Oedipus the King and Fate
D.T. Suzuki, a renowned expert on Zen Buddhism, called attention to the
topic of free will in one of his lectures by stating that it was the battle of
"God versus Man, Man versus God, God versus Nature, Nature versus God, Man
versus Nature, Nature versus Man1." These six battles constitute an ultimately
greater battle: the battle of free will versus determinism. Free will is that
ability for a human being to make decisions as to what life he or she would like
to lead and have the freedom to live according to their own means and thus
choose their own destiny; determinism is the circumstance of a higher being
ordaining a man's life from the day he was born until the day he dies. Free
will is in itself a far-reaching ideal that exemplifies the essence of what
mankind could be when he determines his own fate. But with determinism, a man
has a predetermined destiny and fate that absolutely cannot be altered by the
man himself. Yet, it has been the desire of man to avoid the perils that his
fate ho lds andthus he unceasingly attempts to thwart fate and the will of the
divine.. Within the principle of determinism, this outright contention to divine
mandate is blasphemous and considered sin. This ideal itself, and the whole
concept of determinism, is quite common in the workings of Greek and Classical
literature. A manifest example of this was the infamous Oedipus of The Theban
Plays, a man who tried to defy fate, and therefore sinned.
The logic of Oedipus' transgression is actually quite obvious, and
Oedipus' father, King Laius, also has an analogous methodology and transgression.
They both had unfortunate destinies: Laius was destined to be killed by his own
son, and Oedipus was destined to kill his father and marry his mother. This was
the ominous decree from the divinatory Oracle at Delphi. King Laius feared the
Oracle's proclamation and had his son, the one and only Oedipus, abandoned on a
mountain with iron spikes as nails so that he would remain there to eventually
die. And yet, his attempt to obstruct fate was a failure, for a kindly shepherd
However, whereas Caterpillar and John Deere manufacture machinery that are substitutes for each other, the success of complementary products are also crucial. Whereas Caterpillar is a company that is based on construction equipment, John Deere is first and foremost an agricultural company. More specifically, a corn-driven company. This is never more evident than when looking at 2015. The 16% drop in stock price in 2015 coincided with a very poor corn harvest, but things are looking up. The USDA recently forecasted a record-high in corn-production, along with soybean production. Corn production is expected to increase by 11% in 2016 compared to 2015, which will greatly help with John Deere equipment sales. In addition, corn prices are finally expected to begin to recover in the next three years (Clark, 2015), which provides yet another positive factor for the growth in sales of John
The question has been raised as to whether Oedipus was a victim of fate or of his own actions. This essay will show that Oedipus was a victim of fate, but he was no puppet because he freely and actively sought his doom, although he was warned many times of the inevitable repercussions of his actions.
In the book “The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money” from 1936 John Maynard Keynes says that capitalism was unstable and would rarely provide full employment. the government would need to spend giant amounts of money on public works, which would create new jobs, expand demand, and rebuild consumer confidence. He also says ...
A question that has existed in the minds of many since the beginning of time is whether life is determined by fate or free will. Most people have an opinion often based on their religious beliefs. Marcello Gleiser writes on the subject, “The question of free will is essentially a question of agency, of who is in charge as we go through our lives making all sorts of choices” (Gleiser). Many have looked to Oedipus: The King as a representation of fate vs. free will. Oedipus’ childhood is one in which an impossible number of things have to fall into place for it not to be fate. King Laius’ mysterious murder leads Oedipus to do some investigating, and in doing so, he uncovers something that will change his life forever. There is no way that free
There are many kinds of motivation techniques that one can use when motivating salary and to a lesser extent hourly employees. Factors such as strong communication, added responsibility, achievement, recognition and advancement are all factors that can motivate employees. Due to the union environment it is difficult to motivate hourly employees but what always works well is providing recognition. Sometimes that is done by just thanking employees for doing an outstanding job or giving them gift certificates to a store or restaurant for a job well done. Just spending time with each employee occasionally, keeping in mind the things that go on in their lives and listening to them goes a very long way towards keeping hourly workers motivated. Over the years I have sat down with many employees and listened to their issues at home with their families and sometimes major issues they are having with their children. This time has often led to employees being more dedicated to my objectives as well as the organization's objectives.
