Oedipus
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 ...
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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
happened to come upon the young Oedipus and released him from the grips of death.
The shepherd then gave the ...
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cause for he was guilty of both patricide and incest. When that realization
is manifested, the utter shock and disgust of the horrific situation causes the
tormented and disillusioned Oedipus to blind himself of a self-inflicted wound2.
According to some scholars, this was the retribution he paid for his crime, but
others would argue that Oedipus had no choice in the matter and simply had
fulfilled his destiny. The latter argument seems to be more convincing because
Oedipus does not consciously know of what he was doing at the time, and thus,
his crime was not entirely premeditated. And one cannot condemn ignorance no
more than one can realistically condemn good intentions, for ...
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Oedipus. (2007, January 9). Retrieved December 23, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Oedipus/58437
"Oedipus." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 9 Jan. 2007. Web. 23 Dec. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Oedipus/58437>
"Oedipus." Essayworld.com. January 9, 2007. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Oedipus/58437.
"Oedipus." Essayworld.com. January 9, 2007. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Oedipus/58437.
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