Blog Task #3 : AJ

Aristotle believed that free will was above fate, although he wouldn't have been alive to answer the question. The first major deterministic outlooks on life were advocated by the stoics after 301 BC, but Aristotle would've been dead for 21 years by that point. There is no guarantee that he was even aware of the question. This means he would've surely believed that free will was the deciding factor in life, unless the fates deemed it necessary to involve themselves. Stoicism, by the way, was influenced by Cynicism, which was itself influenced by the Pythagoreans.

Buddhism doesn't have a clearly defined stance on the matter as they believe that your life is determined by your previous lives, but that if you became enlightened, you would be freed from the effects of karma.

Similarly, Hinduism teaches that the future is fated to happen, but you can change what will happen by acting in the present.

According to Christianity, God has a plan, but you can alter the events that actually happen. Judaism also subscribes to this method of thought.

What this means is that some of the largest religions in the world agree (somewhat) on the topic of fate vs. free will. It's too bad they can't agree on more.

The Alchemist states that your destiny is pre-determined, you simply have to decide to follow it. That's a comforting thought.