In The End, The House Always Wins…
Free will is a subject that deals a lot in irony and invokes a paradox in an individual’s life. Fate and destiny are two factors that determine a person’s future. Although, many believe they have control over their lives, their free will is overshadowed with destiny. The fable, The Appointment in Samarra, perfectly tells the story of how an individual believes they have control over their life, but in reality, the whole situation plays into the web of fate. Webster’s dictionary defines fate as “an inevitable and often adverse outcome, condition, or end.” This definition perfectly describes how life is not controlled by the owner. Ultimately, free will can only play to an extent, but what determines someone’s destiny is their fate. The definition of free will carries on into a large number of sub classifications. Free will is the philosophical doctrine that holds that humans have the control to choose their own deeds. The principle has religious, ethical, and psychological implication. For example, in a religious connotation, free will may imply that a supreme divinity does not assert its power over the will of its followers. In ethics, free will may imply that man can be held morally accountable for their actions; in psychology, that the mind controls some of the actions of the body.
The Appointment in Samarra is an old Middle Eastern fable that tells the reader a fable about an ill fated servant. Although, people tend to believe that they can elude fate through the full control of their lives, their control can only go to such an extent. For example, the servant was startled to see Death in Baghdad, so he thought that by conceiving a new decision of running away to Samarra he will avoid Death, thus escaping his ill fated destiny. Little to his knowledge, the servant’s decision actually played into the role of his destiny with Death. Point being, the servant thought he had control over his life by making the decision to avoid Death, as a...
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