Chapter 12: Fate - PDF

# 12 Great Conversations ## Chapter 12 ### Fate ### Is it Destiny, Free-will, or Chance? I was sitting at a table in the campus pub one afternoon when Thomas and Anastasia, two students of mine, walked in separately. They came over to say hello, and I invited them to sit at my table. Anastasia was...

# 12 Great Conversations ## Chapter 12 ### Fate ### Is it Destiny, Free-will, or Chance? I was sitting at a table in the campus pub one afternoon when Thomas and Anastasia, two students of mine, walked in separately. They came over to say hello, and I invited them to sit at my table. Anastasia was looking a bit glum, and Thomas stated immediately, “Feeling down, are we, Anastasia?" “The weight of the world seems heavier some days,” she replied. "I feel like a puppet on a string!" “And who's pulling the strings?” Thomas asked. “I’m not sure,” Anastasia said softly, “but it's clearly not something random.” “Random?” Anastasia explained: "I feel like my life has purpose, but I have no idea what it is!” “On the contrary, I don’t see any purpose at all,” Thomas shot back. ### My Search for Meaning “Life has no purpose?” “We try to give it a purpose, but I see no evidence of it.” “Of course there is purpose---people do good things all the time-they help others, feed the hungry, invent new gadgets, write books…” “Yes, they feed the hungry, but we are unable to distribute food equitably, which creates starvation. That's a man-made problem,” Thomas argued. “What about inventions and works of art?” interjected Emily, who saw us and was walking over to the table, hearing the last few comments. I jumped in and added, “They demonstrate that humankind is clever, but how do we know it's not the product of people just passing the time?” Anastasia replied, “My smart phone was invented by people simply passing the time?” “Right, maybe the creators of smartphones couldn't find any meaning of life on their own,” Thomas added, “so they invented a cool communications device to talk with others about the problem.” “So smartphones and Facebook help us look to others for meaning, because we can’t find it on our own?” Emily asked quizzically. I offered still another question. "And what has the result been?" Thomas took the bait. "Gossip, idle chatter, funny videos, representing the best that humanity has to offer." “That seems harsh,” Emily thought out loud. There was a pause. “Didn't you 'Like' Dunkin' Donuts on Facebook last week?” Thomas pressed. Emily replied, “I love donuts.” Thomas replied, “I think you've made my point.” Anastasia continued, “In some places people believe your fate is determined by the day or hour of your birth. Your birth determines your destiny. But I've changed so much over time--it's hard to see how that idea plays out. Emily added thoughtfully, “O.K. do you think Jesus knew all along that he was divine? Or did he think he was just a carpenter all those years?” I responded, "Well, "I'm a teacher and I'm good at it, but I became much better over the years. I clearly wasn't born a teacher----I developed into one over time." Anastasia offered, “No, but maybe that's what you were destined to become.” Thomas then laid out his thoughts: “It seems there are thee possibilities: (1) you have a destiny which your life is directed toward, (2) you have free-will to choose your destiny, or (3) your life course is more random, given the place and time or your birth, parents, the opportunities presented along the way, and also luck.” Emily summarized, "So you believe our choices are destiny, free-will, or chance?" I jumped in observing, “we already know we have free-will, which presents itself every day.” Anastasia explained, "Yes, free-will to go to school or not, go to work or not, rob a bank or not.” Thomas added, “Eat donuts or not.” “Aristotle recognized the role of chance in our lives 25 centuries ago,” I submitted. Anastasia continued, “But if we each have a specific destiny, then free-will and chance play smaller roles in our lives.” “Yes, destiny or fate will place limits on your freedom,” I offered. Anastasia provided an example, “So I can choose to buy a pink car…” “But you might be pre-destined to become a lawyer for the poor,” Emily proposed. Thomas shifted the point of departure suggesting, “If fate exists, and we each have a destiny, where does it come from?” “If it's not random,” Emily replied, “it comes from God, Zeus, or some supernatural force. Destiny doesn’t come from other people, so it must come from supernatural forces.” “My parents wanted me to become a physician,” Thomas inserted. Emily replied, saying, “And how did that work out?” Anastasia also replied, “Maybe becoming a physician would have contradicted