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Fate vs free will ERWC essay
Fate vs free will ERWC essay
Conclusion for free will vs fate
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There are many philosophical debates over countless amounts of things. One of the big debates is over the question: Do humans perform actions via free will or is every action performed part of a bigger picture? Are human beings all victims of what is known as fate? Which side is correct is up for debate obviously. Both sides of this never ending debate provide excellent arguments on whether or not humans are free to choose their own actions, but in this Super-Bowl of all debates, only one team can come out on top. Yes, human beings act on free, but this does not mean that fate is inexistent. It merely means that fate plays a much smaller part and is not quite what people interpret it as. Many believe everything that happens to a person is already predetermined by a higher power, but the validity of their stance depends on the actual existence of a higher power, a "creator" of everybody's fates. The attempt to prove this existence has taken thousands of years without prevail, and has showed no true signs of improvement. The stance that I take is on the side which argues in the favor of free will, and I will not budge unless the opposing side can prove to the world that this "creator" exists.
Bhagavad Gita, a follower of Hinduism, wrote that "You have control over doing your respective duty only, but no control or claim over the results. The fruits of work should not be your motive, and you should never be inactive." Now, every religion has different beliefs. Some types of Christianity believe in predestination, but other forms of Christianity contradict this belief because they believe that god created them to be able to act with free will. Like Bhagavad Gita, some people might say that even though you are able to make a decision ...
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... that god gave to Moses in the Bible. Their god wants them to live by those commandments, but the interpretation of these commandments relies on man. If all men lived their lives according to how their higher power would like us to live, mankind would flourish. Free will allows men to make their own decisions, though, and many individuals make greedy decisions. This leads to corruption, which damages the growth of mankind. The existence of a higher power is still a mystery and forever may be. If there is a higher power, he does not make our decisions for us, but rather watches us hoping that we make the decisions that he leans us toward. Human beings live their lives free to make any decision that they please. Until a higher power shows himself to man and tells us that every part of our lives are dictated, I will refuse to believe that our world's god is a dictator.
The argument of whether humans are pre-determined to turn out how we are and act the way we do or if we are our own decision makers and have the freedom to choose our paths in life is a long-standing controversy. As a psychologist in training and based on my personal beliefs, I do not believe that we truly have this so called free will. It is because of this that I choose to believe that the work of free will by d’Holbach is the most accurate. Although the ideas that Hume and Chisolm present are each strong in their own manner, d’Holbach presents the best and most realistic argument as to how we choose our path; because every event has a cause, we cannot have free will. Not only this, but also, that since there is always an external cause, we can never justify blame. Now let’s review Hume and Chisolm’s arguments and point out why I do not think that they justly describe free will.
Many believe that our choices in life are already made for us and we have no control to what happens to us, although others believe that this life is like an epic journey and we can change our fate at any moment. It´s hard to choose which side you believe in my honest opinion I believe that our lives do not ¨lie in the fate of God¨ as stated by in the Iraq War Post by Faiza Al-Araji however I believe instead that our life is an odyssey, that we must travel through and make important choices by ourselves not by fate. But with many edvidence and claims in both story the question ¨How much in our lives do we actually controls?¨ wanders through our mind.
Fate and free will help to explain why things in life occur. This is clearly shown in the poem “Miniver Cheevy” by E.A. Robinson with the main character Cheevy. His heart desired to be born during the medieval era however he was born too late. Similarly, in O’Henry’s short story “ The Cop and the Anthem” fate and free wills roles were depicted through Soapy, the main characters, plan for the winter. Although these two pieces of literature seem completely different they both come together to show that we have no control over our fate, however, we have our free will allows us to make the best of one's fate.
