One of the greatest tragedies ever written is Sophocles’ “Oedipus the King”. In short, “Oedipus the King” follows the story of a king named Oedipus. His city is struck with a terrible plague and he is on the mission to find out why this has been placed upon them and more about it. He finds out from the god Apollo, that until the murderer of one of their former kings, Laios, has been found the city will live with this curse. It is later revealed by an oracle that the murderer of Laios is his son, Oedipus (Sophocles). While it is not the only decision made throughout the play, Oedipus’ decision to kill his father is one that leaves room for discussion and interpretation in the views of Aristotle and Augustine. When looking at Aristotle’s view …show more content…
According to him, “Virtue, then, is about praise or blame when they are voluntary, but pardon, sometimes even pity, when they are involuntary” (Free Will,1). By voluntary, it is meant that an action has its own origin in the agent and the agent knows the particulars and the action is not caused by ignorance. Otherwise, if an action is involuntary, it is compelled by a force or it is caused by ignorance (Coe). Ignorance of the particulars, refers to who is performing the action, what the person is doing, and to whom or what they are doing it (Coe). Taking these ideas into consideration, I personally do not believe that Aristotle would consider Oedipus responsible for his action of killing his father. There are multiple factors that could lead Oedipus to doing this. While fate played a major role in this action it is certainly not the …show more content…
Augustine attempts to explain the presence of evil without substantializing it. He has a direct focus on God and His relationship with free will. According to Augustine, everything is a gift from God, no matter how good or bad it may be. So, free will is a good gift to humans since it came from God. Augustine also raises the question of why God gave humans free will if free will is essentially the ability to sin (Coe). To answer this, he makes it clear in “On Free Choice of the Will” that God gave humans free will for a reason and it is up to us to decide on how to use it. This concept is validated when Augustine says, “his punishing sins and rewarding good deeds-how could it even exist if human beings lacked the free choice of the will? No action would be either a sin or a good deed if it were not performed for the will, and so both punishment and reward would be unjust if human beings had no free will (Free Will, 20).” With these concepts in mind, I do not necessarily think that Augustine would hold Oedipus responsible for killing his father. Even though he believes that humans have free will to have the ability to act rightly on it, he also believes that when people sin and do not act rightly, they do so on free will (Free Will, 22). According to Augustine, if sin is caused by nature or necessity it is not blameworthy, it is simply a defect of nothing
The selfishness that Oedipus possesses causes him to have abundance of ignorance. This combination is what leads to his father’s death. After fleeing Corinth and his foster family, Oedipus gets into a skirmish with an older man. The reason for the fight was because, “The groom leading the horses forced me off the road at his lord’s command” (1336). Oedipus is filled with a rage after being insulted by the lord and feels the need to act. The two men fight, but Oedipus ends up being too much for the older man, and he kills him. What Oedipus is unaware of is that the man was actually his birth father and by killing him, Oedipus has started on the path of his own destruction. Not only does Oedipus kill his father, but also everyone else, “I killed them all” (1336). The other men had no part in the scuffle, but in his rage, he did not care who he was killing.
He murders his father and marries his mother unknowingly. While it may seem to some that Oedipus was destined to carry out his fate, it is also true that Oedipus’ personality led him to his fate. It is clear to see that Oedipus is an impulsive and passionate man, which causes Oedipus to fulfill the prophecy that haunts him. He flees the kingdom of Corinthian in order to avoid his fate. Along his journey he comes to a crossroad that is blocked by a chariot, and “in a fit of anger” Oedipus kills the father he never knew (Meyer 1422).
...lighted” Augustine’s body (Confessions VIII. 5, p. 148). In this example, regardless of Augustine’s want to will succumbing to God, he found that his habits had rendered him unable to. His will in favor of the lower things held Augustine tighter than his will for God, which caused Augustine to choose the lesser good, which left him “in the midst of that great tumult I had stirred up against my own soul in the chamber of my heart” (Confessions VIII. 7, p.152). His two wills tore at him until he fully abandoned his earthly lust for the spiritual Godly desires; supporting his conclusion that free will in favor of the lesser goods causes evil. Therefore, free will is the ultimate source of evil.
