Is there such thing called ‘Fate’? (Free Will vs. Destiny)
A very close friend of mine once asked me, “Which one do you believe in, Free Will or Destiny?” “Both”, I replied. He argued that I can’t believe in both at the same time because choosing one contradicts the other. “It really depends on how you define free will and destiny though,” I added.
Free will is your power to make choices independently without the external factors influencing the decision. It is the ability of the individual to choose / do a certain action without being forced to perform such act by external forces.
Destiny or Fate on the other hand, as it is commonly understood, is an event believed to be inevitable and which will ultimately happen in the future. No matter how you try your best not to move towards your ‘destiny’, you will ultimately meet your fate.
They say that destiny undermines the free will of the individual. If destiny is a reality, then there is no use of having to decide your future, since eventually you will end up facing what you are destined to be. There is no point of forcing yourself to be in the military because you are destined to become an actor. You don’t have to work hard to become rich, because you are destined to be poor forever anyway.
Destiny, as projected by the society, can be in several forms. The caste system in India
Another type of destiny that some religious people would consider is fate according to the will of God. A person would ‘blame’ God of the unpleasant things that has been happening to him. He may also let God take the credit for the fortunate events that he is experiencing. There are times that you will hear people stating, “I lost my job because I am not worthy, and it is God’s will”, or “He won the lottery because God favors him much. He was just destined to win!”
Fate as a result of the complex mechanisms of the world, could be another type of destiny which discounts the contribution of ‘God’. “We were destined to bump onto each other so that we will be introduced”, “if my flight was not delayed, I could have been in that train which got derailed yesterday! I was not just destined to die in that tragedy!” These are some phrases that you will encounter from people who believe that things happen for a reason, which could be destiny.
With all the examples mentioned, do you think that there is really such thing as destiny? If it that is the case, then our freedom of choice is irrelevant.
For me, ‘destiny’ really exists because there are some things that are really inevitable. People die, so we can say we are destined not to live forever. We get sick, so we are destined to be out of shape sometimes. However, an event that is inevitable is not destiny but a fact of life. It is a fact that we later die. It is a fact that we get sick often or not.
Thus, giving a new definition to destiny, destiny for me is defined as an end point or a grand finale which is of our own choosing and desire. You are destined to be a millionaire because you have the desire to be one and you have chosen to be as such. You are destined to be his husband, since you have opted to be her partner.
Thus, destiny [with my own definition though] will always work hand in hand with our free will because it is the outcome of our desires. It is never something that has been imposed to us, which is not of our liking.
To summarize all these,
Destiny doesn’t choose you. It is you who choose your own destiny for you have always been given the freedom to do your will.
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