I think the class did not discuss enough about whether we can apply determinism to science. As we add more people, or variables, to a society, determinism becomes more prominent. Think about one person for a moment. It is much easier to influence all factors of life with human will if there is only one person in a society. Now think of two people in the society. It becomes harder for one person to influence things with his will because there is the will of the other person that might contradict the will of the first. The growth of determinism’s relevance becomes greater and greater with each new person that you add.
There are real world examples of this. If we compare the United States to another country like Switzerland, there is a significant size difference. The United States argues for days or weeks to get a bill passed. It seems that we get nothing done, and everyone blames other opinions for the lack of progress. Switzerland, on the other hand, has some of the best living conditions in the world. Their country is small enough that there is not as much bickering and differences of opinions. This difference in progress could be attributed to determinism. Switzerland might be able to control what happens more often than the United States because there are less people, and therefore, less relevance of determinism in their society. Thus, Switzerland progresses much faster than the United States.