Journal #9 - Free Will vs. Determinism
Free Will - The power of making free choices that are unconstrained by external circumstances or by an agency such as fate or divine will.
Iago: “'tis in ourselves that we are thus or thus. Our bodies are our
gardens, to the which our wills are gardeners” (1.3 361-3).
Determinism - The philosophical doctrine that every event, act, and decision is the inevitable consequence of antecedents, such as genetic and environmental influences, that are independent of the human will.
Othello: “Yet ‘tis the plague of great ones … ‘tis destiny unshunnable, like
death” (3.3 313-16).
Using the above definitions, write a paragraph that argues in support of each of the terms. In your paragraphs, use specific examples from Othello to support your ideas.
Free Will is the power of making free choices that are unconstrained by external circumstance or by an agency such as fate or divine will. This definition is saying that people have the option of making all the choices in their lifetime. God made the world this way because he didn’t want everyone to be the same. He also did this in a sense that the choices people make will either lead to joy or consequences. It seems to me that Iago was the only one who really understood free will in the book because of when he said “tis in ourselves that we are thus or thus. Our bodies are our gardens, to the which our wills are gardeners” (1.3 361-3). Free will is very apparent in the book Othello by William Shakespeare because it was the choices of all the characters that led to their death. Othello had the option of ignoring Iago and not listening to his lies but he chose to believe and chose to kill Desdemona. Desdemona could have escaped from Othello while he was going to kill her but she chose to believe in a better Othello. Rodrigo also chose to listen to Iago and let him deceive him. Rodrigo choice to believe Iago only led to him making decisions that led to his death. Everyone has the choice in whether to believe someone and in the actions they take.
In the book Othello it seems that not all of these actions could revolve around free will but instead are concentrated on Determinism. Determinism is the belief that situations weren’t only free will but involve fate which is something that humans have no control over. It seems that everything that happened that was part of Iago’s plan couldn’t have happened as easily as it did. It is apparent in the book that the death of all the character was destiny, something that they all had coming for them. It was fate that Othello’s jealousy would overtake his body causing him to do the unspeakable of killing his innocent wife. Othello couldn’t help what he was doing and didn’t want to kill her but his jealousy got in the way. This is also visible when Othello says ““Yet ‘tis the plague of great ones … ‘tis destiny unshunnable, like death” (3.3 313-16). He understands that fate comes into play with everything and everyone’s death is destined and meant to be. People have no control of when they die therefore their death is fate, something they couldn’t change.