Marilyn Monroe once said, “I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they 're right, you believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.” Is fate subjected to one’s actions or is there another force that intervenes? Two choices to pick from, but each decision will result in a different ending. Most people believe they are free to choose whatever they want, however was fate already predestined that makes people decide their fate regardless of choice? Over the centuries, people have pondered upon the fact that integrity, justice, and moral principles play a role in deciding one’s fate. Does this mean that if Odysseus were to put aside his pride and be humble along his journey home, he would not have gone through all that trouble for anything? Is fate uncontrollable even for the Gods to handle? Forrest Gump is born mental
In philosophy today, free will is defined as, “the power of human beings to choose certain actions, uninfluenced by pressure of any sort, when a number of other options are simultaneously possible.” Philosophers have debated the issue of whether humans truly possess free will since ancient times. Some argue that humans act freely, while others believe that, “Every event, including our choices and decisions, is determined by previous events and the laws of nature—that is, given the past and the laws of nature, every event could not have been otherwise,” which is an idea known as determinism (Barry, #14). This relationship between free will and determinism continues to puzzle philosophers into the twenty-first century. An example of a piece to the free will puzzle, are the schools of thought of Incompatibilism and Compatibilism. Incompatibilism is defined as,
Free will vs. determinism is an argument as complex, intertwined, and co-dependent as nature vs. nurture or the age-old question of whether it was the chicken or the egg that came first. Philosophers have contemplated the question for ages, and arrived at no satisfactory answer.
Free-will, the ability one has to act without the constraint of necessity or fate. It the power a person has to act at one’s discretion. Do we really have the freedom to experience what we want, when we choose? Some would say yes while some others will say no, philosophers have argued about this topic and there hasn’t been any particular conclusion yet. It is the ability a person or animal has to choose his or her course of actions. Although most philosophers suppose that the concept of free-will is very closely connected to the concept of moral responsibility.
At the heart of every great tragedy lies the universal struggle between the human inclination to accept fate absolutely and the natural desire to control destiny (Stockton). Like most of his plays, in Shakespeare’s masterpiece Hamlet one of the prevailing themes centers on the question, “Does fate and providence overrule man’s own choices and decisions?” Throughout the work, the main character Hamlet views Fortune in various differing lights as he plots and plans his revenge. This complex interpretation of Fate’s influence is also shared with Horatio, Hamlet’s most treasured friend. Their assessments seem to waver in different situations, or as they experience something in particular. Fate and Fortune, and Providence in all her ambiguity are all sometimes seemingly bound to the actions of man and other times they are inescapable.
Ultimately, the free will problem will remain a highly debated subject due to its complicated nature. The solutions of determinism, compatibilism, and incompatibilism posed by Nagel in addition to my argument dealing with chance events are merely possibilities on how to dissect the phrase, “I could have chosen otherwise”. This concept is rooted in the subject of philosophy, since there is often no right answer. Philosophy allows us to express our opinions and come up with conclusions we believe to be true. Whether humans have free will or not will remain a mystery that we do our best in solving.
I believe that the argument of free will has to do with the existence of a higher being and destiny. Believing that one has a destiny and that destiny has to do with believing that a higher being has a control in your life, as if someone is making all the pieces move in order to get to a specific point and that it is connected with whether or not we have a say in the matter of free will.
Religion is a large part of modern life. It influences our belief system and values, as well as shapes who we are as human beings. However, most individuals decide upon and follow a belief system on a voluntary basis. Imagine not only being forced to follow a belief system but having this system dominate your every action. As is the case for classic epic heroes, such as Oedipus, Odysseus, and Aeneas.
Fate seems to defy humanity at every turn. A man may have his life planned out to the last second, but then some random force intervenes and he dies the second after he has completed his life plan. Some believe in fate, believing that our lives are predetermined from the moment we are born. Other people believe that everything is random, the result of some god rolling the dice in a universal poker game. Still other people believe that each and every person is in total control of his or her destiny, every step of the way. Who is to say which viewpoint is false? Every culture has a unique perception of the role of fate in our lives, and no group has the "right answer," simply a different answer. Taking into consideration the views of other cultures can help an individual refine his personal viewpoint on this inconceivable subject.
Freedom, or the concept of free will seems to be an elusive theory, yet many of us believe in it implicitly. On the opposite end of the spectrum of philosophical theories regarding freedom is determinism, which poses a direct threat to human free will. If outside forces of which I have no control over influence everything I do throughout my life, I cannot say I am a free agent and the author of my own actions. Since I have neither the power to change the laws of nature, nor to change the past, I am unable to attribute freedom of choice to myself. However, understanding the meaning of free will is necessary in order to decide whether or not it exists (Orloff, 2002).
I want to argue that there is indeed free will. In order to defend the position that free will means that human beings can cause some of what they do on their own; in other words, what they do is not explainable solely by references to factors that have influenced them. My thesis then, is that human beings are able to cause their own actions and they are therefore responsible for what they do. In a basic sense we are all original actors capable of making moves in the world. We are initiators of our own behavior.