--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Embrace determinism and you're chained…" description: "\"“Embrace determinism and you're chained all the way back to the beginning. Of the universe. Of everything.”\" — Glen Duncan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95b/glen-duncan-1307_chained_embrace-determinism-and-you-re-chained-a_959001.png" --- # Embrace determinism and you're chained all the way back to… ![“Embrace determinism and you're chained all the way back to the beginning. Of the universe. Of everything.” quote by Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95b/glen-duncan-1307_chained_embrace-determinism-and-you-re-chained-a_959001.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95b/glen-duncan-1307_chained_embrace-determinism-and-you-re-chained-a_959001.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95b/glen-duncan-1307_chained_embrace-determinism-and-you-re-chained-a_959001.png) > ““Embrace determinism and you're chained all the way back to the beginning. Of the universe. Of everything.”” [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Determinism ties all events back to the universe's origin, implying no free will. **In simple terms:** Determinism links everything to the universe’s start, denying free will. Key Takeaway Question the extent of personal agency within deterministic frameworks. Themes philosophy determinism free will Mood thoughtful introspective Type philosophical existential When to use this quote - ethical decision making - scientific inquiry - personal reflection Key Concepts causality cosmology existentialism Questions to Reflect On - Do you feel your choices are predetermined? - How does belief in determinism affect moral responsibility? A Different Perspective Determinism may coexist with perceived agency in practical contexts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Determinism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/determinism/) [Physics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physics/) ## Related quotes > [We have opted for petty determinisms - childhood trauma, genetic inheritance, social conditioning, etc. - that have made us comparatively passive. We seem to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/we-have-opted-for-petty-determinisms-childhood-trauma-genetic/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [There was no "before" the beginning of our universe, because once upon a time there was no time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-barrow/there-was-no-before-the-beginning-of-our-universe-because-once-upon-a/) [John D. Barrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-barrow/) > [“What we do know, and what we can assert without further hesitation, is that the universe had a beginning. The universe continues to evolve.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/what-we-do-know-and-what-we-can-assert-without-further-hesitation-is/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [The mind is endless. You put me in a dark solitary cell, and to you that's the end, to me it's the beginning, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-manson/the-mind-is-endless-you-put-me-in-a-dark-solitary-cell-and-to-you/) [Charles Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-manson/) > [In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/in-the-beginning-the-universe-was-created-this-has-made-a-lot-of/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“In the early universe—when the universe was small enough to be governed by both general relativity and quantum theory—there were effectively four dimensions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/in-the-early-universe-when-the-universe-was-small-enough-to-be/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [“The story so far: In the beginning the Universe was created. 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This was first pointed out by St.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/as-we-shall-see-the-concept-of-time-has-no-meaning-before-the/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [This fact immediately suggested a singular event - that at some time in the distant past the universe began expanding from an extremely small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-behe/this-fact-immediately-suggested-a-singular-event-that-at-some-time-in/) [Michael Behe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-behe/) > [“It from bit.” It’s an unorthodox theory, which starts with the assumption that information is at the root of all existence. 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The Big Bang may be the beginning of the universe, or it may be a discontinuity in which information about the earlier history…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/universe-the-big-bang-may-be-the-beginning-of-the-universe-or-it-may/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ God does not play dice \[with the universe\]. \[Ger., Gott wurfelt nicht.