A short story that has left a lasting impression on me is W. W. Jacob's The Monkey's Paw. In the story, one is granted three wishes if they possess the monkey's paw. However, something is usually lost in exchange for the wish. For example, when the main character wished for money, he received it in the form of compensation for his son's on-the-job death.
This is meant to ingrain the idea of a set fate and that if one tried to escape it, they would be punished for such an attempt. I am not quite sure if there is fate or not seeing that we live in the here and do not have any foresight. By being trapped in the here and now, we cannot truly know if we have "free will". However, if there is indeed a predetermined fate, than there was at least one decision made by someone or something in the "beginning" and everything that has occurred up until now are simply the effects of the decision. In this case, "free will" is an illusion that has been put before us by the effects of the first decision.
So how do we deal with this quandary? Well I think you should try your best not to concern yourself with it as you really can't know for sure. But of course, if the effects of the decision compel you to discover the answer, than there's not much I can do for you, can I?
6 comments:
Nice pick; this is a good one. It certainly does call into question the concept of fate, and it presents the problem of "be careful what you wish for" with some high-quality situational irony.
I'd hate to think that our fate was predetermined. We'd be living a script [with us as the actors, and God as the producer (or maybe director?)]!
Why do you fear that? Determinism is the perfect argument for hedonism.
Yeah...I'm supposed to know what hedonism is...
...but now that you've told me what it is, I am comforted to know that you were being sarcastic, haha.
Actually I was semi-serious. If nothing matters, why not enjoy yourself? (Or at least pretend to choose to enjoy yourself, since there is no such thing as a choice in a predetermined universe)
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