Free Will Vs Determinism
Christian Peters
Professor Lord
HON 201 Interdisciplinary Studies
October 27th, 2016
Honors Term Paper Essay #1
Many people often wonder what drives their decisions, why they do the things they do, and why the world functions the way it does. Many argue that people make choices because things are determined by nature and nurture, and no other factors. Others like to argue that people have complete control over the choices they make and there are no constraining factors. Two words can be used to describe these types of people and that is determinism and free will. Determinism essentially means the same thing as universal causation; that is, for every effect or event in reality, a cause or multiple causes exist. There is no such thing as an uncaused event for those who subscribe to determinism. On the other hand, free will can be thought of as the power to act, speak or think freely without hindrance or restraint to a certain extent. Those who believe in complete freedom would argue the absence of subjection to a supernatural being. As well, free will allows you to make choices good or bad. But once you have made your decision, if in any way the result of your choice has caused intentional and unexcused harm or injury to another being, you are morally responsible to take the blame for your free will actions.
So, are humans free or determined or some combination of the two? Through the analysis of Homer’s The Iliad translated by Stephen Mitchell, I’d contend that the combination of free will and determinism delineates the cause of our actions, thoughts, and behaviors and therefore humans are a mixture of the both. The faultiness of the economic determinism that arose from theories of Karl Marx as well as the psychological determinism that arose from Sigmund Freud also contribute to this argument.
There is a slurry of events in Homer’s The Iliad that portray fate and destiny as supreme forces that are ultimately determined by the deity. The significance of fate becomes more evident when mortal and semi-mortal characters come to learn their own destiny because the gods reveal it to them under some special circumstance. Characters including Achilles, Patroclus and Hector learn their destiny from the gods, and the intervening nature of the gods gives them a different perspective on their lives and greatly affect their decision-making.
In Book One of the Iliad, Agamemnon and Achilles come to an enraged confrontation after Apollo cursed their troops with a plague all because Agamemnon will not return Chryses, his slave prize, to her father. During the argument, Agamemnon threatens Achilles, claiming that he will steal Achilles’ prize, Briseis, and return Chryses home to end the plague. Achilles becomes so angry that he goes to draw his sword when Hera sends Athena to stop Achilles. Athena says to him “I have come to hold back your blind rage. Hera sent me. Enough: abandon this quarrel; put up your sword. Attack him with words instead; and I promise that someday because of this insult, three times as many gifts will be granted to you.” (Homer 7) Achilles obeys Athena for multiple reasons, the first being that the Achaeans turned to the gods to make decisions and they scoured certain internal thoughts as the gods told them what to do. Achilles understands Athena’s prophecy as an opportunity to win the argument with Agamemnon and further spite him “three times over” in the future.
Achilles faces further prophecies in Book Nine. His mother, the goddess Thetis, tells him that he has two possible destinies. Either Achilles will stay and fight the Trojans and die with everlasting pride, or he will return to live long life with no glory or pride. Thetis is divine; therefore, her emotionality as a mother is heightened as opposed to a mortal mother, and this pushes her to seek aid for her son from other gods. The act of telling Achilles his two possible destinies puts the Achaean Army in danger because of the possibility that Achilles will not return to battle. Knowing that he will die in the Trojan War keeps Achilles from fighting. “Nothing is worth my life—…My mother Thetis, tells me that there are two ways I might die.” (Homer 148) This stalls the Achaean troops and puts them at an impasse, all because Thetis told Achilles his destiny.
In Book Sixteen Patroclus comes to Achilles in tears because of his refusal to fight. Patroclus asks that Achilles let him wear his armor. The Trojans are struck with fear when they see the disguised Patroclus. He kills many men, including the son of Zeus named Sarpedon. Zeus attempts to intervene to save his son, “Zeus felt pity and said to Hera… ‘should I go to Troy and snatch him out of the fighting…” (Homer 261) Hera explains the importance of mortal fate to the gods. If Zeus were to “sweep” in and save the mortals, ignoring the importance of their destinies, the mortal world would turn to chaos. After Patroclus, he chases the Trojans who have retreated to the city. However, Apollo appears to remind him that it is not his fate to take the city. Apollo then makes Patroclus vulnerable in his armor and encourages Hector to kill him.