Fate vs. Free Will

[shams]

Jeez, I remember doing this one at uni (in philosophy). It ended up taking too much time, we simply had to stop.

I'll give a short reply...

Fate 

Free Will is essentially an illusion. Humans are "machines", albiet complex, organic machines (i.e. non-digital). We make analog decisions. These decisions "feel" automatic to us, although simulating them (in terms of writing a program to simulate them) is incredibly complex/hard to do. It all comes down to the analog nature of our brains, and the way that neurons work and interconnect.

So essentially - what we think is free will - is actually fate, determined by a billion minor (and major) variables both within our minds, memory, driven by our external senses - and to a certain extent "randomness".

(much of this comes down to the classic "Does God  exist" arguments - as denying free will essentially denies the existance of God, although I can't remember exactly why... I might be wrong on this last point, just something I remember from my Uni classes...).