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= Destiny =
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Introduction
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Destiny, sometimes also called fate (), is a predetermined course of
events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in
general or of an individual.
Fate
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Although often used interchangeably, the words 'fate' and 'destiny'
have distinct connotations.
* This is a concept based on the belief that there is a fixed natural
order to the universe, and in some conceptions, the cosmos.
* Classical and European mythology feature personified "fate
spinners," known as the Moirai in Greek mythology, the Parcae in Roman
mythology, and the Norns in Norse mythology. They determine the events
of the world through the mystic spinning of threads that represent
individual human fates.
*
* Fatalism refers to the belief that events fixed by fate are
unchangeable by any type of human agency. In other words, humans
cannot alter their own fates or the fates of others.
Fortune
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Distinguished from fate and destiny, fortune can refer to chance, or
luck, as in fortunate, or to an event or set of events positively or
negatively affecting someone or a group, or in an idiom, to tell
someone's fortune, or simply the result of chance and events. In
Hellenistic civilization, the chaotic and unforeseeable turns of
chance gave increasing prominence to a previously less notable
goddess, Tyche (literally "Luck"), who embodied the good fortune of a
city and all whose lives depended on its security and prosperity, two
good qualities of life that appeared to be out of human reach. The
Roman image of Fortuna, with the wheel she blindly turned, was
retained by Christian writers including Boethius, revived strongly in
the Renaissance, and survives in some forms today."The Wheel of
Fortune" remains an emblem of the chance element in fate(destiny).
Philosophy
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Philosophy on the concepts of destiny and fate has existed since the
Hellenistic period with groups such as the Stoics and the Epicureans.
The Stoics believed that human decisions and actions ultimately went
according to a divine plan devised by a god. They claimed that
although humans theoretically have free will, their souls and the
circumstances under which they live are all part of the universal
network of fate.
The Epicureans challenged the Stoic beliefs by denying the existence
of this divine fate. They believed that a human's actions were
voluntary so long as they were rational.
In common usage, 'destiny' and 'fate' are synonymous, but with regard
to 19th-century philosophy, the words gained inherently different
meanings.
For Arthur Schopenhauer, destiny was just a manifestation of the Will
to Live, which can be at the same time living fate and choice of
overrunning fate, by means of the Art, of the Morality and of the
Ascesis.
For Friedrich Nietzsche, destiny keeps the form of 'Amor fati' (Love
of Fate) through the important element of Nietzsche's philosophy, the
"will to power" (der 'Wille zur Macht'), the basis of human behavior,
influenced by the Will to Live of Schopenhauer. But this concept may
have even other senses, although he, in various places, saw the will
to power as a strong element for adaptation or survival in a better
way. Nietzsche eventually transformed the idea of matter as centers of
force into matter as centers of will to power as humanity's destiny to
face with 'amor fati'. The expression 'Amor fati' is used repeatedly
by Nietzsche as acceptation-choice of the 'fate', but in such way it
becomes even another thing, precisely a "choice" destiny.
Determinism is a philosophical concept often confused with fate. It
can be defined as the notion that all intents/actions are 'causally'
determined by the culminations of an agent's existing circumstances;
simply put, everything that happens is determined by things that have
already happened. Determinism differs from fate in that it is never
conceived as being a spiritual, religious, nor astrological notion;
fate is typically thought of as being "given" or "decreed" while
determinism is "caused." Influential philosophers like Robert Kane,
Thomas Nagel, Roderick Chisholm, and A.J. Ayer have written about this
notion.
Psychology
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Among the representatives of depth psychology school, the greatest
contribution to the study of the notion such as "fate" was made by
Carl Gustav Jung, Sigmund Freud and Leopold Szondi.
