Musings on fate and the like...

[nadriel]

I've occasionally discussed with various people the notions of "fate", "destiny" and the like, and I thought I'd give people some thoughts on some of the major opinions I've come across. Bear in mind this is all a matter of belief and opinion- specifically, my own.

1) Everything is fated- your destiny is fixed at birth.

I don't agree with this one at all- if nothing else, I feel that, if it were true, there would be little or no point to life...

2) You have a path marked out for you, but you can, by your own decisions, step off that path. But then you'd be on a "bad" path.

Closer to my own view, but still too much railroading for my taste- also, how would you know if you're on the right path or the wrong one. Anyway, moving on..

3) Life is mostly your own thing, but some people/places/encounters are destined- what you do with them though is your own affair

This is pretty much my view- God (or whatever higher power you believe in, if any), gives you certain opportunities, and you can take or ignore them as you wish. There is a plan for the universe, but it allows a great deal of personal freedom as well. Which also means I can safely blame my fuck-ups on myself, and not some nebulous concept of "fate".

4) There is no fate but that we make for ourselves.

I don't like this one either- goes too far the other way. If the universe is just random, and there is no purpose to anything, then what's the point?


Anyway, as always, the thoughts of my bevy of readers are welcome...

Comments

[brindy.livejournal.com]

perhaps there is no point, why does there have to be?

personally, i don't believe anything is random. if the universe is just a big computer - a giangantic biological computer - then it too is incapable of generating randomness.

or something.

[nadriel.livejournal.com]

If there's no point, then why live at all?

[brindy.livejournal.com]

if you think about life, then you'll see there is no point

you get born
you go to school to get an education so that you can work
you work to live
you get old
you die

somewhere in that lot most people manage to have a good time at some point.

the only point in all that is pro-creation and continuation of the species, but what's the point in that? well... there isn't really any point. it's just what we do, just what all species do, because there isn't anything else to do. and at a collective and biological level we don't have any choice but to do that.

[dainul.livejournal.com]

Quantum Mechanics.

On the other hand, there is no way of knowing what is "fated", so it may be that it is fated, your decisions predicted before you make them, but they would still be your decisions, as they were not influenced by the fact that they were predicted.

Personally, I don't really know or care. If QM is a hidden variable system - ie we just cant see all the variables to make a predictive (can't think of the propper word) theory, then this could be true, but otherwise it's all a matter of probability.

If anyone else can get a conclusion out of these ramblings, they're better at figuring out what I mean than I am.

[brindy.livejournal.com]

doesn't qm also state that any decision that can be made will be made?

at which points the universe seperates off to an infinite number of universes?

[dainul.livejournal.com]

This is one interpretion of Quantum Mechanics, yes, but there are many others. These include the "it works, why worry?" explanation, and the hidden variable explanation, which states that the universe is deterministic (remembered the word!) but that we can't measure all the variables involved. Personally, I don't find a problem with the idea of probability, that the outcome is not predetermined, although patterns of outcomes are. (See double slit experiment, I'll explain if people really want)