We are Determined.

Determinism is the view that any event, whether physical or simply a mental process such as making a decision is determined by a chain of prior occurrences. In a purely scientific world, this is the only rationale that can be understood, as free will and a soul that makes unique, unpredictable decisions only can exist in a metaphysical world. A recent experiment has shown that your subconscious knows what random decision you are going to make about six seconds prior before you realize it.



So what does this mean for individuals and humanity as a whole? Since we are destined, our past essentially determining our future, does that relieve us of our control of our lives? Does this absolve us from the weight of our decisions and actions, or can we be held accountable to what is out of our control? Whether Kurtz is a monster, or just a product of the environment he was placed into is in the reader's hands to decide, and to blame Pandarus for firing an arrow and resuming the Trojan war overlooks Athena's interference in the situation.

This leaves me stuck between two sides of an argument... where does the control of one's life lie? In the hands of Man or God? Can I change my fate, or is it set in stone by the simple reactionary properties of the universe?

Regardless of whether I can only have one fate or many, I still feel it is in my control, for the weight of it sits heavy on my sholders. If Athena is at my back, whispering ideas into my head I believe are mine, so be it. I am determined of who I am, and the sweet nothings of an immortal or the simple reaction pathways my neurons follow may shape the path my life takes, but to exonerate myself from the consequences of my decisions kills any sense of being I hold dear.