I was thinking a lot about the Matrix today, and the themes that it explores. One of the most obvious ones is the balance between free will and destiny. To me, free will is a pragmatic idea, and destiny is a romantic one. And you can define them by two different attitudes:
a) Free Will: I make stuff happen.
b) Destiny: Stuff happens to me.
Yeah, I know. People have been thinking about this stuff for centuries, so I’m certainly not unique in this regard. But I still find it a fascinating debate. Which do you believe? How does your belief affect you? Personally, I draw a continuum between the two points of view, and then I fall somewhere in the middle. I believe stuff happens to people regularly, but it is also up to them to deal with that stuff, whether it be good or bad. That is what determines how things turn out for them, and ultimately how satisfied they are in life. Maybe we’re all tied to our destinies by an unbreakable bungee cord. You can stretch away from your destiny more or less, but you can’t escape it entirely. Anyway, that’s what’s going through my mind right now instead of work. 😉
I never really thought about destiny/free will until this year.
So much that has happened to me in the last couple of years I can attribute to leading me to the point where I am living here in this awesome house with wikkid housemates and a too cute for words cats (who has really stinky poops, but i still love him) Everything is working out so well with this house, it makes up for all the dissapointments I had to face to get to where I am now.
But, I can see how Free Will played a part as well. I had a choice to maybe move into this other house after first year, and I chose not to pursue the idea. I chose to adopt Tristan, and to take up the university’s offer to buy me out of residence. I chose to check the housing listings that weren’t specifically “pets ok”
Or did I? Maybe while I thought I was making choices, I was only doing what i was meant to do. I could believe that to. Really, I think it was likely a combination of the two. Circumstances lent themselves to me making the choices I made. While maybe not all the choices I made were in that moment the best possible choice, in retrospect they were. So I think I was pulled in this direction. I just knew I had to adopt Tristan. I couldn’t not adopt him. I couldn’t explain how I knew, I just did. And because of him, I took up the university’s offer, and so was looking for a house. I was having a hard time under the “pet ok” section, so I perused the other section and found some “pets negotioable” and found a friend’s posting. One choice I’m not sure was ‘free will’ influenced all my actions thereafter. And I never could have considered adopting Tristan if I had gotten any of the residence jobs I applied for. And I probably would not have tried for RA again if I hadn’t been in residence 2nd year, and I wouldn’t have been in residence for 2nd year if I didn’t want to try for RA again.
I could go on and on and on about this…but I should be putting my laundry away! 😉
i think i fall in the middle as well…but through the years i might have become more to the direction of free will. but just a bit.
my brain hurts of all the thinking, all because of you.
I think there definately is free will. I mean obviously Skinner did have his point and we DO act depending on invironment and previous experiences, but well we definately do make the small tiny dcisions like, say, staying up untill 3am when you should actually be sleeping?
I forgot what my point was
oh,
well there also definately is destiny. I mean, i’m positively sure that it wasn’t free will that gets people run over by a car or be in the plane that ends up crashing.
What do I belive? I’m not even sure, I guess i just try not to analyze all my actions all that much 🙂
I could go on and on and on about this… but I should be cleaning the house! 😉