What is The Meaning of Free Will in Life Essay - 1571 Words

Free will is the idea in which individuals can have the power of acting without the constraint of necessity or fate, and this idea of free will served as a prevalent theme in Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five. Vonnegut illustrates the absurdity of no free will in Pilgrim’s world through the book’s nonlinear structure and unorganized plot. The novel is constructed as a series of inconsistent flashbacks and future incidents through the eyes of the protagonist, Billy Pilgrim. Billy Pilgrim is able to time-travel to the past and future, but without any control over his peculiar ability. He can constantly travels through any moment in time without controlling it. Instead of free will existing, the notion of predestination and fate controlled†¦show more content†¦Vonnegut states, â€Å"Billy has gone to sleep a senile widower and awakened on his wedding day. He has walked through a door in 1955, and come out another one in 1941. He has gone back through tha t door to find himself in 1963. He has seen his birth and death many times, he says, and pays random visits to all the events in between† (23). Pilgrim is able to visit and revisit different periods of time constantly without any influence or choice of his doing in the matter. Because Pilgrim is able to see into the past and future, he cultivates unsympathetic feelings and is indifferent, which shows that Pilgrim loses a sense of value of himself. He lacks passion in his life as he does not truly appreciate everything and everyone he has. Having no free will would persuade individuals to hold no motivation or determination in their lives because it would not matter in a fate-controlled world. Moreover, predestination and fate would take the place of free will if it did not exist in the world. Believing that one’s life is already decided for and planned entirely would defeat the purpose of life as people would not be able to experience life due to the choices they make a nd want. Knowing that an individual is destined to follow a particular path in life without any chance to avoid or change it will change the person’s outlook on life. In the novel, Pilgrim married Valencia Merble even though he didn’t love her and thought she was â€Å"as big as aShow MoreRelatedIs Happiness the Purpose of Life?1317 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"We’re not happy and we can’t be happy; we only want happiness.† So, what’s the purpose of life? Is it to be happy? Everyone has that desire, to have happiness. We even base our decision we by how it will affect our happiness. In our life we experience happiness and unhappiness, but we are oblivious as to what happiness is. What comes to mind when thinking of happiness? Is it pleasure, the thought of the good life, prosperity, or is it something else? We won’t be able to have a response to that questionRead MoreExistentialism is largely summed up in the quote â€Å"existence pr ecedes essence.† Life is devoid of1000 Words   |  4 Pagesin the quote â€Å"existence precedes essence.† Life is devoid of inherent meaning aside from the human existence. Put simply, you are put on earth without any idea of what the meaning of your life is, it is up to you to create meaning for your life and each individual may find a different meaning. What are the main arguments against existentialism? Why does the preservation of life matter to us in a world devoid of meaning? In this essay I will summarize what existentialism is and attempt to provide anRead MoreFrankl and Searle: Analysis of the Difficulties of Life871 Words   |  4 Pagesthe Difficulties of Life The meaning of life has been debated by some of the most illustrious minds of the twentieth century. 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