Background
A very important debate that runs in our society
is the role of fate in the life of a person. Many
philosophers have chosen to highlight the importance
of fate while many others, especially those with
a scientific bent of mind, have chosen to ignore
the role of fate. Many people, especially scientists,
believe that fate is non-existent and that a man
writes his won destiny. They believe that a man’s
industry creates his fate and that there are other
forces that determine the progression of his life.
They cite the lives of great men and women, who
had defied fate and had made a name for themselves
in the society. They believe that a person must
use his skills and his resources and fight against
all odds to become successful in life. On the
other hand, those who support the existence of
the entity called fate believe that human progress
is pre-determined. They believe that all the trials
and tribulations that men face in this world is
due to fate: that pre-determined entity that seems
to make all our attempts to secure something futile.
They believe that successful people have become
successful because fate had ordained them to be
so. Without fate on their side they would have
definitely failed. They have numerous examples
to cite wherein people failed in their endeavors
without any apparent reason. People who seemed
set to achieve their goals failed miserably without
any explainable reason. It is worthwhile to have
a discussion on the role of fate in our lives.
We will invite Oedipus, the tragic hero, whose
life was a living hell because of the effect of
fate and Socrates, the all-time cynic who believed
in the potential of man to rewrite fate even if
it did exist. They will share the Dias and debate
on this topic. Welcome gentlemen!
Oedipus: I believe that fate
has a very profound effect on the life of people.
I too in my younger days did not believe in the
prophecy that surrounded my life and always believed
that I could rewrite fate. However the lessons
of life have proved that man is not above fate
and that his every action is guided and determined
by fate [Sophocles]
Socrates: There is nothing like fate my dear.
Fate is only an imaginary belief that society
and culture has bestowed on us. If we look at
the origin of humans, we cans see that there was
nothing like fate. Man lived his life according
to instincts and completed his life cycle as his
instincts told him to do so. When culture and
civilizations made their mark in the world, they
unfortunately also brought in a lot of limitation
that has always strived to hold us back. Fate
is one such belief that seeks to restrain us and
keep us tied to what the society needs out of
us.
Oedipus: Sir, I beg to differ. The course of
my life will always show you that I have lived
all my life in fear of my fate. At every turn
of my life, I have tried to avoid the prophecy
that always hung above my head. For example, I
ran away from my foster parents during my childhood
years fearing that the prophecy of killing my
father and marrying my mother would become true.
And look what happened. Fate eventually took me
to my parents and with the help of my ill-fated
luck I fought and won against my own father whom
I killed. Worse, fate made me marry my mother
and mad me to beget my children from her. What
other than fate could conquer the mighty Oedipus
who had the world under his feet? What would not
have I conquered if there was nothing like fate?
Why did fate make me commit the grossest sins
in the world? Even after I committed those sins
why did fate make those facts public to the world
so that I and my mother had to burn ourselves
in the fire of self-pity and humiliation?
Socrates: It is true that you had a life full
of misery and hardships that was compounded by
the peculiar circumstances in your life. Indeed
such circumstances would have put any self-respecting
person to shame. But come to think of it. It may
be said that the entity that you call fate was
nothing but a sequence of events that followed
your mother's actions. Lord bless the poor soul,
but it was her lack of independent and analytical
thinking that created the circumstances that followed
you in your life. Imagine that your mother had
not given you off to the shepherd in fear of the
prophecy. That was the first big mistake that
she did. If she had brought you up under her guidance
I am sure that the fine man that you would grow
into, would never have let the prophecy come true.
It is a sad misfortune that the power of suggestion
induced by the prophecy prompted your mother to
get rid of you. She however chose the worst method
to get rid of you. If she had decided to get rid
of you, she could have eliminated you, but she
chose to abandon you, not kill you, and you grew
up in the palace of another King to kill your
father. I must say that it was her indecision
to let you grow as a proper human being that made
the prophecy come true. She had the choice of
bringing you up under the strict controls of your
culture or to kill you. In either case the prophecy
would not have come true. It is however her faulty
judgment that made the prophecy come true.
Oedipus: That is exactly what I am trying to
say sir, but on a different note. I believe that
it was fate that made my mother make the decision
that she took. It was indeed unfortunate that
she chose to entrust me to a shepherd. The shepherd
gave me to King Polybus of Corinth where he raised
me as his own. Later when I learned of the prophecy,
I chose to defy fate by running away from Corinth.
I did that because I believed that Polybus and
his wife Melope were my true parents and I feared
that I would kill my father. You can see that
every conscious decision I made in my life was
made wrong by my fate which finally wrecked my
life. I agree with you that had my mother chose
to let me live under her love and care, or had
she chose to kill me, the chain of events that
followed my birth would have never happened. I
would never have had to bear the mantle of the
tragic hero and the associated shame all my life.
But fate had it that she would make her choice
to abandon me to a shepherd who would the give
me away to a king.
Socrates: I think we need to examine this a little
further. You say that fate ordained you to live
a life that you never enjoyed: a life that was
peculiar for its misfortunes and unhappy endings.
It was indeed a life that no one would ever want
to have in lieu of riches and other material benefits.
But tell me sir, was not that fate the result
of a conscious decision of your mother? Did your
mother not make a conscious decision to abandon
you? Did she not have the strength and will to
kill you? She would have been justified by the
society because she would be performing an act
that was fit for a patriot. But she chose to abandon
you and all your misfortune originated from there.
So I must say that more than fate it was the conscious
decision of your mother that prompted the events
in your life.
Oedipus: Yes sir, I agree that my mother was
a strong lady and that she could have easily decided
to kill me. For argument’s sake, let us
consider that she had the ability to make conscious
decisions which according to you, defines the
future of one’s life. Queen Jocasta had
a terrible share of trials, perhaps more than
me. Now what role did she have in the restrictions
posed by royalty that required her to marry me,
her husband and my father's slayer? Why was she,
a powerful queen, helpless to defy the traditional
edicts imposed by culture that compelled the slain
king's wife to marry the victor? And why did I,
given to a shepherd, end up as a royal heir? I
must say that that it was indeed my fate to become
King. It was also my unique fate that I was destined
to marry my mother and kill my father.
Socrates: I am sure that you have not examined
your life in greater detail. As I always believe,
the unexamined life is not worth living, because
a life that is simply guided by fate makes you
more an animal than a human being with emotions
and intellectual powers. There is no point in
living out life since if we were to live without
using our mental or cognitive faculties, we need
not have been provided with the mental capacities
that sets us apart from other animals. In fact
I believe that the lack of the will of the common
man to examine their own life is what makes us
fond of fate. [Sorabji Richard, 1993]
Let me therefore continue in my quest to understand
life and be not influenced by your love for fate.
“God orders me to fulfill the philosopher's
mission of searching into myself and other men,
I were to desert my post through fear of death,
or any other fear; that would indeed be strange,
and I might justly be arraigned in court for denying
the existence of the gods, if I disobeyed the
oracle because I was afraid of death” [Apology,
28e]
The debate ends inconclusively
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