641. De Fato by Cicero. October 4, 2010.
This is a fascinating work which makes one realize how minute Cicero could be in following and making an argument. His main purpose is to debunk the common belief that fate determines the course of human life. For him this idea does damage to religion, true religion which is based upon careful and thorough study and understanding of nature.
Cicero is devoted to free will. He realized that certain aspects of our life predetermines that we are here or there for a reason not of our own choosing. But careful study of nature shows that natural laws guide the course of the sun and growth of seeds but human intellect and the direction it goes is a matter of choice.
Reason insists both that certain things are true for all eternity and that these are not involved in a nexus of eternal causes but are free from the necessity of fate.
Do all things take place due to antecedent causes? If so all things take place by fate. Just because one person is born stupid and another smart does not mean that it is foreordained that were take a walk this afternoon. If people's tendencies are due to nature and foreordained causes, our wills and desires are also due to these. If this statement is true, we would have no freedom of will.
What is the point harping on fate when everything can be explained by reference to nature and luck without bringing in fate?
Reason and nature are in Cicero's view supreme.
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