Examples Of Fate Vs Free Will Macbeth

Fate vs Free Will has always been one of the most controversial topics from early history, and for no surprise because everyone is fascinated about their future. Many people believe that life is predetermined and anything you do won’t transmute your future. Others believe that you are sanctioned to mold your own destiny and optate your own path. Your mind, for example, has total free will up to the point where you believe that everything you think is controlled by faith. Then you wouldn’t have a free thought because all that you will think was always going to be thought, and thus making faith decide you. Whatever the case may be, one thing is for certain and that is that we’ll never know the future because it is beyond our ken.

The first philosophers to question Fate vs Free Will originated in ancient Greece in the 6th century BCE. The philosophers were called Presocratics and their purpose was to question and investigate the ultimate basis and essential nature of the external world. One of the first philosopher to question fate was Aristotle by saying “…If it was always

true to say that it was or would be, it could not be, or not be going to be. But if something cannot not happen, it is impossible for it not to happen; and what cannot not happen necessarily happens. Everything, then, that will be will be necessary.” (Aristotle, Aristotle’s de interpretatione). For example, you say that the city will flood and someone else says the city will not flood, both of the statements have the potential to be either true or false. That isn’t to say that both of the statements are wrong or both are right, instead both statements have the potential to be either.
We can further analyze Fate vs Free Will In shakespeare’s play Macbeth.

In Macbeth Fate vs Free Will is firstly is shown when the Sergeant says “And fortune, on his damned quarrel smiling, Show'd like a rebel's whore: but all's too weak: For brave Macbeth—well he deserves that name— Disdaining fortune, with his brandish'd steel, Which smoked with bloody execution,” ( ) the sergeant implies that Macbeth should have been killed but he was somehow stronger than his own fate. However, the sergeant continues to say that he may have defeated his own fate now, but it will soon catch up to him later. This is foreshadowing his inevitable demise proving the theory of fate. Although, it would also be misleading to say that the sergeant understands fate, instead he could have thought logically because after all Macbeth did undergo a hard battle and so the sergeant could have been surprised he

survived.
The greatest question in Macbeth was created by the three witches when it was undefined if they controlled Macbeth’s fate, or if they simply imputed the idea of murder. When Macbeth encounters the three witches , they say “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis!, All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!,All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!” (). At first Macbeth didn’t think too much of it until King Duncan rewards him with the title of the Thane of Cawdor, and all land that comes with it. He was then persuaded that the prophecy was coming true, but was it really? Of course he becoming thane of Cawdor did fruition but Aristotle would argue that it happened simply because the three witches predicted three different things. All three things had the potential to happen, especially because he recently defeated the previous king of Cawdor and was already king of Glamis.
The feud between Fate and Free Will is also seen within Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Macbeth after being persuaded about his prophecy reaches out to his wife, Lady Macbeth, and she was not easily persuaded. She encourages Macbeth to ensure his position as king of Scotland by killing King Duncan. He refuses at first, but ultimately takes his fate into his own hands, allowing his ambition and that of his wife to overcome his better judgement. It was his wife that didn’t fully believe in fate and push Macbeth to act upon it.
Finally, the final three apparitions that were told by the witches were to beware Macduff, no man born from a women will harm Macbeth, and Macbeth shall never vanquished until the forest moves. These prophacies would undermind the idea that there is such thing as free will. It is undermind because of the fact taht Macbeth knew he was worried about Macduff which is why he tried to kill him but instead ended up killing his family. However , it was still unitble because Macduff still ends up killing Macbeth because he was born of not a women and the soliders that rebleed against macbeths army covered themselfs with “the forest”. It would be hard to defute the fact that Macbeth had free will at the end because he actually tried to do soemthing about it but at the end fate did catch up to him just as the sergeant