Fate Vs. Free Will

[QuoteGirl]

To what extent to you believe that fate determines what happens in the lives of all of us? How do the actions of others determine what happens to you? What is free will? Are there really such things as chance and coincidence, or is everything predetermined?

[David]

This is what happens to those who search for "the one"

[QuoteGirl]

Not entirely sure what the site has to do with fate or free will, but hey. Interesting pictures.

[Johnnie Stephens]

I believe in both. I'm gonna have to go with the Doctor here. Somethings are fixed, while some are in flux. Somethings can change based on my choices, but other events will happen no matter what I do.

[QuoteGirl]

Nice reasoning. And Dr. Who reference. :)

[Chris E]

Well, I think I've just been converted to believing in Determinism whereas when I opened this thread I was prepared to wholly bash "fate".
I think, and a few of you may have highlighted this, that we generally misconstrue the concept of fate and, if you'll pardon the slight pun, make it seem a lot more fatalistic than it is in this sense.
Life is quasi-infinitely complex, so despite the fact that your entire life journey should theoretically be predictable based on the sum of your genetics and the incomprehensibly massive but finite number of stimuli you will encounter (and the similarly massive but finite number of stimuli responsible for the actions of the also massive but finite number of people you will encounter), it really won't affect you.
While, theoretically, this means that you have 'no control' over what you will do in your life, you also have no means of knowing what choices you will end up making. It all boils down to mean that you will simply end up doing what you will end up doing, but figuring out what exactly that is feels a lot like decision-making.

[Helen]

Fate is so confusing.
When you think about it, someone who believes in fate could spend their whole life laying about because "it's meant to be" But someone who believes in fate could also decide to make their life really worthwhile.
Maybe if your parents hadn't had sex that night, or what if there was an abortion or what if, what if, what if. You could have been raped or you could have ran away when you were sixteen but somehow you ended up where you are now. Maybe no matter what you were supposed to end up here. Then again, maybe it was an accident.; you traveled off course. I try to think that you were meant to be here, but no one is controlling it. I think a lot of life is luck and while I don't like to think there is such a thing as a predetermined life, I do think fate exists but only to an extent.

[Alaska Is Beautiful]

You are so correct. That's why I belive that fate only starts to take interest in you when you do something of interest...that is... something that can generate many outcomes. But, for you questioners of everything.... EVERYTHING can generate many outcomes...even lying in bed for the rest of your life....except it would take the fate of another person to intertwine with yours for most of those outcomes to happen, so that really doesn't generate much interest....hmmmm....

[Cavalier]

We make our choices, we decide the outcome. Its like writing with a pen, we decide what we want to write,, it has not been written yet, and we cant change what is already written.

[Alaska Is Beautiful]

I feel that fate to an extent controls certain aspects of our live, but our free will can outwit (or cheat ) fate. Fate can determine what our free will will lead us to do. I don't belive in destiny, because our lives aren't predetermined. We were born with the right to choose between right and wrong. Things that we do in our life and decisions we make to become whatever it is we believe in can be somewhat altered or controlled by fate. It's like our instinct. You can't explain what you're doing. It's like a different force of nature has possessed you for a split second...long enough to influence you to want to do something. You're instinct is fate. You can trust your instinct or ignore it. Whatever you do in relation to your instinct is your free will. Sometimes things just happen. I believe they always happen for a reason but humans are not in any position to understand many of them. It is best for us to just believe in chance like I used to instead of ruin your life eternally by always seeking to understand more than what is possible. For example, impossible in theaory is not a word, though many things can not be possible in a certain situation. It is possible, just not in that situation or at that time. I am the fool who stives to completely understand that and things such as that. I even have recently started writing down rules of fate I have repeatedly observed. The only problem is my age of 13. I have my whole bloody life ahead of me and there is absolutely no straying from this path I have so eagerly taked upon myself to venture through.

[Abbie]

Saying fate exists absolutely and determines everything is a mockery of existence. If fate exists, and determiens everything, there is no point in anything. And accepting that means you accept your own inferiority and worthlessness.

[Übereil]

So, the effects of determinism being true is bad, therefore determinism can't be true? I'm not sure what that fallacy is called, but if I were to name it I'd name it "Wishful thinking".

[QuoteGirl]

Glad I'm not the only one confused.