Destiny?

The question is, of course, if there is a destiny. Do you believe there is one?

An interesting point of view is that everything happens only once. What you did one second ago can never happen again - first, because no one can do anything in the exact motion, and second because everything else in the world (as well as in the universe) is not exactly the same as in that instance.

I mean, whatever choices we make in our lives, they are only made once.

Thoughts?

I do.

Life can be measured as a sequential series of decisions. Get out of bed, pour a cup of joe, turn on the shower, get in, shampoo, lather, rinse, repeat, rinse, dry off, brush teeth, get dressed, go to work, etc...

I believe that one day I will find myself in a situation where I must make a decision that will change the world around me and that of others as well.

A decision that may saves lives.

A decision where the results may come at a costly price.

It will be my destiny. I hope I make the right decision.

Originally posted by Karras
The question is, of course, if there is a destiny. Do you believe there is one?

Yes and no.

An interesting point of view is that everything happens only once. What you did one second ago can never happen again

How can you be so certain?

- first, because no one can do anything in the exact motion, and second because everything else in the world (as well as in the universe) is not exactly the same as in that instance.

Why not? Do we have a good enough grasp of time to determine whether or not events repeat, or whether they happen again at all?

I mean, whatever choices we make in our lives, they are only made once.

Thoughts?

How can you be so certain that they are only made once?

An interesting point of view is that everything happens only once. What you did one second ago can never happen again

How can you be so certain?

Well, for example, we only get older. Sure, we can sit down in the exact chair in the exact same way, but when you sat down at the chair one hour ago, you were younger.

Why not? Do we have a good enough grasp of time to determine whether or not events repeat, or whether they happen again at all?

At this time we know that the universe is created, and will one day end. Then, it is another question if the whole universe is recreated exactly as it is now (after - and if - it collapses), with the exact events we have now.

How can you be so certain that they are only made once?

As I said above, even if we make the same choice now as we did 10 years ago, the fact remains that the time is not the same as it was back then.

Originally posted by Karras
Well, for example, we only get older. Sure, we can sit down in the exact chair in the exact same way, but when you sat down at the chair one hour ago, you were younger.

Yes but literally, how can you be sure that in this universe, time does not act in a way that you DO sit in that chair the same way in the same chair, with the same age, same everything that you did an hour ago.

It is your perception of time as a being in this universe that causes you to see time in this fashion. How do you know that at the subatomic scale time works the same way?

When it comes down to it, time is literally a matter of perception and nothing else. That in quantum mechanics time doesn't really exist in the way you perceive it.

How can you be so sure that events you experience now aren't happening again and again?

As I said above, even if we make the same choice now as we did 10 years ago, the fact remains that the time is not the same as it was back then.

Whos to say what you did 10 years ago isn't happening right now?

Science would suggest the the future holds infinite possibility's, each one as likely as the next, suggesting no destiny as such.

Then again it also suggests that you make reality what you wish it to be so if you believe you are controlled by destiny then you are controlled by destiny but that doesn't mean I am controlled by that destiny.

I agree. Time is simply a measurement, a perception, an invention of man. It does not truly exist.
I should think it a challenge if Destiny did exist. But would a destiny chain us, guide us, or force guidance upon us? Can we defy the concept and forge our own destiny? Does fate take this role and develop our destiny as we make choices presented by fate?

Whether destiny is true or not depends on whether or not consciousness is the basis of reality.

Amit Goswami: The current worldview has it that everything is made of matter, and everything can be reduced to the elementary particles of matter, the basic constituents—building blocks—of matter. And cause arises from the interactions of these basic building blocks or elementary particles; elementary particles make atoms, atoms make molecules, molecules make cells, and cells make brain. But all the way, the ultimate cause is always the interactions between the elementary particles. This is the belief—all cause moves from the elementary particles. This is what we call "upward causation." So in this view, what human beings—you and I—think of as our free will does not really exist. It is only an epiphenomenon or secondary phenomenon, secondary to the causal power of matter. And any causal power that we seem to be able to exert on matter is just an illusion. This is the current paradigm.

If this is true, we're at the mercy of destiny. We're born into a particular family, with certain genes with predispositions, etc. Every choice we make is an illusion. We're all predestined because we have no control over who or what we are.

Now, the opposite view is that everything starts with consciousness.That is, consciousness is the ground of all being. In this view, consciousness imposes "downward causation." In other words, our free will is real. When we act in the world we really are acting with causal power. This view does not deny that matter also has causal potency—it does not deny that there is causal power from elementary particles upward, so there is upward causation—but in addition it insists that there is also downward causation. It shows up in our creativity and acts of free will, or when we make moral decisions. In those occasions we are actually witnessing downward causation by consciousness.
Source

In this case, destiny ceases to exist. Instead of free will being the illusion, the illusion is the external world.

reply to post by Kruel


I think there may be a third option. Probability. If the foundations of the universe are a matter of "dice rolls" and science current view of how the world works is wrong, then neither would be true. We are neither able to create our own destiny nor does a set destiny exist.

The idea that if played out again, it would not happen the same way because at the quantum level things would not happen the same way. These quantum events would not happen the same way and cause the world to be different than what it was.

I think we have a long way to go in science before we can say whether or not everything is destine.