# Humanities & Anthropology > Philosophy >  Fate vs Destiny

## Duo

A while ago I was reading a book on a Taoist master, maybe you heard of it, _Chronicles of Tao_, and in there there is a passage where the grandmaster of Taoist mountain is liecturing his student. It's his beleif that fate is the obstacle to the accomplishment of one's destiny. His metaphore was that fate was the rocks on the road preventing you to walk through it. 

I thought about this and and it got me thinking; do you think that our lives are predetermined by fate, or can we through our will and actions jump over the rocks that obstruct our way?

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## antantrevolution

I believe that our lives' eventual outcome is already determined, i.e. place of death, time and how. But I believe that you are pretty much on your own as to how to get there for the most part. I feel there are certain 'trigger' events throughout your life that must happen to allow things to progress, but there is no changing them.

Ant

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## Winter

I think our fate is predetermined as we make the choices we do in life. Its like the most probable outcome for the courses we lead.

I like what the man said in the passage. Its like, we make certain choices in life, and live certain ways, ultimately creating our fate, and often times we want to end up somewhere other than we are leading to, our 'destiny'. To cast out the rocks would be to change our lifestyles.

Coolies.

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## Duo

I think that life is not predetermined. I mean there is so many ways your life can turn out, but it does all depend on you and the choices you make. Even some insignificant choices that we make as a young kid, can have their consequences later on in life. For example, now at my age, after I finish college, there are so many options I could go in. So many ways that my life could be headed to. Ultimately i will make a choice, but that will be my choice, something that i make myself, not something that has been predetermined. Anyways, just my humble opinion.

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## ragedaddy

Yeah, I believe that destiny definitely has a connection with fate. I believe that things happen for a reason, and you might not realize it at the time. However, when you reflect on some of the things that have happened, it's crazy how one little decision impacted you all the way up to where you are in your current status in life. I believe that this path of destiny is set out there for you, but each individual has to make their own decisions to get there. I've often pondered the purpose of my life, and right now I'm clueless. In fact, I probably will never know why I was put here until after I'm gone. Everyone has different passions and desires, and I think if you go with your heart, a person will be able to make it down the long winding path to destiny. Who knows, maybe I've thought about this subject entirely too much. After all I'm not Socrates or Decartes, but it's interest to think about rather abstract concepts. That's what I think anyways......

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## Jackson

Interesting thread - What i find most intriguing is the idea that although there are many ways in which something could happen, ie lots of choices and options, but only the one you choose would ever have happened. Like a lot of people say, if i could go back and do something again then they would do it differently, but of course this never could have happened because you cannot change the past. If by some strange event someone did 'replay' an element of their life, i don't think it's possible that they would do anything other than what they had already done, as it has already happened (they had to go back in time), and in order for it not to happen (leaving that choice free so to speak) the idea to do something else entirely would have to be preconceived before the event is even known. 

Badly explained, but anyway i find it is easier just to live and try not to regret anything that has happened in the past because it could not have happened in any other way. It's kind of like fate or destiny in that while logically there are many outcomes, there was in fact only one possible outcome because only one of the events could ever, and did, happen. While it is often fun to speculate about what might have happened if circumstances had been different it is satisfying knowing that there was only one possible outcome. Not to mention it lets you get on with your life if you feel it is all laid out before you - Of course as long as this doesn't affect your 'drive' (although if it does, you could say it might have been intended along?), so you can continue through life aiming for the best possible outcomes, but i think adaptability is also one of the most valuable things - there are pretty much always unforeseen occurrences and the best plans are those that can adapt to those unforeseen occurrences.

Although it is indeterminable as to whether life is predetermined or not, (I don't know, but i think it isn't), it is certainly less stressful and easier to live your life as though events could not be any different from what they are, not directly predetermined i guess.

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