), the [[Gautama Buddha|historical Buddha]] stated that "this world mostly relies on the dual notions of existence and non-existence" and then explains the right view as follows:<ref name=":34">Choong, Mun-keat (2000). ''The Fundamental Teachings of Early Buddhism: A Comparative Study Based on the Sutranga Portion of the Pali Samyutta-Nikaya and the Chinese Samyuktagama,'' p. 192. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag.</ref>
{{Blockquote|But when you truly see the origin of the world with right understanding, you won't have the notion of non-existence regarding the world. And when you truly see the cessation of the world with right understanding, you won't have the notion of existence regarding the world.<ref name=":35">Kaccānagottasutta SN 12.15 SN ii 16, translated by Bhikkhu Sujato https://suttacentral.net/sn12.15/en/sujato</ref>}}

Some Western scholars argue that the concept of non-self necessarily disproves the ideas of [[free will]] and [[moral responsibility]].<ref name="Garfield 2014"/><ref name="Repetti 2012"/> If there is no autonomous self, in this view, and all events are necessarily and unchangeably caused by others, then no type of autonomy can be said to exist, moral or otherwise.<ref name="Repetti 2012"/> However, other scholars disagree, claiming that the [[Buddhist cosmology|Buddhist conception of the universe]] allows for a form of [[compatibilism]].<ref name="Garfield 2014"/> Buddhism perceives reality occurring on [[Two truths doctrine|two different levels]]: the [[Nirvana|ultimate reality]], which can only be truly understood by the [[Enlightenment in Buddhism|enlightened ones]], and the [[Maya (religion)#Buddhism|illusory or false reality of the material world]], which is considered to be "real" or "true" by those who are [[Avidyā (Buddhism)|ignorant about the nature of metaphysical reality]]; i.e., those who still haven't achieved enlightenment.<ref name="Garfield 2014"/><ref name="Stanford 2022"/> Therefore, Buddhism perceives free will as a notion belonging to the [[Three marks of existence|illusory belief in the unchanging self or personhood]] that pertains to the false reality of the material world, while concepts like non-self and dependent origination belong to the ultimate reality; the transition between the two can be truly understood, Buddhists claim, by one who has attained enlightenment.<ref name="Garfield 2014"/><ref name="Stanford 2022"/><ref name="Repetti 2012">{{cite journal |last=Repetti |first=Ricardo |date=2012 |title=Buddhist Hard Determinism: No Self, No Free Will, No Responsibility |url=http://enlight.lib.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-MAG/mag388415.pdf |journal=Journal of Buddhist Ethics |volume=19 |pages=136–137, 143–145}}</ref>