Essay about The Question of Free Will Versus Fate

Throughout the play A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare uses both fate and free will to present his philosophy towards the nature of love. The characters struggle through confusion and conflicts to be with the one they love. Although the course of their love did not go well, love ultimately triumphs over all at the end of the play. The chaos reaches a climax causing great disruption among the lovers. However, the turmoil is eventually resolved by Puck, who fixes his mistake. The confusion then ends and the lovers are with their true love. Throughout the play Shakespeare's philosophy was displayed in various scenes, and his concept still holds true in modern society.

In William Shakespeare’s play, Julius Caesar, two interesting forces, fate and free will, are shown competing for prominence over the other. Fate was exemplified in the many prophecies and omens the characters viewed throughout the play. Free will was the characters abilities to overcome and defeat their fate. Many characters have struggles with the power of their free will overcoming their fate, namely Caesar, Cassius, and Brutus. Although in the end all three of those characters succumb to their fate, Shakespeare shows that there is a delicate equilibrium between the two forces.

I have always believed that everything happens for a reason. Now, I am not saying that I believe that there is a larger plan for everyone’s life. To clarify, I believe that there is no such thing as fate. Alternatively the events that happen throughout an individual 's life impacts their future in unknown ways.

Free will and fate are both prominent in the Odyssey. In the Odyssey, free will is depicted whenever characters make decisions. In example, Odysseus blinds the Cyclops, Polyphemus. Fate, in the Odyssey, is the consequences that are dealt out due to certain actions. In the case of Odysseus and Polyphemus, the consequence is that when Odysseus is on a ship heading home to reach Ithaca, Poseidon, being the father of Polyphemus, sends a storm at Odysseus being angry that Odysseus blinded his son. In that scenario, Odysseus makes the decision to blind Polyphemus to escape, and in turn, the consequence is that Poseidon attempts to hit him with a storm in the sea. The contrasting themes of

Fate and free will in the Matrix, fate is non-negotiable as the world is preprogramed. Human actions are predetermined so free will does not exist. When Morpheus offers neo the choice to follow him down the ‘rabbit hole’ or ‘stay in wonderland’ he is offering him the choice between fate and free will. In the scene where Neo first meets the Oracle, there is the possibility of learning what his fate is and his identity. In the final scene, Trinity reveals that she is not afraid to accept her fate in loving Neo; the filmmaker draws attention to the importance of the decision-making, which is at the heart of the fate and free will dichotomy.

In Oedipus the King, one of Sophocles’ most popular plays, Sophocles clearly depicts the Greek’s popular belief that fate will control a man’s life despite of man’s free will. Man was free to choose and was ultimately held responsible for his own actions. Throughout Oedipus the King, the concept of fate and free will plays an integral part in Oedipus' destruction.

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.

Oedipus the King, was written by Sophocles between C.A.496-406B.C. In this play, Oedipus is a great example of Sophocles’ belief that fate will control a man’s life no matter how much free will exists.

Predestination, in the dictionary, is said to be "the doctrine that God in consequence of his foreknowledge of all events infallibly guides those who are destined for salvation." Scripture has 2 very good passages for defining what predestination is: Jeremiah 1:5 which says "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." God is talking about Jeremiah in this passage and how God chose him before time; he was predestined for his job. Romans 8:28-30 "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed

A different approach to this question is that our life’s destiny is predetermined for us, but based on the

Generally, fate refers to the development of events beyond a person’s control (Aurobindo). As such, a fatalist is a person who believes that whatever happens is, and always was, unavoidable. Moreover, such a person strongly believes that he or she has no control over what happens the next moment, tomorrow, next year, or several years to come. Free will, on the other hand, is formed by the power of sanction (Aurobindo). In other words, it is consent by the spirit that it shall not be bound but that its enjoyment should be bound by time, space, and causality and by the swabhava and the dharma (Aurobindo). To determine whether fate or free will controls human lives, it is important to objectively analyse, synthesizes, and respond to the “critical conversation” that the authors of class readings seem to be engaging with regard to this subject. In connection to this, humanity has been fascinated by fate and free will for a long time. Some philosophers in the Ancient Greek and the Middle Ages believed that free will influenced human destiny while others believed that fate was responsible for what befell mankind.

In the play Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare there are two forces at work fate and freewill and throughout the play they are both fighting for control over man. Fate was shown in the many prophecies and omens that the characters viewed throughout the entire play. Free will as defined in the play is the ability to overcome fate. Although in the end all three of the characters succumbed to their fate, Shakespeare shows again that there is a delicate balance between fate and human free will.

In the texts, A Raisin in the Sun and Antigone, written by Lorraine Hansberry and Sophocles, respectively, the lens of Fate vs. Free Will is exposed within the situations and dialogues in these plays. However, to analyze these plays with this lens perspective, one must first recognize what this lens pertains to. The lens of Fate vs. Free Will pertains to the perspective of analyzing events in a story and deciding whether they occur due to a predetermined destiny, or rather, a choice made by a character’s own decision or free will. Some may argue, that no matter what, events happen only out of one of these choices. Now in some opinions, that may hold some validity.

Sophocles shows throughout the play, Oedipus the King, that fate triumphs over free will. This is presented by situational irony, the blind seer, and pathos. The following are examples that show this idea through the three literary terms mentioned. Situational irony plays a big role in how Sophocles displays fate in the play. An example of situational irony representing fate is when Oedipus promises to get rid of whoever murdered King Laius, but it was actually Oedipus himself who was the murderer.

Fate vs. Free will in Julius Caesar The conflict over fate versus free will is a big conversation that can be argued both ways. Do we let our fate lead the path in our life, or do we take matters into our own hands and find a way to avoid it? If we do avoid our fate, what are the consequences and how do we handle them? The role that consequences play is that people will fully commit to his/her fate in order to avoid the consequences.