Destiny, Fate and Free

Destiny, Fate and Free Will Essay Really an entity such as destiny or fate that exists? Does each and â€Å"everyone† of us have a destiny, â€Å" A set of predetermined events within our lives that we take an active course in shaping† Or a fate, â€Å"The preordained course of your life that will occur because of or in spite of your actions,† and as you/one would expect, the obvious existence of our own free will, â€Å"The power of acting without the constraint of necessity or fate; the ability to act at one’s own discretion. † Here, in a conversation between Forrest Gump and his Momma, we get an authentic and ordinary question about destiny and fate that most of us in all likelihood would ask. Not only in the question, â€Å"What’s my destiny,† but also in the statement, â€Å"Death is just a part of life,† it illustrates that the two are connected with each other. The choices you make are your destiny, and will ultimately lead you through the path to meet your death, (fate). As Forrest stands there looking down, wondering how sick his Momma is. He queries. â€Å"Why are you dying momma? † She looks up at him, and with a great expression of love. She expresses. â€Å" It’s my time. It’s just my time. Oh now, don’t you be afraid, sweetheart. Death is just a part of life. It’s 2 something we’re all destined to do. I didn’t know it, but I was destined to be your momma. I did the best I could. † As he responds with an acceptable assertion. â€Å" You did good, Momma. † â€Å" Well, I happened to believe you make your own destiny. † â€Å" What’s my destiny, Momma? † â€Å" Life is like a box of chocolates, Forrest. You never know what your going to get. † (Winston Groom) Destiny is more complex to come by than fate, because it involves the inner working’s of ones psyche. We advance on the road to our destiny when we tread the path of individuation. Destiny can involve choices that make no sense; risks that we’d rather not take; challenges that make us want to squirrel away under a rock; and certain moments in time that push us past our limits. Just as in the comment that Momma say’s to Forrest, â€Å"Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what your going to get,† Is a good paradigm of the choices that we must all make. As we delve into the conversation between Forrest and his Momma. We begin to understand that the choices we make are part of our destiny which leads us to our fate’s end. Most of us believe in a higher power greater than ourselves; that something else is in control of our lives, and as we explore into the undeniable emergence of our fate. â€Å"The inescapable destiny of man. † We are compelled to go back millennia, to the times of mythological gods, and look at the Moirai. The Moirai were the three mythological goddesses of fate, They directed the symbolic thread of life of every mortal from birth to death. Clotho, â€Å"The spinner† spun the thread of life from her distaff onto her spindle. Lachesis, â€Å"The allotter† or drawer of lots, measured the thread 3 of life allotted to each person with her measuring rod. Atropos, â€Å"The inevitable† was the cutter of the thread of life. She chose the manner of each persons death; and when their time was come, she cut their life-thread with, Her abhorred shears. † The Moirai were autonomous, even though they had command of one’s fate appointed to them by the perpetual laws. They were responsible for making sure that fate would take it’s sequence in life without hindrance. They did not abruptly interfere in the matters of man, even man himself, in his freedom was allowed to exercise a certain amount of influence in his fate by the choices he makes. As a man’s fate end’s with his death, the goddesses of fate essentially become the goddesses of death. â€Å"Each player must accept the cards life deals him or her. But once they are in hand, he or she alone must decide how to play the cards in order to win the game. † (Voltaire) Within this quote made prominent by the prolific writer Voltaire. It conveys to us that this game of life is full of choice’s, and how we make the decision’s of witch path to follow define’s the measurement of our success in the game of life. Just as the Moirai do not interfere with our life, but allow us to make our own choice’s. Even though the two words are used in similar manners, fate and destiny can be distinguished. Paradoxically when the two words are used to mean the same thing, fate often assumes a negative association as is emphasized by the similar words â€Å"fatal,† â€Å"fateful,† and â€Å"fatalism. † Destiny traditionally suggests a more positive conclusion, such as people being more in control of their destinies. As we take in the considerations of destiny and fate; now we must consider the aspect of free will, â€Å"The power of acting without the constraint of necessity or fate; the ability to act at 4 one’s own discretion. † What free will tries to account for, is our introverted belief that we are in control of many of our choices, and thus our destiny-that we are free to think and choose for ourselves. We consciously make choices and decisions that are far more independent than that of nature and nurture than any animals. We have the conscious ability to think of the consequences of our choices, whether good or bad. These are the meaningful differences that lead to the idea of free will. I wear the chain I forged in life. I made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it. (Charles Dickens) In conclusion, fate is predestined. Everyone’s life is fated to it’s termination; to meet his maker; to finally be judged; and even though we cannot conquer fate, we can accept the fact that our future lies within our own selves and not within the hands of fate. We do not let fate decide our future. We have the power to make choices by being the creator and writer of our own destiny. We have the power of free will. The way you wear the chain that you have forged link by link, and yard by yard is completely up to you. Just remember that you girded it of your own free will, and it is you solely that will have to wear it.