Religion
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The concept of destiny, fate or causation is prominent in most
religionsbut takes different forms:
*The ancient Sumerians spoke of divine predetermination of the
individual's destiny
*In Babylonian religion, the god Nabu, as the god of writing,
inscribed the fates assigned to humans by the gods of the
Assyro-Babylonian pantheon which included the Anunnaki who would
decree the fates of humanity
*Followers of Ancient Greek religion regarded not only the Moirai but
also the gods, particularly Zeus, as responsible for deciding and
carrying out destiny, respectively.
*Some Christians believe that humans all have free will, while others
believe in predestination.
*In Islam, fate or 'qadar' is the decree of God.
*Within Buddhism, all phenomena (mind or otherwise) are taught as
dependently arisen from previous phenomena according to universal lawa
concept known as 'paṭiccasamuppāda.' This core teaching is shared
across all schools of thought, and directly informs other core
concepts such as impermanence and non-self (also common to all schools
of Buddhism).
Politics
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Metaphorical expressions of a predetermined destiny are commonly used
by politicians to describe events not understood. Otto Von Bismarck
said that the best a politician can do is to 'listen for God's
footsteps and hang on to His coat tails'.
In 'War and Peace', Leo Tolstoy wrote of the 'unconscious swarm-life
of mankind', while Shakespeare spoke of a 'tide in the affairs of men'
in his play 'Julius Caesar'.
Literature
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In ancient Greece, many legends and tales teach the futility of trying
to outmaneuver an inexorable fate that has been correctly predicted.
This portrayal of fate is present in works such as 'Oedipus Rex' (427
BCE), the 'Iliad,' the 'Odyssey' (800 BCE), and 'Theogony.' Many
ancient Chinese works have also portrayed the concept of fate, most
notably the 'Liezi,' 'Mengzi,' and the 'Zhuangzi.' Similarly, and in
Italy, the Spanish Duque de Rivas' play that Verdi transformed into
'La Forza del Destino' ("The Force of Destiny") includes notions of
fate.
In England, fate has played a notable literary role in Shakespeare's
'Macbeth' (1606), Thomas Hardy's 'Tess of the d'Urbervilles' (1891),
Samuel Beckett's 'Endgame' (1957), and W.W Jacobs' popular short story
"The Monkey's Paw" (1902). In America, Thornton Wilder's book 'The
Bridge of San Luis Rey' (1927) portrays the conception of fate.
In Germany, fate is a recurring theme in the literature of Hermann
Hesse (1877-1962), including 'Siddharta' (1922) and his magnum opus,
'Das Glasperlenspiel,' also published as 'The Glass Bead Game' (1943).
And by Hollywood through such characters as Neo in 'The Matrix'. The
common theme of these works involves a protagonist who cannot escape
their destiny, however hard they try. In Neil Gaiman's graphic novel
series The Sandman, destiny is one of the Endless, depicted as a blind
man carrying a book that contains all the past and all the future.
"Destiny is the oldest of the Endless; in the Beginning was the Word,
and it was traced by hand on the first page of his book, before ever
it was spoken aloud."
See also
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* Ājīvika
* Causality
* Divine providence
* Karma
* Lazy argument
* Omniscience
* Oracle
* Predestination in Islam
* Prophecy
* Russian avos'
* Psychology of human destiny
* Synchronicity
* Yuanfen
* Wyrd
Further reading
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* Kees W. Bolle, 'Encyclopedia of Religion.' Ed. Lindsay Jones. 2nd
ed. Vol. 5. Detroit: Macmillan Reference US, 2005. vol. 5, pp.
2998-3006.
* Tim O'Keefe,
"[
https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2021/entries/freedom-ancient/
Ancient Theories of Freedom and Determinism.]" 'The Stanford
Encyclopedia of Philosophy'
* Michael J. Meade 'Fate and Destiny: The Two Agreements of the Soul',
Greenfire Press, 2010,
* Robert C. Solomon, "On Fate and Fatalism." 'Philosophy East and
West' 53.4 (2003): 435-454.
* Cornelius, Geoffrey, C. (1994). "The Moment of Astrology: Origins in
Divination", Penguin Group, part of Arkana Contemporary Astrology
series.
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