Determinism and fatalism are remarkably false and foolish beliefs. Even if, like “Laplaces’s demon”, you had infinite knowledge about the current physical universe and its history -- which is impossible -- you still couldn’t determine the future because of the large and inescapable presence of randomness (or chance or luck). Some things simply happen without a reason or cause -- and there’s nothing you can do to force them to have one.
As for fatalism, all living creatures are self-guiding. All have free will. This includes the simplest, dumbest, and most mechanically-predictable microbe. So even if you had infinite knowledge of that creature and its environment -- which is impossible -- you still couldn’t perfectly predict the future of its behavior or fate. The life-form’s liberty to act at will is irreducible, untouchable, and inescapable. Thus the ancient “idle argument” about not bothering to get medical treatment, since your health fate is sealed and predetermined, is absurd.
Determinist and fatalist William James once said: “The future has no ambiguous possibilities hidden in its womb.” But as Cicero noted long before him: “ There is nothing so foolish but some philosopher has said it.” Determinists and fatalists are poor at logic and intellectual honesty. The future is what we make it.
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