I think that Oedipus raises a very intriguing yet timeless question of free will vs. fate. How can we escape our destiny? Do we really have free will if God knows what will happen? Do we really want to know what our destiny is? As seen with Oedipus, he spends his whole life running from this prophecy that an Oracle told him just for it to come true anyway. His mother, Jocasta, heard the same prophecy and tried to kill her own son and it still didn't work! So, did Oedipus really have free will if in the end he was always going to end up killing his father and marrying his mother? It seems that no matter what path he took or what extreme measures he went to, he was ultimately going to end up in this position.
I commented on Dallas Dodson's
This is such an interesting take on this storyline! I think you make good arguments why freewill was not available for man in Greek mythology. Time and again, Oedipus works to change the fate of his outcome and was unsuccessful. Would it have been better for him to instead of running from his prophecy, appealing to the gods and work tirelessly to win their affirmation? At the same time, there is a question of the inconsistency of the gods and how difficult they are to please if you are not one of their pets. I agree with your argument very much!
ReplyDeleteThis relates back to the conversation we had last week and I totally understand the conflict. I think that it was his fate that is destined but his free will to choose how he was going to get to that point.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great question! When you asked if one really wants to know their destiny, I would have to vote no. I think we all could agree that Oedipus would rather have not known.
ReplyDeleteI agree that one does not really want to know their own destiny, simply because it is your destiny. You really have no say over how things are going to end, only on how you are going to get there.
ReplyDeleteI think the whole question on free will is an interesting one. In my opinion, just because something about the future is known doesn't mean that we have no control over what happens. I think it is quite the opposite, I believe that they have all the control and the fates know what choices they will make. That doesn't mean they made those choices it just means that someone knew what they would choose. When asking if you would want to know your own destiny, I would have to answer with a resounding NO. I feel like I would be to focused on the future and it would make me unable to live life in the present.
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