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/god-does-not-play-dice-with-the-universe-ger-gott-wurfelt-nicht/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [“The physical universe was a language with a perfectly ambiguous grammar. Every physical event was an utterance that could be parsed in two entirely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-chiang/the-physical-universe-was-a-language-with-a-perfectly-ambiguous/) [Ted Chiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-chiang/) ## More by Glen Duncan > [Nineteenth-century English literature I know; 19th-century sewage systems, not so much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/nineteenth-century-english-literature-i-know-19th-century-sewage/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [“For the longest time the romantic explanation for low rates of female infection endured: Possession of a womb, it was supposed, conferred a gentleness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/for-the-longest-time-the-romantic-explanation-for-low-rates-of-female/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [“The question 'What was there before creation?' is meaningless. Time is a property of creation, therefore before creation there was no before creation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/the-question-what-was-there-before-creation-is-meaningless-time-is-a/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [“The beauty spot by her lip was one of a dozen or so scattered over her body. My new constellations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/the-beauty-spot-by-her-lip-was-one-of-a-dozen-or-so-scattered-over/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [Fairy tales read before bed tend to make me dream. They're all quite violent stories, as are my dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/fairy-tales-read-before-bed-tend-to-make-me-dream-they-re-all-quite/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [I don’t know where the universe came from or what happens to creatures when they die. 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What they've done they've done from within themselves. - Raphael”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/the-mortals-are-free-lucifer-what-they-ve-done-they-ve-done-from/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [One day the ordinariness will be terminally punctuated by the extraordinary full stop of death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/one-day-the-ordinariness-will-be-terminally-punctuated-by-the/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [When I see gurgling retarded children (that's God's doing, by the way, not mine) happily styling their hair with their own stinking mards, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/when-i-see-gurgling-retarded-children-that-s-god-s-doing-by-the-way/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [“She understood the genre constraints, the decencies we were supposed to be observing. The morally cosy vision allows the embrace of monstrosity only as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/she-understood-the-genre-constraints-the-decencies-we-were-supposed/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [“Show us the world's not the way we thought it was and part of us rejoices.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/show-us-the-world-s-not-the-way-we-thought-it-was-and-part-of-us/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [“It’s just what you’re stuck with, the lousy furniture you can’t change. The educated me knows hell’s nothing, a fiction I happened to inherit.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/it-s-just-what-you-re-stuck-with-the-lousy-furniture-you-can-t-change/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [“Afterwards, sitting on my bunk, I cried. I read somewhere that when you’re a kid it’s people’s cruelty that makes you cry, then when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/afterwards-sitting-on-my-bunk-i-cried-i-read-somewhere-that-when-you/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) > [“The absurdity of it, she thought, this quest for the love of a man who was her equal. She loathed herself for it. She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-duncan/the-absurdity-of-it-she-thought-this-quest-for-the-love-of-a-man-who/) [Glen Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) [Explore all 259 Glen Duncan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-duncan/) ## More Chained quotes > [“But heroin was my air. It had a hold of me like we were chained together. 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The need to interchange the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-desclos/a-man-in-love-is-the-master-so-it-seems-but-only-if-his-lady-friend/) [Anne Desclos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-desclos/) > [“Your realm is an insane place. In Volaria, no-one goes hungry, slaves are no use when they starve. Those freeborn too lazy or lacking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-ryan/your-realm-is-an-insane-place-in-volaria-no-one-goes-hungry-slaves/) [Anthony Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-ryan/) > [“We who are immortal, we are chained to this life by a chain of gold, and we dare not sever it for fear of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/we-who-are-immortal-we-are-chained-to-this-life-by-a-chain-of-gold/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [Until our mission becomes our obsession, we'll be chained to the realm of average.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sharma/until-our-mission-becomes-our-obsession-we-ll-be-chained-to-the-realm/) [Robin Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sharma/) > [“maybe he fought it off and forgot about it, and he wasn’t afraid, because he knew he’d never carry it out. Right, but now,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanis-aw-lem/maybe-he-fought-it-off-and-forgot-about-it-and-he-wasn-t-afraid/) [Stanisław Lem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanis-aw-lem/) > [My life is like a music-hall,Where, in the impotence of rage,Chained by enchantment to my stall,I see myself upon the stageDance to amuse a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-symons/my-life-is-like-a-music-hall-where-in-the-impotence-of-rage-chained/) [Arthur Symons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-symons/) > [“Beat me instead," she cried, "It's not Darren's fault! 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