Evolution: Fact or Fiction? :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Evolution: Fact or Fiction? One of the greatest questions of all time is: "Where the heck did we come from?" One of the most popular answers to this question is creationism, the idea that everything was created by a higher being. Another idea is evolution, the idea that all living organisms descended from a less complex organism. Up and coming in the last century, evolution possesses a new way of thinking that is being greatly accepted by the scientific community. Despite this fact many people argue that evolution has no facts to support it and there are several reasons why evolution can't happen. Evolution is the gradual change in an organisms gene pool over time, basically evolution is described in any change in the genetic makeup of an organism. The easiest way to show this is by stating examples of low level evolution as it has been observed. The best know case of this kind happened in England during the industrial evolution. There were two varieties of the English Peppered moth before the revolution, a light and a dark colored moth. The dark moth was almost nonexistent, as it was easy for predators to catch on the light colored trees. As the industrial revolution progressed, the amount of pollution in the air turned the trees a soot color, and as a result the light moths were easy for predators to spot. The light colored peppered moth all but died out, and was on the verge of extinction while the dark colored moth was thriving. In the last several decades the pollution in England has dropped and white moth is making a come back, and the dark moth is heading back towards o blivion. (Harter) Â   The moth example is considered by many to demonstrate evolution, but people against the idea of evolution say it isn't. The only thing that it showed was that nature uses natural selection to weed out the weaker of the stocks. The moth case is a clear example of natural selection not evolution because no change in the gene pool of the moth happened. Saying that the peppered moth example doesn't show evolution is preposterous. Natural selection is one of the greatest tools of evolution, as stated by Charles Darwin in his book, Origin of Species. "It may be said that natural selection is daily and hourly scrutinizing, throughout the world, every variation, even the slightest; rejecting that which is bad, preserving and adding up all that is good" wrote Charles Darwin in chapter 4:Natural Selection.