John Maynard Keynes classical approach to economics and the business cycle has dominated society, especially the United States. His idea was that government intervention was necessary in a properly functioning economy. One economic author, John Edward King, claimed of the theory that:
...sez-faire" and relied heavy on market forces to achieve necessary economic corrections. But market forces alone are not always able to achieve the desired recovery in the economy. Whether in the form of taxation, industrial regulation, public works, social insurance, social welfare services, or deficit spending the government must assume a principal role in ensuring economic stability. New theories and ideas came out of the depression like Keynesian theory. Which states that recessions and depressions happen because people hoard their money and to fix this the government should do the opposite and spend money(5).
If prophecy were to be real, one could expect what is bound to happen in the future. This is true; at least in “Oedipus the King” in which the protagonist, Oedipus calls forth his doom unwillingly. Fate is defined as something that unavoidably befalls a person. The author of “Oedipus the King,” Sophocles, writes a tragic fate that Oedipus was born to experience. Fate is what is meant to happen and cannot be avoided or unchanged. Furthermore, events that lead to other events could be the result for one to meet their fate. In “Oedipus the King,” Sophocles expresses the nature of fate to be determined upon choices made.
In Sophocles ' Oedipus the King, the themes of fate and free will are very strong throughout the play. Only one, however, brought about Oedipus ' downfall and death. Both points could be argued to great effect. In ancient Greece, fate was considered to be a rudimentary part of daily life. Every aspect of life depended and was based upon fate (Nagle 100). It is common belief to assume that mankind does indeed have free will and each individual can decide the outcome of his or her life. Fate and free will both decide the fate of Oedipus the King.
Fate is non-existent as one's future is based upon their own personal decisions. It is believing
The underlying theme in Oedipus Rex is that fate is more powerful than free will. On this strong basis of fate, free will doesn't even exist. This was a popular belief among the ancient Greeks. Fate may be accepted or denied by modern society, but in Oedipus's story, fate proves inevitable. In the play, Oedipus Rex, the characters Oedipus, Iocaste and Laios try to change fate.
So what is stress? According to one of the first researchers to examine the stress Hans Selye, stress is “the non-specific response of the body to any demand for change. Stress can come in a variety of different forms ranging from moderate stress that challenges individuals to accomplish certain tasks to high levels of constant stress leading to chronic diseases” (Wongvibulsin). Center for Disease Control and prevention describes the stress at work as “the harmful physical and emotional responses that occur when the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities, resources, or needs of the worker”.
In fact, Oedipus is doomed to kill his father, marry his mother and finally to be blind. It was his destiny or fate; he has nothing to do with this end or to prevent it. It was his fate which was manipulating him; drive him from Cornith to kill his father and then to Thebes to marry his mother. His destiny made him "his wife's son, his mother husband." By the hands of fate, he turned to be the most hated man in Thebes and "the man whose life is hell for others and for himself."
When Oedipus was born he was taken to an Oracle, this was custom for the rich. The Oracle was to tell his fate. The Oracle said that when Oedipus grows up he will marry his mother and he would also kill his father, "... Why, Loxias declared that I should one day marry my own mother, And with my own hands shed my father's bool. Wherefore Corinth I have kept away far, for long years; and prosperd; none the less it is most sweet to see one's parents' face..."(p36 ln1-6). When his parents herd this they gave Oedipus to a man and he was to get rid of the baby by leaving it in the forest, but an servant of Polybus, the king of Corinth, finds the baby and brings him to the king. The king falls in love with the baby and takes him in as one of his own.
John Maynard Keynes does not believe that an economy can self-adjust, he believes that government intervention is necessary for an economy to recover after a downturn. The policy prescriptions are for the economy to be stimulated through government spending, lower interest rates or a reduction in taxes. Keynes was not very popular when he first proposed his ideas and for some time afterwards his ideas were not accepted. Keynes published a book on how to deal with economic downturns, specifically a depression. One policy prescription that began to make the Keynesian policy popular was government spending. During the Great Depression people were unable to spend the money that was needed for the economy to adjust automatically as believed by classical