your destiny.” “Either that, or the fact that I couldn't pass organic chemistry,” Thomas responded. I offered an explanation. “Could there be a reason why Thomas is strong as a writer, but weaker in science?” “Or is it random luck, or bad genes?” Emily offered. “Your genes let you down in organic chemistry?" I asked Thomas. Anastasia told about a friend. “I have a good friend who had an ‘A’ average in biology, but still couldn't get into medical school. You mean to say it was her fate not to go to medical school?” “Maybe she is destined to do something else,” Emily offered. Thomas added another angle. “Maybe the American Medical Association keeps the number of medical schools very low in order to maintain the high cost of medical care.” “And that affects Anastasia’s friend how? I asked Thomas. “There are other forces…” Thomas added. “You mean opportunities…” I replied. “…at work here.” Thomas concluded. I summarized, “But that still leaves us our three options: destiny, free-will, or chance.” Emily responded to our conundrum, “I think we can put chance aside. Although it exists, because we all have experienced good fortune in avoiding a few ‘near misses’ and ‘miraculously passing’ a few classes. Having only chance would negate all those folks who take a clear path, train themselves, prepare, and do something productive with their lives.” “There are a lot of people like that,” Anastasia agreed. “Yes, people who take a path and do well, applying their free-will, despite dealing with some chance factors along the way,” I submitted. Emily followed up, asking "so free-will works only if it is aligned with your destiny?" Thomas replied, “The problem is that we can't prove if you even have a destiny." “Because destiny implies a supernatural power which creates destinies,” I added. Anastasia was puzzled. “So our fate lies in the hands of the supernatural?" “OR,” Thomas responded, “It is totally in our hands, using our free-will and a dose of luck to make our own way in this world that we create without any help from fate or destiny.” “Taking Thomas' view,” I asked our group, “how would you characterize the progress of humankind over the previous thousands of years?" “We've created some cool gadgets,” Anastasia offered. Emily added, “But we continue to trash the planet, and many of the people on it, through wars, pollution, oppression, starvation, and incivility.” Anastasia continued, “But some of the gadgets are very cool: space-flight, air-conditioning, computer chips, and my smart phone.” “So humankind has created cool gadgets, but otherwise has trashed the planet?” I summarized with a question. “Pretty much.” Thomas responded. “But how can free-will and destiny exist at the same time?” Anastasia continued. Emily offered, “Maybe God, or the supernatural, are the first cause in creating destiny, but we have the free-will to make decisions along the way.” "___And sometimes these decisions get us off-track, and sometimes they renew our commitment to our original path,___” Anastasia proposed. Thomas offered another perspective. "But how do you account for drug addicts, criminals, and the mentally ill? Was that their destiny?" “That's a brilliant question," I remarked, "but it has no answer, because destiny by definition requires the supernatural. And we don’t have the ability to ask the supernatural (who might know the answer to that question)." “Maybe drug addicts, criminals, and the mentally ill are the victims of bad fortune, bad chromosomes, or poor free-will decisions,” Anastasia offered. “Or that was their destiny,” Thomas surmised. “So getting back to my original question,” Anastasia pleaded, “Are we simply playing a part in our lives that has already been written for us?” “…While knowing that we can use our free-will to push in any direction we choose.” I added. “But can we push on our own destiny?” Anastasia asked. Emily observed, “I think I’m pushing mine now.” “And how's that working out?” Thomas remarked. “It's difficult to know until I get there,” Emily observed. “And even then you won't be certain,” replied Anastasia. “So my father was a teacher, brother was a teacher. Did I have to become a teacher?” I asked. Thomas replied, "You are not destined to play a part that's already been written." “It is difficult to reconcile destiny and free-will,” concluded Emily. I replied, “If your life is entirely predestined, then free-will is pointless.” Anastasia saw a way out. “So the truth of the matter lies somewhere between destiny and free-will in how your life turns out?” Thomas concluded, "I can't see another way, although free-will is the only thing we have ultimate control over." “So let's make the best use of it!" we all said at once.