Morpheus: "Do you believe in fate, Neo?"This weekend Golden and I watched Stranger than Fiction. The premise is that the main character's life is narrated and dictated by a female voice in his head. Whatever the voice says about him happens, and it completely disarms him when the voice comments on his impending death. The rest of the movie involves this protagonist's search for the source of the voice, as that voice controls his life more than he does.
Neo: "No."
Morpheus: "Why not?"
Neo: "Because I don't like the idea that I'm not in control of my life."
After watching the movie I started thinking about the level of free will that we have in our own lives. I have always disdained any notion that I do not make my own decisions. I very much follow Neo's thinking from The Matrix that the idea that I am not the one making the decisions for my life feels wrong. I think that if I were to succumb to even a mild variation of a belief in fate, I would be removing my humanity from the equation. I would be little more than a trained pet.
While predestination might be an apt topic for thought here, my perspective at the moment is far broader than irresistible grace. The real question in my mind is how much control do people have over the decisions they make? How much of personality is under our own control? Can we at all influence our human condition?
Since I am similar to Neo, even with this line of questioning, I am naturally drawn to a worldview that provides me with nearly complete control of my life. If anyone is going to be able to destroy my life or determine who controls my life, I have to believe I will be that person. Perhaps I have no choice but to believe in free will.
2 comments:
You do bare a striking resemblance to Neo.
I control your life Dust. Just kidding. I find it funny that the same person that wants complete control over his life never has an opinion on what restaurant he wants to go to.
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