Is Destiny a Matter of Chance or Choice?

Or is each action pre-determined? These are interesting concepts that will bring us to the issues that will be discussed throughout this paper. Do we truly have free will on our actions or are they previously determined for us? Free will and Determinism offer us different views on how we can perceive the ultimate course of our actions and life.

Chaos theory engages with the certain physical systems, which are extremely sensitive to the changes in initial conditions. The equations describing a system are highly interdependent. Therefore, even a small change in the system can result in a large effect on the later condition of the system. Since it is impossible to measure all the initial parameters exactly, the trajectory of the system’s operation is inherently indeterminate. That is, this theory is represented by the interdependence among constituents of a system and the uncertainty of the possible conditions of its stages of development. In the highly complex interrelatedness and indeterminacy, this cosmos evolves as a self-organizing creation through “the interplay of chance and law.” In that sense, as Ilya Prigogine and Stuart Kauffman hold, our cosmos is in the continuous process of the emergence of complexity and order in nonlinear systems at the edge of chaos. The dissipations and emergences of complexity and order in nonlinear systems go on and on in this cosmos. “Every beginning is a beginning-again.”

Since the beginning of documented history there has been a debate on whether mankind was born with the ability to make decisions, or if every action was already decided. For instance, if someone was to decide to go to the grocery store and was in a car accident and died, was it because they decided to go to the grocery store at that exact moment in time or because that was part of a bigger plan the whole time. Humans have always wanted to believe in something bigger than them and that can be seen as far back as the Mesopotamian cultures with the worshipping of gods. Predestination is a concept which most people take the side of free will or fate because people do not want to admit there may be a greater being that has total control and knowledge; however predestination is more that the decisions that are made are all a part of a greater picture and that people are following a path no matter what they choose.

Many times I find myself sitting and wondering whether I am fully free or not. I wake up every single morning and do the same routine, which is eat breakfast, go to class or work, do homework, go to the gym, shower, and then go to bed. Does this truly mean I am free? There are a lot of questions that you can ask yourself while following a routine. Is this really the path I should have taken? Were my choices determined by external factors? Determinism is the thesis that an any instant there is only one physically possible future. Robert Blatchford and Walter Terence Stace, two philosophers, both agree that determinism is true, although they have two different views on whether this means that people are free or not. Blatchford believes that everything is predestined. Stace on the other hand, believes that a person chooses what they do because of free will. In this essay I am going to discuss both of the philosophers’ views more in depth and why I favor Stace’s view over Blatchford’s.

The idea about free will and fate is still unsolved and debatable throughout the world. Some claim that humans have their own power to create their own destiny, however, others argue that they are inescapable victims of fate. The novel, Things Fall Apart, portrays the relationship between human’s determination to succeed and his or her own fate by describing Okonkwo as a tragic figure. While Okonkwo believes that he can overcome his fate through his hard work, Chinua Achebe reveals that fate is a powerful, inevitable event in the novel.

Jayson McLeod has long held the belief that the world is what you will it to be. Under this worldview there is no fate or destiny, but rather a series of events intertwined with a preceding series of events. The Greeks once believed that the weather was at the whim of the gods. The Greeks later changed their worldview away from the notion that the gods control weather. From this they began to notice weather patterns allowing for safer sea trade which in turn brought prosperity to the Greek peninsula. It is this sort of cause and effect that shapes the world we live in.

The theory of causal determinism explains the way in which the laws of nature and the state of the world govern our decisions. There can be only one fixed outcome for every scenario, because man “is

"For those of us who believe in physics, this separation between past, present, and future is only an illusion, however tenacious." Albert Einstein

This description of how order to an end comes about in a thing that sounds sensible, but when one tries to apply it to the origin of living things the alternative explanation of chance presents itself. The

In this paper, I am going to discuss and argue about free will and determinism. What is free will, and do we have it? Free will is simply the power to act with no constraint, in other words, to act freely with no one holding us down. The controversial argument of this topic is if we have free will or not. According to physical determinism, “If our brain is in a certain state, then our next move is determined. Therefore, we do not have free will” (Holbach). According to others, we do have free will. In my paper, I will talk about the views of Holbach, Stace, and Ayer concerning free will. I will then argue that Ayer has the best view because he has a more serious sense of moral responsibility than Holbach and Stace, and that his view better fits with our normal view of free will.

The metaphysical issue is in regards to the concept of determinism. Causal determinism describes the view that all events are the outcome of prior conditions and precedent causes, meaning that the condition at a particular time determines the condition of the next moment in time. With the laws of nature, the initial conditions essentially fix the future to go a specific way. This indicates that to us, given the past history and prior nature, we are only able to act in one particular way. Causal determinism clashes with regards to the idea of free will, because it suppresses our ability to exercise control over our actions while considering the moral responsibility that corresponds these choices. It can be seen as everything in the universe is unfolding like the domino effect, each domino falling over the next and continues onwards, suggesting it inevitable to result otherwise.

Furthermore, there are three main aspects which were customarily associated with a science: metaphysical, theoretical and methodological assumptions. Under metaphysical it is believed that to gain scientific status requires the certainty that the subject matter i.e. human thought/ behaviour, is similar to that of other accepted sciences. This could then be true for Psychology, as particularly since Darwin’s suggestion of a continuity between behaviours of humans and other species, behaviour has become more scrutinised. However, this must be assumed in respect of determinism, suggesting predictions could be made. ‘Heisenbergs uncertainty principle’ suggests that when relating evidence of indeterminism within the universe to human behaviour, it proves ambiguous, and with parts of the discipline believing strongly in free will it seems difficult to establish a common ground (Valentine E.R. page 2).

Everything happens for a reason. This is a belief accepted by many humans all over the world and is the basis behind decision-making. However, many humans also believe that actions in life are pre-determined by causes external from the will, this belief is the idea behind determinism. Philosopher David Hume believes that both free will and determinism can co-exist even though the two concepts seem to contradict each other. I believe that Hume is correct to believe that free will and determinism can co-exist because determinism explains the outcome of a humans actions and free will explains the motives behind a humans actions.

An objective theory that predicts future events can only be possible when dealing with the five senses. Once there is a pattern of the same things reoccurring over and over again, a universal law starts to develop. This means that no matter what, some things will always be true, while other things will always be false. One’s beliefs, whatever they may be, have no manner on the facts of the world. Some facts of the world include the sun rising, women being able to carry a baby, and even evolution. Another example is the Uncertainty Reduction Theory, which describes that when interacting with people, one may need certain information about the person in order to reduce their uncertainty. In the event that one does gain more information about the other person or

After contrasting Okonkwo’s greatness with his father’s meekness, Achebe dives into the mind of Okonkwo in order to establish the theme of fate vs free will. This moment is very important in the narrative, as it shows Okonkwo’s determination to rise up and become prosperous ultimately comes from his fear of confronting fate. A paradox occurs as Okonkwo, a man of natural will, is compromising his well-being and true self in order to fight fate.