Thread: Fate

Maybe just mindless ramblings, but I hope you take something from it.

Is Fate a designed concept?

When we speak of fate, we mainly talk of an event that has already passed. Fate has decided the current state of our country because the British had planned to swing around and dock in Boston and attack, but “fate” had intervened and hurricane winds floundered the ships. They were unable to dock and they called off the mission.

Now, my father is telling me this that fate has decided our future. How is it fate that decided our future? I think merely because we live in this reality where a storm came and kept the British from docking, we see it as a blessing, and that higher forces intervened because they saw fit. However, if we were living in the reality where the British had docked, wouldn’t we feel the same way?

“It was fate that the British landed and kept their rule over the colonists.” We would say.

Fate is random events, in which we need to believe that something happened for a reason, because it couldn’t have been a random, unforeseen event that threw the balance, because too much was at stake. We can’t believe that there was no control over the situation. Too much hangs in the balance and you can’t give up control.

There is no plan.

Let go.

i agree, in the main, with your premise... believing in fate, like religious beliefs, merely satisfies mankind's need to have something to blame [or, somewhat less often, take credit] for whatever takes place...

humans have a hard time just accepting the 'what IS'... i've written about this quite a bit myself, in both essays and poetry... it's the cause of much of the misery this supposedly superior species has brought to itself and its fellow lifeforms on earth...

yes, the piece here is mostly 'ramblings' but not at all mindless... it can be developed into an interesting and instructive essay, if you wanted to bother... not that it will do any good...

love and hugs, maia

ps: so, you're the trickster, huh?

An instructive essay, you say?

I'd like to hear what you have in mind.

"Character is fate."

Heh. Three words that speak what I couldn't even find to say in an entire essay...amazing.

it's not what i have in mind that counts, but what you have... or had in mind, when you started this piece... it just seems to call for some expansion on your ending thoughts...

Originally Posted by Loki

When we speak of fate, we mainly talk of an event that has already passed. Fate has decided the current state of our country because the British had planned to swing around and dock in Boston and attack, but “fate” had intervened and hurricane winds floundered the ships. They were unable to dock and they called off the mission.

Now, my father is telling me this that fate has decided our future. How is it fate that decided our future? I think merely because we live in this reality where a storm came and kept the British from docking, we see it as a blessing, and that higher forces intervened because they saw fit. However, if we were living in the reality where the British had docked, wouldn’t we feel the same way?

Your essay appears to have overlooked your question altogether. You began by defining fate as an overpowering element that determines the outcome of an event, then give fate possessive qualities after asking a question based on your father's words, and continue to refute its validity by associating it with a need for purpose in people's lives.

I don't think your thesis is IF fate is a designed concept, rather that it is a precept of the human psyche.

I believe that if your thesis is to truly be a question of the nature of fate, you must also address the topic from another angle, or contrast this argument against another.

For example, rather than assigning fate an anthropomorphic disposition (I am referring to your use of the word “blessing” as the intention of fate), fate can also be perceived simply as the momentum of events that shoot towards us, effectively predetermining the future.

Furthermore, your description of fate is one with features of western religious iconography, which further defines your precept.

You have created a good foundation, and I agree with mammamaia that this could be a fantastic essay, especially because the subject matter is very multidimensional.

When you say "we" are you refering to people in general. The essay seems to be a tad personal. Also at the end where you mention not losing control yet it end with "let go" which is the opposite. Otherwise it an interesting topic and show insight. I hope this helps for I am very new at this. Misty Ruby