Editing Free will (section)

===Quantum physics===
Early scientific thought often portrayed the universe as deterministic&nbsp;– for example in the thought of [[Democritus]] or the [[Cārvāka]]ns&nbsp;– and some thinkers claimed that the simple process of gathering sufficient information would allow them to predict future events with perfect accuracy. Modern science, on the other hand, is a mixture of deterministic and [[stochastic]] theories.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Boniolo |first1=G. |title=Filosofia della Scienza |last2=Vidali |first2=P. |publisher=Mondadori |year=1999 |isbn=88-424-9359-7 |location=Milan}}</ref> [[Quantum mechanics]] predicts events only in terms of probabilities, casting doubt on whether the universe is deterministic at all, although evolution of the universal state vector{{explain|date=April 2024}} is completely deterministic. Current physical theories cannot resolve the question of whether determinism is true of the world, being very far from a potential [[theory of everything]], and open to many different [[Interpretation of quantum mechanics|interpretations]].<ref name="stanfordcausaldeterminism">{{cite encyclopedia |first=Carl |last=Hoefer |title=Causal Determinism |encyclopedia=Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy |date=2008 |access-date=2008-11-01 |url=http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/determinism-causal/ |archive-date=2008-05-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509131853/http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/determinism-causal/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|title=Is the Universe Deterministic? |first=Vlatko |last=Vedral |volume=192 |issue=2578 |date=2006-11-18 |journal=New Scientist |pages=52–55 |quote=Physics is simply unable to resolve the question of free will, although, if anything, it probably leans towards determinism.|doi=10.1016/S0262-4079(06)61122-6 }}</ref>
 
Assuming that an indeterministic interpretation of quantum mechanics is correct, one may still object that such indeterminism is for all practical purposes confined to microscopic phenomena.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ucl.ac.uk/~uctytho/dfwVariousHonderichKanebook.htm |author=Honderich, E. |title=Determinism as True, Compatibilism and Incompatibilism as Both False, and the Real Problem |publisher=Ucl.ac.uk |access-date=2010-11-21 |archive-date=2009-01-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090123002505/http://ucl.ac.uk/~uctytho/dfwVariousHonderichKanebook.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> This is not always the case: many macroscopic phenomena are based on quantum effects. For instance, some [[hardware random number generator]]s work by amplifying quantum effects into practically usable signals. A more significant question is whether the indeterminism of quantum mechanics allows for the traditional idea of free will (based on a perception of free will). If a person's action is, however, only a result of complete quantum randomness, mental processes as experienced have no influence on the probabilistic outcomes (such as volition).<ref name="RKane1"/> According to many interpretations, indeterminism enables free will to exist,<ref>{{Cite web| url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/quantum-physics-free-will/| title=The Quantum Physics of Free Will| website=[[Scientific American]]| access-date=2018-04-14| archive-date=2023-05-27| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230527203507/https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/quantum-physics-free-will/| url-status=live}}</ref> while others assert the opposite (because the action was not controllable by the physical being who claims to possess the free will).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/features/2000/lujan1.html |title=Infidels. "Metaphysical Freedom" |date=25 August 2000 |publisher=Infidels.org |access-date=2010-11-21 |archive-date=2009-01-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090110225026/http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/features/2000/lujan1.html |url-status=live }}</ref>