Can you have free will and fate?

Category: religion and spirituality atheism
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To make good decisions, you need to understand the difference between fate and free will. Life is a delicate balance between the two. Fate brings you opportunities, and free will determines whether or not you take them. Fate is the destiny that is pre-planned for you, but it's up to you to do something with it.



Similarly one may ask, can fate and free will coexist?

If Fate does not exist, it is possible for anyone to believe anything he or she wants to believe. If the question is whether it is possible for Fate and Free-Will to coexist, then the answer is “No.” Fate and Free Will are mutually exclusive and cannot coexist.

Subsequently, question is, can free will change destiny? There are many things that can change our thoughts and actions. Our destiny evolves like a running stream. Free will allows us to make choices that can modify and shape our destiny. It's important to understand that it is the individual journey, not the final result, that's important.

Accordingly, what is free will vs fate?

Destiny and fate It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate generally implies there is a set course that cannot be deviated from, and over which one has no control. Fate is related to determinism, but makes no specific claim of physical determinism.

Why Free will is an illusion?

Free will might be an illusion created by our brains, scientists might have proved. Humans are convinced that they make conscious choices as they live their lives. But instead it may be that the brain just convinces itself that it made a free choice from the available options after the decision is made.

25 Related Question Answers Found

Can you change your fate?

You can't change your fate, but your free will can postpone it. Even though you may have had your head down for years, fate will keep presenting itself until you're ready to reach up and accept it.

Is fate predetermined?

Destiny, sometimes referred to as fate (from Latin fatum "decree, prediction, destiny, fate"), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual.

What is the opposite of free will?

The opposite of determinism is some kind of indeterminism (otherwise called nondeterminism) or randomness. Determinism is often contrasted with free will. Determinism often is taken to mean causal determinism, which in physics is known as cause-and-effect.

What is an example of free will?

Free will is the idea that we are able to have some choice in how we act and assumes that we are free to choose our behaviour, in other words we are self determined. For example, people can make a free choice as to whether to commit a crime or not (unless they are a child or they are insane).

What is free will in philosophy?


free will. The ability to choose, think, and act voluntarily. For many philosophers, to believe in free will is to believe that human beings can be the authors of their own actions and to reject the idea that human actions are determined by external conditions or fate. (See determinism, fatalism, and predestination.)

How can there be free will and predestination?

Predestination, in theology, is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God, usually with reference to the eventual fate of the individual soul. Explanations of predestination often seek to address the "paradox of free will", whereby God's omniscience seems incompatible with human free will.

Did Aristotle believe in free will?

In Book III of the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle says that, unlike nonrational agents, we have the power to do or not to do, and much of what we do is voluntary, such that its origin is 'in us' and we are 'aware of the particular circumstances of the action'.

Are our lives predetermined?

A secular example to try to illustrate predeterminism is that a fetus's future physical, emotional, and other personal characteristics as a matured human being may be considered "predetermined" by heredity, i.e. derived from a chain of events going back long before her eventual birth.

What is a person's free will?

Free will, in humans, the power or capacity to choose among alternatives or to act in certain situations independently of natural, social, or divine restraints. Free will is denied by some proponents of determinism.

Why is free will important?


Probably the best reason for caring is that free will is closely related to two other important philosophical issues: freedom of action and moral responsibility. However, despite the close connection between these concepts, it is important not to conflate them.

Do you believe in free will?

Free will is generally understood as the ability to freely choose our own actions and determine our own outcomes. Belief in free will allows us to punish people for their immoral behaviors. So, not only is there a value to believing in free will, but those beliefs have profound effects on our thoughts and behaviors.

What does the Bible say about free will?

In the Bible
The biblical ground for free will lies in the fall into sin by Adam and Eve that occurred in their "willfully chosen" disobedience to God. "Freedom" and "free will" can be treated as one because the two terms are commonly used as synonyms.

How do we have free will if God knows everything?

God can know in advance what I will do, because free will is to be understood only as freedom from coercion, and anything further is an illusion. This is the move made by compatibilistic philosophies.

Do you believe in fate quote?

More Quotes on Fate
If you believe in fate, believe in it, a least, for your good. Fate is something you believe in when things are not going well. When they are, you forget it.

What is Destiny science?


noun, plural des·ti·nies.
the predetermined, usually inevitable or irresistible, course of events. the power or agency that determines the course of events.

What does a determinist believe?

Determinism, in philosophy, theory that all events, including moral choices, are completely determined by previously existing causes. The theory holds that the universe is utterly rational because complete knowledge of any given situation assures that unerring knowledge of its future is also possible.

What does freedom consist of?

Personal and social freedom or liberty
In political discourse, political freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving oneself their own laws", and with having rights and the civil liberties with which to exercise them without undue interference by the state.