My sophomore year, a friend of mine presented an English project all about Fate. He concluded that he could effectively stop trying since everything was preordained. Fate ruled and free will was a weak mortal idea, according to his presentation. At the time, I didn’t entirely understand the concept. I wasn’t sure what it could mean for humans if their free will was taken away. How could society function without accountability?
Then, a few nights ago I was thinking about how experiences shape a person. John Locke’s idea of Tabula Rosa, that a human being is born as a blank slate, seems mostly correct. Most likely some genetics are at work but I think personality and morals are largely a result of environment. The modus operandi one chooses evolves from factors that are out of human control: Parents, location, school mates, and etc. The counter argument could be made that you choose your lifestyle, however if your choices are guided by your experiences, any choice you make is just as preordained as your experiences were. Furthermore, if every human being is under such an influence, no one person has any more control than another.
In some sense, the future has already happened. As things happen to you and change your opinions and your thoughts the paths you take become different. But these changes too are preordained. It isn’t that you can’t change the future, rather any difference you cause is meant to be. This idea is comforting. Everything happens as it should. It's just a theory.
