3. Determinism

This is the third article in the series based on the video from 1993 where Dr. Ackoff presented the best explanation I’ve ever heard for how we got to where we are today. The presentation also makes it easy to see where we are going with new technologies (e.g., AI) and their future effect on the workplace and people. I’m going to take this slow because it can get complicated very quickly if you don’t fully understand the previous articles.

The previous article covered the three principle beliefs of the Renaissance:

1. It is possible to completely understand the universe.

2. Analysis is the method of thought.

3. Causality: All relationships between things are reducible to cause and effect.

We ended the previous chapter with this:

“The biggest conclusion of these three fundamental beliefs is that nothing happens by chance or spontaneously. Everything that occurs is an effect of a cause. This belief is known as ‘Determinism’.”

The Protestant Reformation began in 1517 with Martin Luther (1483-1546) confronting the Catholic Church with his Ninety-Five Theses. Later, John Calvin (1509-1564) and John Knox (1514-1572) brought Determinism to Christianity and the belief that man lacked a free will grew.

Newton (1643-1727) combined the three principle beliefs of the Renaissance to come up with a single image to explain the universe. Newton stated the universe is a machine. Ackoff goes to great pains to emphasize that Newton did NOT say the universe is like a machine. Newton said it IS a machine. This marks the end of the Renaissance Age and introduces the Machine Age!

Specifically, Newton said the universe is a hermetically sealed clock.?

A clock is a mechanism that operates with regularity dictated by its internal structure and its causal laws of nature. After all, we tell time by the motion of the planets. Hermetically sealed means it's a closed system. It has no environment.

Ackoff explained that Newton thought science demonstrated the wonder of God (First Cause). More to the point, Ackoff stated the prevailing belief became: The universe is a machine created by God to do God’s work.

Newton fueled the Deterministic view of the Reformation: God set the clock in motion and people are condemned to let it play out.

Ackoff shared that the Book of Genesis stated that people were created in the image of God and people are here to do God’s work. If you combine this point with the belief the universe is a machine created by God to do God’s work, the conclusion is man should be creating machines to do God’s work.?

Ackoff stated this conclusion was the origin of the Industrial Revolution (1760-1840). It was a direct consequence of our view of the world. Ultimately, the Industrial Revolution was about the mechanization of work, which we will look at in the next article.

Link to Next Article: 4. The Industrial Revolution

Link to Table of Contents: The Decline and Fall of the Machine Age