On the Origin of Logical Determinism in Babylonia

Logica Universalis ◽

10.1007/s11787-021-00282-5 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Andrew Schumann

Keyword(s):

Algebraic Structures ◽

Old Babylonian ◽

Future Events ◽

The Will

AbstractIn this paper, I show that the idea of logical determinism can be traced back from the Old Babylonian period at least. According to this idea, there are some signs (omens) which can explain the appearance of all events. These omens demonstrate the will of gods and their power realized through natural forces. As a result, each event either necessarily appears or necessarily disappears. This idea can be examined as the first version of eternalism – the philosophical belief that each temporal event (including past and future events) is actual. In divination lists in Akkadian presented as codes we can reconstruct Boolean matrices showing that the Babylonians used some logical-algebraic structures in their reasoning. The idea of logical contingency was introduced within a new mood of thinking presented by the Greek prose – historical as well as philosophical narrations. In the Jewish genre ’aggādōt, the logical determinism is supposed to be in opposition to the Greek prose.

Download Full-text

Astral Sciences of Ancient Mesopotamia

Oxford Handbook of Science and Medicine in the Classical World ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199734146.013.62 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 24-34

Author(s):

Francesca Rochberg

Keyword(s):

Mathematical Models ◽

Systematic Study ◽

Major Part ◽

Intellectual Culture ◽

Old Babylonian ◽

Future Events ◽

Ancient Mesopotamia

The chapter explores Mesopotamian astrology and astronomy, which were not distinct as pseudo-science is from science, and were together a major part of cuneiform intellectual culture. The writings consist of scholarly compendia, observational records, and predictive ephemerides, mostly produced after ca700 bce, at the court in Assyria, and later, in the major temples of Babylonian cities. Heavenly phenomena (astral, planetary, and lunar) were objects of study both as signs of future events and as phenomena in their own right. The systematic study and recording of astral phenomena as signs began in the Old Babylonian period (2000–1600 bce), and continued well after the conquest by Alexander. Babylonian astronomy used mathematical models (based on numerical sequences) to calculate periodic phenomena. The astral sciences, including celestial and natal divination, that is, omens and horoscopes, were parts of a scholarly discipline sustained over two millennia by cuneiform scribes in both Assyria and Babylonia.

Download Full-text

Whatever Is Willed Will Be

Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin ◽

10.1177/0146167212448403 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 38 (10) ◽

pp. 1235-1246 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Erik G. Helzer ◽

Thomas Gilovich

Keyword(s):

The Past ◽

Future Performance ◽

Future Success ◽

Growing Body ◽

The Future ◽

Within Subjects ◽

Future Events ◽

The Will ◽

The Impact

Why do people neglect or underweight their past failures when thinking about their prospects of future success? One reason may be that people think of the past and future as guided by different causal forces. In seven studies, the authors demonstrate that people hold asymmetric beliefs about the impact of an individual’s will on past versus future events. People consider the will to be a more potent determinant of future events than events that happened in the past. This asymmetry holds between- and within-subjects, and generalizes beyond undergraduate populations. The authors contend that this asymmetry contributes to the tendency for people to remain confident about their future performance in domains in which they have largely failed in the past. This research thus contributes to a growing body of literature exploring how thoughts about events in the past differ from thoughts about the same events set in the future.

Download Full-text