Destiny & Free Will, #2 [Period 1, Monday, July 21]

[atreideslioness]

"Today, children, we discuss semantics," Ghanima said briskly from her seat on her desk.  "Although the words are used interchangeably in many cases, fate and destiny can be, and should be, distinguished."  She smiled, kicking her heels slightly.  "Don't groan at me.  Semantics are your friends, I promise.  When you know a word, inside and out, it becomes more than a word.  It's a friend, a weapon, and a great source of fun at the expense of other people."

"Modern usage defines fate as a power or agency that predetermines and orders the course of events. Fate defines events as ordered or "inevitable". Fate is used in regard to the finality of events as they have worked themselves out; and that same sense of finality, projected into the future to become the inevitability of events as they will work themselves out, is Destiny."

Hopping off her desk, she meandered to the front of the room.  "One word derivative of "fate" is "fatality", another "fatalism". Fate implies no choice, and ends fatally, with a death. Fate is an outcome determined by an outside agency acting upon a person or entity; but with destiny the entity is participating in achieving an outcome that is directly related to itself. Participation happens willfully."

"Used in the past tense, "destiny" and "fate" are both more interchangeable, both imply "one's lot" or fortunes, and include the sum of events leading up to a currently achieved outcome."  Ghanima grabbed her chalk and began writing quickly on the chalkboard.  "For instance, if we were speaking of a previous event, say, Boudicca's battle against the Romans, we could safely say that "it was her destiny to be leader" or "it was her fate to be leader", and both would be correct." 

"Fate can involve things which are bound within and subject to larger networks. A set of mathematical functions arranged in a grid and interacting in defined ways is Fatelike. Likewise the individual statues in a larger work of counterpoint art are aesthetically Fated within the work. In each case Fate is external to every individual component, but integral to the network. Every component acts as Fate for every other component. The entire world can be seen as existing within such a network, a kind of mythical spiderweb controlled by unseen forces."

"Now, where does fate come from?" she asked.  "In classical and European mythology, there are three goddesses dispensing fate, The "Fates" known as Moirae in Greek mythology, as Parcae in Roman mythology, and Norns in Norse mythology; they determine the events of the world through the mystic spinning of threads that represent individual human destinies," she said, writing on the chalkboard.  "Three sets of three, each fitting the 'Maiden/Mother/Crone' archetype, each from a different culture." 

"So, let's chat."  She set the chalk down and leaned against the wall to watch them.  "Semantics and harbingers of fate.  I'm curious to hear what you think."

[Please wait for the OCD is now up.  Have fun!]

Comments

Re: Discussion: Kismet

[ihaveniceteeth.livejournal.com]

"I've heard the word wyrd come up a few times in old stories," Gwen said. "But they're not really something I've paid much attention too."

Re: Discussion: Kismet

[atreideslioness]

"Ah yes, Miss Cooper, the Wyrd." Ghanima turned back to the chalkboard and began writing. "In a simple sense, Wyrd refers to how past actions continually affect and condition the future, but also how the future affects the past," she said. "It emphasises the interconnected nature of all actions and how they influence each other."

"The Wanderer states that 'Wyrd bið ful aræd,' which usually translates as 'Fate remains wholly inexorable'. The poem Beowulf tells us that 'Gæð a wyrd swa hio scel!': 'Fate goes ever as she shall!', again, making Fate female.

"Wyrd is the fate, or ørlǫg, woven by the Norns. The term's Norse cognate urðr, besides meaning 'fate', is the name of one of the Norns, Urd, and is closely related to the concept of necessity, which would be Skuld." Ghanima paused in her writing to smile over her shoulder. "Much like the weavings of fate, even language is interconnected within the Old Norse."

"Unlike predestination, however, Wyrd allows for the expression and assertion of one's individual wyrd - essentially one's will or destiny. However, this is always constrained by the wyrd of others. Nevertheless, one is able to influence to some extent the 'weaving' of fate."