Oedipus Rex, also known as Oedipus the King, is one of the most ironic plays ever written. Sophocles, the author, is a famous philosopher of the ancient times. The Play is about Oedipus, the king of Thebes, who unwittingly killed his father and married his mother. An oracle warned Laius, the king of Thebes prior to Oedipus, that his son would slay him. Accordingly, when his wife, Jocasta, bore a son, he exposed the baby on Mt. Cithaeron, first pinning his ankles together (hence the name Oedipus, meaning Swell-Foot). A shepherd took pity on the infant, who was adopted by King Polybus of Corinth and his wife and was brought up as their son. In early manhood Oedipus visited Delphi and upon learning that he was fated to kill his father and marry his mother, he resolved never to return to Corinth. Travelling toward Thebes, he encountered Laius, who provoked a quarrel in which Oedipus killed him.
The play "Oedipus Rex" is a very full and lively one to say the least. Everything a reader could ask for is included in this play. There is excitement, suspense, happiness, sorrow, and much more. Truth is the main theme of the play. Oedipus cannot accept the truth as it comes to him or even where it comes from. He is blinded in his own life, trying to ignore the truth of his life. Oedipus will find out that truth is rock solid. The story is mainly about a young man named Oedipus who is trying to find out more knowledge than he can handle. The story starts off by telling us that Oedipus has seen his moira, his fate, and finds out that in the future he will end up killing his father and marrying his mother. Thinking that his mother and father were Polybos and Merope, the only parents he knew, he ran away from home and went far away so he could change his fate and not end up harming his family. Oedipus will later find out that he cannot change fate because he has no control over it, only the God's can control what happens. Oedipus is a very healthy person with a strong willed mind who will never give up until he gets what he wants. Unfortunately, in this story these will not be good trait to have.
“Please tell me: isn’t God the cause of evil?” (Augustine, 1). With this question to Augustine of Hippo, Evodius begins a philosophical inquiry into nature of evil. Augustine, recently baptized by Saint Ambrose in Milan, began writing his treatise On Free Choice of the Will in 387 C.E. This work laid down the foundation for the Christian doctrine regarding the will’s role in sinning and salvation. In it, Augustine and his interlocutor investigate God’s existence and his role in creating evil. They attempt not only to understand what evil is, and the possibility of doing evil, but also to ascertain why God would let humans cause evil. Central to the premise of this entire dialogue is the concept of God, as relates to Christianity; what is God, and what traits separate Him from humans? According to Christianity, God is the creator of all things, and God is good; he is omnipotent, transcendent, all-knowing, and atemporal- not subject to change over time- a concept important to the understanding of the differences between this world and the higher, spiritual realm He presides over. God’s being is eidos, the essence which forms the basis of humans. With God defined, the core problem being investigated by Augustine and Evodius becomes clear. Augustine states the key issue that must be reconciled in his inquiry; “we believe that everything that exists comes from the one God, and yet we believe that God is not the cause of sins. What is troubling is that if you admit that sins come from… God, pretty soon you’ll be tracing those sins back to God” (Augustine, 3).
The ancient Greeks were fond believers of Fate. Fate, defined according to Webster’s, is “the principle or determining cause or will by which things in general are believed to come to be as they are or events to happen as the do.” The Greeks take on Fate was slightly modified. They believed that the gods determined Fate: “…fate, to which in a mysterious way the gods themselves were subject, was an impersonal force decreeing ultimate things only, and unconcerned with day by day affairs.” It was thought that these gods worked in subtle ways; this accounts for character flaws (called harmatia in Greek). Ancient Greeks thought the gods would alter a person’s character, in order for that person to suffer (or gain from) the appropriate outcome. Such was the case in Oedipus’s story.
No one can be held fully responsible for actions committed under some kind of external constraint, and for the case of Oedipus, such constraint might be exerted by god. But it does not mean that Oedipus suffers not because of his guilt, but of his goodness, because Oedipus is responsible for those actions which are not performed under constraint. Oedipus has choices, but every time he chooses the wrong one even he knew that the one he chose will turn out to be bad. He still chooses this road to certain extend, is because of his arrogant pride. I think the events of the play are Oedipus fault. Oedipus makes important mistakes or errors in judgment that lead to this ending. His pride, blindness, and foolishness all play a part in the tragedy that befalls him.
His own stubbornness and arrogance. lead to his fall. Oedipus says to Jocasta when he discovers he murdered his very own father, “Oh no no, I think I’ve just called down. a dreadful curse upon myself” (412). Sophocles believed that humans have free will yet they are limited by a larger order that controls all the things that are.
