Fate and destiny...

Something I am incredibly curious about is people’s ability to resign themselves to this concept of fate and destiny. I hear it over and over again, the "what will be will be". This annoys me no end. No, annoys is too nice a word. Upsets is getting closer. I find it bloody infuriating to be honest.

Lets examine the concepts behind fate and destiny:

fate –noun

1. something that unavoidably befalls a person; fortune; lot: It is always his fate to be left behind.
2. the universal principle or ultimate agency by which the order of things is presumably prescribed; the decreed cause of events; time: Fate decreed that they would never meet again.
3. that which is inevitably predetermined; destiny: Death is our ineluctable fate.
4. a prophetic declaration of what must be: The oracle pronounced their fate.

destiny –noun

1. something that is to happen or has happened to a particular person or thing; lot or fortune.
2. the predetermined, usually inevitable or irresistible, course of events.
3. the power or agency that determines the course of events.

(All taken from http://www.dictionary.com)

I have highlighted the areas I think are relevant. Let me list them...

• unavoidable
• prescribed
• predetermined
• what must be
• is to happen

So what are we saying when we say "I believe in fate and destiny, what happens will happen"? We are saying that in some way our futures are prescribed for us.

I find it ludicrous to think that fate and destiny exist. If you are religious, perhaps you can blindly accept this in some way (I’m not and don’t). Otherwise, explain how our lives are in any way prescribed? I guess if you want to find an easy point to put your back against, you could say as we can not time travel, we cannot know if things would be different if we had taken a different path. Therefore you could argue there is only one path, and how do we know if it is predetermined or not?

Poor, desperate argument if you ask me.

So what about other peoples decisions impacting ours? Is that some form of fate or destiny? That is what someone has argued...other peoples decisions cannot be altered and therefore you are stuck with that and can't help it.

Again, to me rather flimsy.

Firstly, their decisions can often be influenced by you. Let’s assume in this instance they can't to remove that variable.

Well the impact of their decisions on you...is a factor in your own decisions. Should that be seen as some sort of pre-determination?

Ultimately I personally think you make your own future, it is not pre-determined. Yes, you could very well choose not to make any decisions, and therefore follow a pre-determined path. But that pre-determined path is known as an outcome of your decision. Not a fate. If I choose not to make any decisions, I am actually making a decision and defaulting future decisions. Putting aside involuntary actions of the body such as breathing, what about when I get hungry? Don't eat. That's a choice, I made a decision. Otherwise I die. Is it my fate to die if I don't eat?

Oooh, now that's interesting. Fate works on a smaller scale. But guess what. Fate is called the outcome of a decision. Pretty short term to my way of thinking.

So does that mean a chain of smaller decisions leads to a fate? Well if you switch fate for outcome again, absolutely.

Was it pre-determined? Absolutely not.