Inglourious Basterds

If you’re a fan for graphic and twisty turn war films, Inglourious Basterds just may be your movie to go to. The film has a unique â€Å"stab you in the back† feel throughout. We experience an alternative ending of World War II as the war ends in a bizarre twist compared to what actually happened. The movie uses black humor. Meaning, we sense a little humor throughout all the tense and serious scenes the characters go through. As for gore, don’t worry, we see a lot of bloody and violent scenes. The film still maintains the features that give it the war film genre so viewers looking for a war movie won’t be disappointed. The film is directed by Quentin Tarantino and features a well developed plot with an interesting cast of characters. The actors themselves are solid and do a good job keeping in character. The movie features the Basterds, a group intent on killing Nazis and only killing them. The dead are scalped while the rare survivors are allowed to escape with a Swastika carved on their foreheads. The leader of the Basterds, Lt. Aldo Raine, has a knack for carving the Swastika and believes he improves his skill after each carving he does. The Basterds receive a special mission that will allow them to assassinate several head officers of the Nazi Socialist Party, including Hitler. The film also follows the life of a Jew, Shosana, who barely escapes from being killed by the Nazis. She is fortunate to get the opportunity to get revenge on the Nazis. Several Nazi head officers, including Hitler, are coming to her cinema to watch the premiere of a Nazi film that will fuel Nazi Germany’s pride. The Basterds and Shosana have the same targets but are unaware of the other. Both are later intertwined within their own troubles and problems. Both end up in the same cinema with the same mission: to kill Hitler and his men. One problem ensues: they are not aware of each other The film is filled with various, colorful characters. First, Brad Pitt (Lt. Aldo) plays a fine leader of the Basterds with his Southern drawl and slick hair. His â€Å"no fear† attitude and witty remarks keeps a slightly less serious tone to the film. Eli Roth plays Donny Donowitz, also known as the â€Å"Bear Jew†. He puts on a quick show by beating the pulp out of Nazi heads with a baseball bat. Christoph Waltz, in my opinion, was the star of the movie despite being the villain. He plays Hans Landa the Jew Hunter and is a mastermind at finding them. Waltz shines as the film’s main villain by acting sweet and ignorant to his victims but later reveals his evil side. Also, the fact that he shows his knowledge for four different languages doesn’t hurt his brilliant side, either. Melanie Laurent (Shosana) plays her role fantastically. In the scenes after her near death experience, she puts on a fake but rather convincingly happy look, but, viewers know she is still hurting inside and her facial expressions tell us successfully. She always wears a smile, but there’s a glint of sadness in her slow movements. Hitler and Goebbels are portrayed as fools that lack leadership and intelligence. They are merely cast for humorous purposes as they are seen as silly buffoons during a meeting that discusses very important war material. The movie is supported by the right type of music. A gloomy, mellow tune fills our ears during a quiet French town scene. During introduction of certain characters, there is slightly humorous electric guitar chord that plays to maintain a metro soundtrack. Then it gets ridiculous as a tune fit for a parade fills the theater during the Nazi movie premiere massacre. The music matches the scenes perfectly at times. Whereas in times of subtle humor, the music may seem ridiculous but adds a nice humorous touch to it. Like many movies, Inglourious Basterds includes parodies and deeper meanings behind the actual storyline. The biggest part is the alternative ending to World War II in a bizarre and unimaginable way. I won’t mention the ending in order to not spoil the movie. Lt.  Aldo’s unusual interest in improving his skill in carving Swastikas on the foreheads of Nazis is oddly humorous in the twist of events he experiences. The movie also tells us a little bit of the brutality of the Nazis hunt for Jews. The Nazis were very diligent in attaining the Aryan race status they have desired by getting rid of Jews, who they see as inferior. The brutal killing of the Jew family in hiding in the first scene of the movie brings tension to the film. The movie also tells us that the war was costly and long of duration by introducing an alternate ending that ends the war sooner and with fewer casualties. Just by hearing a little about the film, we learn that the film features a group of soldiers going deep into enemy territory in order to fulfill a mission that is filled with danger in every corner. Sounds like a typical World War II movie. But, the reason why the Inglourious Basterds appeals to me is simply because it is different from the typical World War II and war movies. In most war movies, the â€Å"good† guys are portrayed as heroic and glorious people. Their goal is to defeat the enemy in order to maintain peace. However, in this film the â€Å"heroes† are rutal killers and show no mercy to their enemies, the Nazis: intent on scalping all of their victims and leaving barely any survivors. The film also mentions the use of deceit in order for the Allies to sneak through Axis officers. One humorous and different scene is when Lt. Raine attempts to sneak into the premiere with his men by pretending to be Italian. They know very little Italian and have poor accents at that. They believed they would be able to sneak past the security officer, Hans Landa, but find out Landa is, in fact, very fluent in Italian. This brings some laughs because viewers didn’t expect Landa to know so many languages (He knows English, French, and German, as well as Italian). During a scene like this, viewers expect to see the heroes to be able to sneak by. When Raine and his men are so close to blow the living life of Hitler and his officers, Landa captures them. The following scene will surprise viewers of the absurdity. From watching a little of Inglourious Basterds, I have realized that I can’t expect anything to happen because a totally aberrant event happens instead. This film goes beyond the ordinary and is a unique addition to the war film genre. Overall, the movie is different and Tarantino does a great job in portraying the war’s villains, Hitler and Goebbels as dumb idiots. The plot is filled with twists and turns and not in a cliched way. Viewers can see each other confused as to whether they should laugh or not at scenes that brings humor with a serious tone. The movie never strays away from the actual plot and Tarantino has brought upon us another great and ingenious film. The film is nowhere near â€Å"inglourious†.

Growth Or ( And ) Csr Essay - 1426 Words

Growth or (and) CSR ..The Caterpillar Story Caterpillar has always been a market seeker since its inception. Within a span of ten years, it expanded its business from the USA to Europe and Australia by supplying machinery for the World War 1. As it entered the construction industry, its influence in the market grew and so did its market share. After reaping the benefits of operating in developed economies, caterpillar started expanding its business to Asia and Africa. Although these markets were heavily dependent on the developed economies for their growth, the gradual rise of the BRICS nations who started acquiring more share in the world trade made them an attractive investment. When the global economic crisis loomed over the world’s most powerful economies, businesses in these countries became nervous and they were to incur huge losses. On the other hand, emerging markets adapted very well to the global economic crisis and proved to be a safe haven for companies. This is where caterpillar’s strategy of constan t market seeking ensured that they were virtually unaffected by the global financial crisis. On the contrary, analysts saw a rise in the value of caterpillar during this period. While economies like Europe and the USA were experiencing depression in 2008, caterpillar reported an all-time record for its sales, revenue and profit per share. Its sales increased by 30 percent outside North America while it could squeeze only 7 percent growth from North America. ThisShow MoreRelatedCsr : An Agenda For Inclusive And Sustained Growth Indicator Essay1711 Words   |  7 PagesCSR: AN AGENDA FOR INCLUSIVE AND SUSTAINED GROWTH INDICATOR RAISWA SAHA DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES SRM UNIVERSITY, SONEPAT, HARYANA ABSTRACT With the expanding globalization and persistent ecological issues, role of CSR has been redefined and aims to broaden the societal context within which it operates. 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