[To a marked degree a belief in fatalism
presists in common thought. This idea is not one of strict definition and adequate conception but a sort of a helpless, irrational skepticism based upon a
pagan sense of dependence and lack of knowledge and insight. As such it finds a favorable soil In the superficial,
hurried, constantly moving, restless type of life that prevails outside of the meditative and reflective
circles of thought. Moreover, this common belief in Tate varies all the way from a sort of Determinism
to an abject and extreme type of fatalism. In the common mind, however, each and all of these varied phases and aspects of the belief are classified under
the more or less familiar caption, "What is to be, will be. There Is no power within the possession of man that can either control or prevent it.
From the standpoint of correct definition, however, there is a marked difference between pure
Fatalism and Determinism or Necessitarianism.
Fatalism is the doctrine that all events
are determined by Fate Instead of by natural causes, and nothing that man can will or do affects the course
of events. Strictly speaking, fatalism denies that the Will has any efficacy In the shaping of events; it does not recognize the determination of all events by causes, in the ordinary sense. Immediately preceding events have nothing whatever to do with the origination of those events immediately following, as these would occur Just the same even if the former were entirely
changed. Thus conceived, simon-pure Fatalism is a flat denial of natural law for it simply means that however much one may vary the antecedent causes or
events leading thereto, one cannot change the inevitable doom of Fate. In other words, a foreordained result
is sure to come about, no matter what may be done to prevent it.
Determinism or Necessitarianism, on the
other hand, asserts that events are predetermined by the events that immediately precede them, and, if these antecedent events become altered, modified, or changed the result will likewise be different. Insofar as the Will has a place in this viewpoint. Determinism, in its scientific form, asserts that the Will may and does shape events, but this casually efficient]
Will is, itself, to be casually accounted for. According to J. S. Mill, "Materialistic determinism, in the strict and literal sense, that accords no place to the
Will is now largely discredited." (Logic, Ratiocination, and Induction, Book VI. Chap. II.) Necessiatrianism is but another name for Determinism because it is conceived of as holding that every event is determined by those events that have Immediately preceded it.
Says G.H. Lewes, "Necessity simply states that whatever
is is and will vary with varying antecedent conditions."
(Int. Stand. Diet.) Thus interpreted it Is
but another name for Determinism.]
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bu.edu/oai:open.bu.edu:2144/44370 |
| Date | January 1920 |
| Creators | Williams, Thomas Alfred |
| Publisher | Boston University |
| Source Sets | Boston University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
| Rights | No known copyright restrictions, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NKC/1.0/ |
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