This is implausible because, at the time he killed the old man (his father) he had no idea of the prophecy that foreseen this happening. Even if he would have known about the Gods saying that he would do these things, it wouldn't have made much of a difference. For Oedipus thought his parents were different than who they really were. He had no idea that his real parents knew of the phrophecy and had him put in the mountains with pins in his ankles to die. He had no idea that a sheperd saved him and gave him to the King of Corinth. So he had no idea that the old man he met where the tree roads meet, was his real father, and he had no way of knowing that Jocasta was his real mother. So even if he knew that he would kill his father and sleep with his mother, he wouldn't have know that Laius was his real father and that Jocasta was his real mother. Even though the decisions to kill the old man and sleep with the older women were choices he made, he had no idea that these would be his parents. Also if the Gods make a prophecy, how is it that a mere mortal could change his own fate? A mere mortal cannot even see a God it its true form. So how could Oedipus defeat the prophecy made by a God. Although Oedipus may have been wrong to do what he did, I do not think you can use the word guilty to describe him.
Oedipus' destruction was brought about by a combination of fate and free will. He was a victim of fate for it was foretold at his birth that he would marry his mother and murder his father. This prophecy, as warned by the oracle of Apollo at Delphi was unconditional and inevitably would come to pass, no matter what he may have done to avoid it. His past actions were determined by fate, but what he did in Thebes, he did so of his own will.
As predicted from the Oracle, Oedipus fate will be to kill his own father and marry his mother, he discovers that he has already fulfilled his fate by his insistent in knowing the truth. Oedipus is given a series of choice in discovering his identity or leaving it to up to fate throughout the play. His egotistical and persistent nature lead him to thoughtlessly make the incorrect decisions, consequently, it is Oedipus’s burden that the tragedy is revealed, not the responsibility of fate. In the mean well Oedipus and those close to him consider “fate” the main reason of Oedipus downfall. To the audience it shows something totally different, Oedipus is ultimately responsible for his tragedy. Possibly the most evident reason Oedipus is accountable is that by the end of the play Oedipus has taken responsibility for his actions. Oedipus states, "Now loathed by the gods, son of the mother I defiled coupling in my fathers bed, spawning lives in the loins that spawned my wretched life. What grief can crown this grief? It's mine alone, my destiny-I am Oedipus!" (Sophocles 1492). Oedipus obviously sta...
Author Claudia Gray stated, “Self-knowledge is better than self-control any day” (Goodreads). Evil and sin exists in our world today and the temptation they bring bounds many human’s spiritual being. Finding the root of all evil is a hard and torturous concept to understand, but knowing one’s own free will helps bring understanding and deliverance from the evils of the world. Throughout the book Confessions Saint Augustine “ponders the concepts of evil and sin and searches the root of their being” (Augustine 15). The existence of evil is one of the most worrisome challenges a Christian or any individual deals with throughout life. Saint Augustine’s beliefs concerning the root of all evil and sins transforms as he begins to grow and develop in the knowledge of his free will and spiritual being. Early on, he believes “God created all things and evil is a thing, therefore God created evil” (Augustine 73-74). From this he conceives the notion that God cannot be good if he knowingly created evil. As Augustine begins to grow in his spiritual walk, his views begin to evolve as he questions his Manichee’s beliefs and explores the concepts of good and evil. From his inquiring Augustine develops the question, what is evil and what if evil did not need creating? He asks, “Do we have any convincing evidence that a good God exists” (Augustine 136-137)?
Free will, to Augustine, is not an example of humanity’s advancement, but rather, an example of humanity’s downfall. The idea that Augustine is a slavery to sin, however, corresponds with the idea of a lack of dependence on God in his downfall. God’s role, a savior and the utmost righteous, exemplifies Augustine’s struggle and where the true conflict lies. Augustine’s plea, “For what am I to myself without thee but a guide to my own downfall?”, further perpetuates the idea of Augustine as a slave to sin as well as a dependant of God (41). He portrays his dependence on God in order to resist temptation, as well as his belief that he is incapable in controlling his own passions; however, Augustine’s dependence on God does not only demonstrate his weakness, but also demonstrates the negative effect of free will on one’s life. Augustine’s weakness, revealing the concept that sin is a choice, allows free will to be framed in a negative way. “Yet,” Augustine explains, “by thy ordinance, O God, discipline is given to restrain the excesses of freedom” (19). The excesses of freedom, or free will, that is granted to humanity is negative. By focusing on God’s role in human sin, Augustine overlooks the deeper problem of human choice that leads to sin. His claim that God’s discipline is needed to
Poor Oedipus discovers that he had killed his father and married his mother at the climax of the play when the Shepard is questioned. He states "I stand revealed at last - cursed in my birth, cursed in marriage, cursed in the lives I cut down with these hands!"³ He then finds his mother after she has committed suicide and proceeds to gouge out his own eyes with her brooches.