Determinism, Sociocultural

Determinism is a philosophical theory holding that all events are inevitable consequences of antecedent sufficient causes, often understood as denying the possibility of free will. Determinism most widely states that all events in the world are the result of some previous event, or series of events. In this view, all of reality is already in a sense predetermined or preexistent and therefore nothing new can come into existence. This closed view of the universe sees all events in the world simply as effects of other prior effects and has particular implications for morality, science, and religion. Ultimately, if determinism is correct, then all events in the future are as unalterable as are all events in the past. Consequently, human freedom is simply an illusion.

Deterministic perspectives are varied, based on the frame of reference. If the frame of reference is biological, then biological factors determine how a system behaves or changes over time. If the frame of reference is technology in general, then society is determined by technology. If the frame of reference is language, there is a systematic relationship between the grammatical categories of the language a person speaks and how that person both understands the world and behaves in it. If the frame of reference is sociocultural, then one's society or culture determines how one interacts, situated within existent structures.

The stance of sociocultural determinism leaves little for individual agency or freedom. It is argued that an individual's action takes place in patterns or structures, the order of which is largely beyond the control of individuals—particularly individuals with relatively little social power. Sociocultural determinism is a stance that asserts the primacy of social and cultural factors rather than the autonomous influence of other frames of reference as a medium. The fundamental assumption of a sociocultural deterministic view is that the social is primary. That is to say, a sociocultural view takes to task an atomistic view of society as an aggregate of individuals by proposing that it is only through society that what we call “individuals” are derived in the first place. Furthermore, because we are born into a community of others whose customs, concepts, and practices precede us, it is as accurate to say that things like language, identity, or knowledge acquire us as to say that we acquire them. This form of determinism does not deny the existence of the individual; rather it explores a more [Page 284]complex, integrated understanding of persons that encompasses their sociocultural aspects.

Those who emphasize sociocultural determination focus on such issues as the production of tools and artifacts, modes of use, values, purposes, skill, style, choice, control, and access. In its complexity, sociocultural determinism is concerned with the distribution of power or of capital, social and physical inheritance, relations of scale and size between groups. But it neither wholly controls nor wholly predicts the outcome of complex activity within or at these limits and under or against these pressures.