Destiny, also known as fate, comes from the Latin word fatum, which means "decree" or "prediction." It refers to a path of events that are already decided before they happen. This path can apply to the future of all people or to the future of a single person.

Fate

Although the words "fate" and "destiny" are often used together, they have different meanings. The earliest known use of the term appears on a document written in cuneiform script, which describes the mythical Tablet of Destinies. This likely refers to a political agreement between three groups of Sumerian gods, as mentioned in the Epic of Atrahasis. According to this story, only a leader has the power to return things to their original state after decisions are made.

Traditionally, "fate" is described as a force that decides the course of events before they happen. It suggests that events are fixed and cannot be changed. This idea is based on the belief that the universe or cosmos has a natural order that remains unchanged.

In classical and European mythology, "fate" is represented by figures called "fate spinners." In Greek mythology, they are called the Moirai; in Roman mythology, they are called the Parcae; and in Norse mythology, they are called the Norns. These figures control the events of the world by spinning threads that symbolize the lives of individuals.

"Fate" refers to future events that cannot be changed by the choices people make. "Destiny," however, refers to the present situation, which results from the choices people have already made.

Fatalism is the belief that events determined by fate cannot be changed by human actions. This means people cannot alter their own fates or the fates of others.

Fortune

Fortune is different from fate and destiny. It can mean chance or luck, such as when something happens by accident or when someone is lucky. It can also describe events that affect a person or group in a good or bad way. In some phrases, like "to tell someone's fortune," it means predicting what will happen in the future. In Hellenistic civilization, unpredictable and confusing events made people pay more attention to a goddess named Tyche, who represented the luck of a city and all people who lived there. Tyche was connected to the city's safety and success, which seemed difficult for humans to control. The Roman image of Fortuna, who turned a wheel without seeing where it would stop, was described by Christian writers like Boethius. This idea was popular again during the Renaissance and is still seen in some ways today.

Western philosophy

Philosophy about destiny and fate has been studied since ancient times, especially by groups like the Stoics and the Epicureans during the Hellenistic period.

The Stoics believed that people’s choices and actions followed a plan made by a god. They said that even though humans have free will, their souls and the situations they experience are part of a larger system of fate.

The Epicureans disagreed with the Stoics. They argued that people can act freely if their decisions are made with clear thinking.

In everyday language, the words "destiny" and "fate" are often used the same way. However, in 19th-century philosophy, these terms came to mean different things.

Arthur Schopenhauer believed that destiny was a way the "Will to Live" showed itself. He thought that through art, morality, and self-discipline, people could either accept or challenge their fate.

Friedrich Nietzsche connected destiny to the idea of "Amor fati," or "love of fate." He linked this to his concept of the "will to power," which he saw as the driving force behind human behavior. Nietzsche believed that the "will to power" helped people adapt and survive better. He also changed the idea of matter being centers of force into matter being centers of the "will to power," which he saw as humanity’s destiny to face with "Amor fati." Nietzsche used "Amor fati" to describe accepting and choosing one’s fate, which he called a form of "choice destiny."

Determinism is a philosophy often confused with fate. It means that all actions and decisions are caused by the situations and events that have already happened. Unlike fate, determinism is not tied to religion, the stars, or spiritual ideas. Instead, it focuses on causes and effects. Philosophers such as Robert Kane, Thomas Nagel, Roderick Chisholm, and A. J. Ayer have written about this idea.

Eastern Philosophy

Ming yun (Chinese: 命運) is an idea in Chinese folk religion that describes how people live their lives and what happens to them. The word "ming" means "life," "right," or "destiny," while "yun" means "circumstance" or "individual choice." The term "ming" is believed to be given by and influenced by Tian, which means "heaven," similar to the idea of the Mandate of Heaven, a belief about rulers discussed by the philosopher Mencius. Ming yun is seen as both fixed, flexible, and open to change.

Psychology

Among the people who studied depth psychology, Carl Gustav Jung, Sigmund Freud, and Leopold Szondi made the most important contributions to understanding the idea of "fate."

Religion

The idea of destiny, fate, or causation is important in many religions, but each religion explains it differently:

• The ancient Sumerians believed that gods decided people’s lives before they were born.
• In Babylonian religion, the god Nabu, who was the god of writing, recorded the fates given to humans by other gods, including the Anunnaki, who decided what would happen to people.
• In Ancient Greek religion, the Moirai (also called the Fates) and the god Zeus were believed to decide and carry out destiny, respectively.
• Some Christians believe people can choose their own actions, while others believe that God has already decided everything that will happen.
• In Islam, fate, or qadar, is seen as God’s decision about what will occur.
• In Buddhism, all events, including thoughts and actions, are taught to happen because of previous events, following a rule called paṭiccasamuppāda. This idea is shared by all Buddhist schools and helps explain other important beliefs, such as the idea that nothing lasts forever and that there is no permanent self.

Politics

Politicians often use metaphors to describe events that are not fully understood. Otto Von Bismarck once said that the best a politician can do is to "listen for God's footsteps and hang on to His coat tails." General José de San Martín, known as the Libertador of Argentina, Chile, and Peru, famously stated, "You will be what you must be, or you will be nothing." In War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy wrote about the "unconscious swarm-life of mankind," while Shakespeare referred to a "tide in the affairs of men" in his play Julius Caesar.

Literature

In ancient Greece, many stories and myths show that trying to avoid a fate that has already been foretold is useless. This idea appears in works like Oedipus Rex (427 BCE), The Iliad, The Odyssey (800 BCE), and Theogony. In ancient China, similar ideas about fate are found in texts such as Liezi, Mengzi, and Zhuangzi. In Italy, the play La Forza del Destino ("The Force of Destiny") by the Spanish Duque de Rivas, later adapted by Verdi, also explores the idea of fate.

In England, the theme of fate appears in works like Shakespeare’s Macbeth (1606), Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1891), Samuel Beckett’s Endgame (1957), and W.W. Jacobs’ short story The Monkey's Paw (1902). In America, Thornton Wilder’s novel The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1927) also discusses fate.

In Germany, the writer Hermann Hesse (1877–1962) often included fate in his books, such as Siddharta (1922) and The Glass Bead Game (1943). Hollywood also uses the idea of fate, as seen in characters like Neo from The Matrix. A common theme in these stories is that the main character cannot escape their destiny, no matter how hard they try. In Neil Gaiman’s graphic novel The Sandman, destiny is one of the Endless, shown as a blind man who carries a book that records all past and future events.

Jorge Luis Borges often wrote about fate in his stories and poems. In The Garden of Forking Paths, fate is shown as a maze with many choices, but all paths lead to the same ending. In The Lottery in Babylon, a secret lottery decides people’s lives, making personal choices unimportant. In Ajedrez, chess pieces move according to fixed rules, symbolizing how humans follow a path set by forces beyond their control.

Many of Borges’ stories also describe characters who face a destined death. In Poema conjetural, a historical figure in Argentina dreams of a peaceful life and death but is killed by "savages." Instead of sadness, he dies happily, accepting his fate. In The South, a man in a hospital imagines a heroic death, where he is killed in a duel with a gaucho.