Q: Do you believe events in your life have been guided by fate or by chance? Why or why not? Based on the text, what do you think Shakespeare's attitude was towards fate? Does Macbeth have any choice in his actions or was everything predetermined? Use examples from the text as your support.
There is no such thing as free will. I have believed this for much of my life, but only recently have I learned that this outlook has a formal philosophical name: determinism. The Good Place, a show that I recently binged on Netflix, puts it quite well, "Everything in my life has been determined by my upbringing, my genetics, or my environment," - Eleanor Shellstrop. The only form of fate that I believe in is prediction. Meaning that I think, theoretically, there is the possibility for everything that ever happens in the entire universe, all the way till the end of time, to be mapped out beforehand. After-all, brains and thoughts are simply neuroscience, a discipline that humans have the capability to master, and our environment is just physics. Therefore, everything is measurable, and if everything, and I mean everything, were to be mushed together into some sort of supercomputer that takes into account all variables of EVERYTHING, then everything at every point in time can be known of beforehand, thus, everything is determined. This is a horrible, rabbit hole inducing, existential viewpoint of mine that I find myself often wasting much time dwelling on. In a nutshell, I believe this belief, determinism, aligns with chance more so than fate as being the ultimate guider of life. While yes, I may think that there is nothing we can do to ultimately change the path that we have been born into, that path does not technically lead to an end all be all like the word fate or destiny would imply. Each person's journey is just countless interactions and decisions overlaid upon one another, mixed in with a healthy dose of chance as well. There is no "destined end," but rather a unique place that everyone will eventually arrive at, after of course, being victim to a cruel and meaningless life where chance rules all.
In Macbeth, Shakespeare takes a very interesting attitude towards fate. It is very clear throughout the play that Macbeth, the protagonist, believes his actions do indeed impact his life and in turn whatever fates he had been previously given. Whether it be when he devises a plan with Lady Macbeth to kill Duncan in hopes of becoming King, or when he sets our assassins to kill his best friend Banquo in hopes of securing his spot on the throne, it is clear that Macbeth believes his actions are integral for achieving the fate that was given to him by the witches.
Furthermore, we can also see Shakespeare's attitude towards fate in a quote by the Captain when he describes Macbeth, "And Fortune, on his damned quarrel smiling, / Show'd like a rebel's whore. But all's too weak; / For brave Macbeth (well he deserves that name) / Disdaining Fortune, with his brandished steel, / Which smoked with bloody execution, " Act 1. Sc. 2. The Captain is saying that Macbeth should have died in battle, but he was ultimately stronger and more resilient than his fate. When we look at these various points in Macbeth together, it becomes clear that Shakespeare is not a huge believer in fate. Macbeth himself is documented several times taking things into his own hands and not leaving anything to chance. The Captain notes how Macbeth was able to best fate directly, clearly overcoming all odds that had doomed him to die.
When looking at Shakespeare's time period, this view makes sense. In the 16th century there was a very large emphasis placed on religion. Shakespeare lived in Scotland, where Catholics and Protestants were among the most common religions practiced. Thus, essentially everyone believed in an almighty being with an afterlife that you must work to be rewarded for, a heaven that only the worthy are admitted into. A person's actions in their life would either allow them to be sent to heaven when they die, or hell. Given that this belief was present in the minds of many, the idea of fate seems rather contrasting and silly for the time. If your entire life is supposed to be an application of sorts for heaven, then belief in the idea of fate would effectively make everything you're working for lose all hope. Why try to be good and just, if your fate could just lead to you being a horrible murderer who has no friends? Therefore, it makes sense that Shakespeare frequently shows Macbeth living his own life and defining his own fate.
It is possible, likely even, that Macbeth was written solely so that Shakespeare could argue how humorous the idea of fate is. Macbeth is being sent on these tedious errands, simply because of a few words that some weird women said to him creepily. Even though, yes, Macbeth's life seems to be lining up with the prophecies quite neatly, this is only because Macbeth is willing it to be so. Maybe this will teach readers how consequential it can be to lean so heavily and live so dependently on something as silly as a "prophecy."
Everything in my life has been determined by my upbringing, my genetics, or or my environment. Read more: https://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/view_episode_scripts.php?tv-show=the-good-place-2016&episode=s03e07
Everything in my life has been determined by my upbringing, my genetics, or or my environment. Read more: https://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/view_episode_scripts.php?tv-show=the-good-place-2016&episode=s03e07
Everything in my life has been determined by my upbringing, my genetics, or or my environment. Read more: https://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/view_episode_scripts.php?tv-show=the-good-place-2016&episode=s03e07
Ryan, this may have been the most thought provoking blog I have ever read. The way you believe there is a high chance of predicting all things based on certain assigned characteristics seems incredible. I wonder if such a supercomputer could one day exist. Anyways, I loved how you brought in the historical context to explain Shakespeare's views on fate and I loved that you took the witches as almost a social commentary by Shakespeare. Again, this was awesome! Thanks for the great read.
ReplyDeleteHello Ryan! I know that you have been drooling at the chance to hear my thoughts on a blog of yours, so here we are! In the incoherent rambling mass that made up the second paragraph, one thing became clear to me. You decided to take this blog as some sort of stream of consciousness writing assignment rather than give a legitimate answer. Either way, it seemed as if you made some? decent points. You had a hard time deciphering between the concepts of fate, chance, and free will, and often intertwined the three. I also felt that it seemed as if once you began discussing Macbeth, you selectively forgot about the entire portion of writing you had done previously and made literally no attempt to connect the two! Appalling! One other thing, if the society of the 16th century were truly very religious, why wouldn't they believe in fate over free will? Isn't the common bible-thumping line, "God has a path for you!"? Oh well, mute point now. Either way, I don't know what sort of drugs Ayden was on when he read this. If this is the most thought provoking blog he's ever read, he should consider reading a series entitled Bob Books. They are far more thought provoking than whatever point was intended on being made in this mass of confusion. Good job though! Or rather, good try.
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