Francesco D’Isa in The Philosophical Salon:
Some philosophical ideas have a bad reputation: until a few centuries ago, for example, in Christian Europe it was quite dangerous to profess atheism. Present-day forbidden ideas put you at risk of a shit-storm rather than the stake, but it’s still interesting to explore the philosophical taboos of our era.
Whether because of the aforementioned Christian legacies, or because of a society that mainly wants us to be consumers, in the West the rejection of free will has become one of these unwelcome moves. Since freedom is one of the ideological foundations of democracy, to deny it is akin to philosophical assault. Therefore, now I’m in the unpleasant position of defending an idea that most people abhor – namely, that the future is determined. I hope I won’t encounter too-harsh a disapproval.
In summary, I believe that there is no such thing as ‘possibility’, and that everything that has happened could not have been otherwise. Worse: I don’t just believe it, I find it obvious – a presumption that makes me look suspicious, because experience shows us that triviality and truth often disagree. I therefore want to test this opinion, which luckily has illustrious precursors and supporters.
More here.