Bite-Sized Philosophy
Amor Fati: Schopenhauer On The Idea Of Fate
How The Passage Of Time Encourages A Belief In Fate
In Schopenhauer’s essay Transcendent speculation on the apparent deliberateness in the fate of the individual (I KNOW, that’s a title and a half), he explores the idea that our sense of free will changes as we age. His basic premise is that we are more likely to believe in fate, destiny, providence, or predetermination as we get older because we have seen the different acts of our life come together.
It’s important to note that in the first paragraph of the essay, he emphasizes that he’s talking about something non-falsifiable, meaning it can’t be proven or disproven; it can only be thought about. That’s a disclaimer right there for the argumentative folks that are getting ready to die on the determinism vs. free will hill. That battle’s not happening today. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the thought-adventure without feeling the need to come to a conclusion and win an argument. He literally says: “the following is not to be taken seriously.” (But like… don’t take it not-seriously either, because it’s pretty cool.)
Like Marcus Aurelius says: “You always own the option of having no opinion.”
