Do you guys believe in fate and destiny and all that stuff?

[Fiddelysquat]

I believe in a few of those things. What I definitely believe in is ghosts. I've had near constant experiences with them since before I can remember. My mom and dad tell me that I'd say things to them about relatives who'd died before I was born. I had recurring dreams about my Mom's grandmother. I described her perfectly, including the dress she usually wore, despite the fact that there were no pictures of her in our house.

Crap like that's been happening to me my whole life and I hate it.

[Shoyru_Lover]

If our lives are already planned out in such detail, then why do we have free will? Wouldn't it be just kinda wasted or something?

Maybe we think we have free will. Kinda like sheep grazing. They can walk anywhere and eat anything they want in whatever manner they fashion, but in the grand scheme of things, they are all being herded and headed to the same place.

[Uncle Xyzzy]

If our lives are already planned out in such detail, then why do we have free will? Wouldn't it be just kinda wasted or something?

Maybe we think we have free will. Kinda like sheep grazing. They can walk anywhere and eat anything they want in whatever manner they fashion, but in the grand scheme of things, they are all being herded and headed to the same place.

Are you suggesting something similar to Douglas Hofstadter's ant analogy?

The idea is, individual ants are unintelligent and random. But together, because of the way ants interact, the ant colony as a whole can be treated as a single, intelligent entity.

[Asthaloth]

You know the star signs are inaccurate right now, because the orbit of the Earth shifts on a 26,000 years period? So the zodiac was accurate back in the time of the Egyptians, and it was used to calculate harvest times
That's about the most useful thing zodiac and astrology can do for me. I don't believe in destiny, fortune tellers, luck and such.

That, and there being about five new planets and three new Terran moons puts a spanner in it.

As for luck;
To suceed or fail through sheer chance.
So yeah, luck exists, by definition.


As for fate, I would have been dead twenty years ago but for the swift actions of a maternity nurse.
Death can come find me when he thinks he can beat me.

[Rissa]

I suppose I do. Why not? I kind of like the idea that maybe everything I do happens for a reason, that I am part of something much larger. Unity. And that there is a plan for me. It makes me feel safe, even when I mess up. Some people may think this is naive of me, to convince myself of these things, but who's to know if I'm wrong? Believing I have a purpose, whether I actually do or not, makes life seem more worth living. This is more important to me than facts and logic and being right.

[Shoyru_Lover]

I just spoke to destiny. Your purpose is to bring me cookies and warm milk. *whips*

[Paulisacretin]

I'm a firm believer in fate. The way I see it, we were all born into the world with our lives already planned out for us, even so far as to determine our date of death. I believe that somewhere out there are friends I still have yet to meet, a boyfriend or a girlfriend (who knows what fate has in store?) and that I WILL meet them because it's my destiny, my fate. Things will happen that seem random and co-incidental and other things will happen that were made by me, opening up more paths and oppurtunities in my life. But I believe that's fate as well. For example, when someone was born, it was their fate that they would personally try their hardest to make something happen. It was fate that determined whether that decision was the right one or the wrong one. It was fate that decided that the persons actions would give them a new friend or not. No one has to believe me with this. I believe in it though and I always will.

So, to use a topical example... it was planned Madeleine McCann would be abducted, then raped/killed before she was 5 years old? It's fate that thousands of children and adults die everyday from disease and malnutrition?

Well, that sounds like a pretty good philosophy to me! It was fate that those dirty africans had no money, food or healthcare and therefore died. Why would I need to try and help them out? I'd be fighting destiny!

"Every cloud has a silver lining", "everything happens for a reason" etc is a very good way of maintaing a positive outlook on life - otherwise all the bad stuff that happens will get you down. It doesn't make it true though.

I suppose I do. Why not? I kind of like the idea that maybe everything I do happens for a reason, that I am part of something much larger. Unity. And that there is a plan for me. It makes me feel safe, even when I mess up. Some people may think this is naive of me, to convince myself of these things, but who's to know if I'm wrong? Believing I have a purpose, whether I actually do or not, makes life seem more worth living. This is more important to me than facts and logic and being right.

Well exactly. Its a comforting philosphy - it makes you feel secure. Just like knowing you'll go to heaven, or your loved ones will. Believing in ghosts is the same because it lets you know that there is more to the world then it seems - that certainly doesnt make it more true than believing fairies.

[Asthaloth]

So, to use a topical example... it was planned Madeleine McCann would be abducted, then raped/killed before she was 5 years old? It's fate that thousands of children and adults die everyday from disease and malnutrition?

Why not?
Who says the fates are benevolent, or even aware of us?
Do you know the fate of every insect you destroy?
Of every Bacterium that is mindlessly toiling away in your intestines?
No. But do you decide it's fate? Most certainly.

[Rissa]

that certainly doesnt make it more true than believing fairies.

Didn't say it did. But then again, who's to know? Isn't that the point of this? There's no way to prove whether it's true or if it's just our imaginations, so I might as well be optimistic and risk some skeptics thinking I'm ridiculous, yes?

[Nessa]

I'm pretty sure the original intent of this thread was to share your own personal beliefs, not decimate what others believe. Please stop, thank you.

[Paulisacretin]

Well now I know that I'm confident enough to say I believe I am the centre and creator of the universe. Everything else that exists exists as a product of my mind. Which makes everyone else expendable and ultimately not worth a second thought in any sense. I also believe if anyone angers me they are fated to die.

Why not?
Who says the fates are benevolent, or even aware of us?
Do you know the fate of every insect you destroy?
Of every Bacterium that is mindlessly toiling away in your intestines?
No. But do you decide it's fate? Most certainly.

Thats a lovely potential argument for why fate needn't be positive - but why does there even need to be fate? What is the need for (uncontrolled?) pre-determination of a person's destiny? Why can't people be satisfied with a random sequence of events?

Because then they have to take responsibility for everything that happens in their life and have no comfort blanket of fate!

[Kitten Medli]

Well now I know that I'm confident enough to say I believe I am the centre and creator of the universe. Everything else that exists exists as a product of my mind. Which makes everyone else expendable and ultimately not worth a second thought in any sense. I also believe if anyone angers me they are fated to die. :roll:

Why aren't I dead yet then? :D

[Paulisacretin]

I'm sorry I might have forgotten what happened but... who are you?

[Asthaloth]

Thats a lovely potential argument for why fate needn't be positive - but why does there even need to be fate? What is the need for (uncontrolled?) pre-determination of a person's destiny? Why can't people be satisfied with a random sequence of events?

Because then they have to take responsibility for everything that happens in their life and have no comfort blanket of fate!

Fate is ultimately determined at the very creation of matter.
Even G-D's themselves cannot deny Quantum state, and as such, fate is reality.
The fact that no one can read it is irrelevant.

[Kitten Medli]

I'm sorry I might have forgotten what happened but... who are you?

LARF OWT LOUD. Maybe I shouldn't say and spare myself..

We've had a few debates in the past XD