Homer and Philosophy

In the podcast, Harvard philosophy Professor Sean Kelly discusses an interesting aspect of the Odyssey in our everyday lives. Homer wrote an epic tale of fate. Odysseus wasn't in much control during his entire journey home. For example, Athena is the one who helps Odysseus up the rocks; he didn't help himself. This is one of the recurring themes of the Odyssey. The gods will our lives. Our decisions are not our own. Kelly argues, that this could be implemented in our everyday lives. We live in a society where the majority of accountability lies within ourselves. You can't kill someone and say "Jesus told me to". He goes on to say that this  influence can be a good thing, or it can be a bad thing. Boiling it down, he's saying that stuff can be out of our control. It's okay to accept that. Having said that, he also makes it clear that we mustn't just everything on a whim. If you find yourself in a position to blend your hand, have enough sense to not do it. Let yourself be controlled by something else, we can't be entirely accountable all the time.

Fate is one of my favorite topics of thought. To me, it's an undeniable truth that most (if not all of our lives) have already been planned. The kicker? That's after removing the whole religious aspect to my ideas of fate. Kelly nailed it. In any environment, there exists an infinite number of variables that control our life.We have no way of knowing exactly what will happen to us next. Not entirely so at least. There universe we live in has the exact same amount of matter as it did when it was first created. That means everything's just reacting right now. Light a match on fire and we know it'll burn out. I believe life is a sort of match. Because it's been lit, it's path has already been set by the variables involved. Kelly was right when he said that fate can take away from our accomplishments because it feels as if they aren't ours. I can also take solace in knowing that my life has been planned. I have no way of knowing what that plan is, but it exists. Cutting my toe on a staple in the carpet may suck, but it could somehow lead to a positive chain of events.