"If we knew exactly the laws of nature and the situation of the universe at the initial moment, we could predict exactly the situation of the same universe at a succeeding moment"

This quote by Henri Poincare speaks with the concept of determinism, which is the belief that all events are predetermined which the future is fixed. In other words, if we knew the laws of nature and the specific state of the universe at the beginning, we might properly anticipate the state of the universe at any future time. This concept is closely associated to the principle of cause and effect, which mentions that every occasion has a cause and that the effect of that cause can be forecasted. Poincare's quote suggests that if we had a total understanding of the laws of nature and the preliminary state of the universe, we could precisely forecast the future. This idea has been checked out by numerous philosophers and scientists, and is still a topic of argument today.