Can a person independently build his fate and choose his future? Or is he just a pawn in a game where all the moves are predefined and the outcome is a foregone conclusion? Coaches on personal growth, without hesitation, will say that a person makes himself. Fatalists are convinced of the opposite.
Who is a fatalist
A fatalist is a person who believes in fate. The fact that the future is predetermined from above, and it is impossible to influence it. This word comes from the Latin fátalis (determined by fate), fatum (fate, rock). Fatalists believe that a person’s life path, key twists and turns of his fate can be predicted, but cannot be changed.
From the point of view of a fatalist, a man, like a train, moves along a certain fate from station to station, not knowing what will happen next, and not having the opportunity to turn off the route. And the schedule is pre-compiled by higher forces and is strictly observed. And people are just a kind of cogs in a huge mechanism, each of them has its own function, and it is impossible to go beyond the boundaries outlined by fate.
Fatalist Signs
The fatalistic worldview naturally leaves its mark on the character of man:
- The fatalist is convinced that "what can not be avoided, " and this leaves a certain imprint on his worldview:
- Such people do not expect anything good from the future. Therefore, the word "fatalist" is sometimes used as a synonym for "pessimist", convinced that it will only get worse;
- Denying free will, the fatalist does not believe in man and his capabilities;
- But the responsibility for actions is removed from the person - because if all his actions are predetermined from above, then the person is only an instrument in the hands of fate and cannot be responsible for his actions;
- Belief in horoscopes, palmistry, predictions and prophecies, attempts in one way or another to “look into the future” are also a feature of a fatalistic worldview.
Fatalism in antiquity and modernity
In the worldview of the ancient Greeks, the concept of fate and inevitable rock played a fundamental role. The plot of many ancient tragedies is built around the fact that the hero is trying to "deceive fate" - and fails.
For example, in the tragedy of Sophocles “Oedipus the King, ” the hero’s parents, after the prophecy that their child would take his own life and marry his own mother, decide to kill the baby. But the executor of the order, feeling sorry for the baby, secretly transfers him to the education of another family. Having matured, Oedipus learns about the prediction. Considering his adoptive parents to be relatives, he leaves home so as not to become an instrument of evil rock. However, on the way he accidentally meets and kills his own father - and after some time he marries his widow. Thus, in carrying out actions aimed at avoiding his destiny, the heroes, without knowing it, bring themselves closer to the tragic end. Conclusion - do not try to deceive fate, you can’t deceive rock, and what is destined to happen will happen beyond your will.
However, over time, fatalism ceased to have such total forms. In modern culture (despite the fact that the concept of "fate" plays a serious role in a number of world religions), free will of man is given a much larger role. Therefore, the motive of "dispute with fate" is becoming quite popular. For example, in the popular novel by Sergey Lukyanenko, “Day Watch”, the Chalk of Fate appears, with the help of which the heroes can rewrite (and rewrite) their or other people's fates.
