How much control do you believe humans have

over their own futures? Are we all simply pawns of some higher power, or can we determine our own destinies?

Discuss.

I do believe in destiny and fate && all that. i believe we do have control over what we say but the higher power [___] can only determine what will happen of that descision. im a deep thinker. i beleve we are all destined for something and only [___] know's what it is. im not a very religous person because i think so deeply i simply question everything so yeah. destiny is one of the only things i feel this strongly about. :)

"We can determine whether or not we make BAD choices, but I believe that we can never control our futures. So many factors will come into play."

^An excellent answer.

The answers could go on forever.

We make choices and choices have consequences, and consequences run on a road that leads to our future. We cannot manipulate or plan it. It is what it is, I believe.

Interesting question. I believe things happen for a reason for good or bad and it sets of a series of events that end up shaping our future. We of course shape those events with our actions and have to live with the consequences or rewards. That is what I believe.

^^ That too I believe in.

You all pose some interesting points. my view is essentially that existentialism is a very valid philosophy. we are in control of the choices we make for the most part and should take responsibility for it. however are we really free? do we really have the freedom to indulge ourselves as we please? of course not. even a multimillionaire who can afford anything in life will have to indulge some of their most base needs in a clandestine manner or risk creating a scandal. we are all slaves of the system.

as far as destiny is concerned, i look it at as more of a road map. it's the way your life most likely will go and in general probably will. however through choice, we can influence the outcome to a certain degree. for example, if you are destined to die early, you can either live a healthy life free of vices and prolong your life as much as possible before dying, or become a chain smoking alcoholic snorting coke all day long and reduce your already short life by another 10 years. we do have some control over our lives, but the grand scheme of things still remain the same i guess.

I don't believe that something controls us, or in fate... because fate basically says you don't have control over what happens to you.

human nature is to be scared of the unknown. the thought of no control or choice is scary, but i believe we are in control to a certain extent. we can make changes in our lives if we wish to, no one can stop anyone from what they want to do. we can change our 'futures' for the better. for the most part, we have the majority control over our lives.

We like to 'think' we have control...

Personally, i can't control a damn thing. Stupid God.. :P

Well, I think we can chose to be bad or good

Whether we are in control or not, we might as well live as if we are.

I believe that we have control over our individual actions, but not over our individual lives. We can do exactly what we want, but who or what is it that really triggers you to do whatever that may be? It isn't down to luck, it is down to other people.

For instance saying 'yes' or 'no' to trying drugs. You have already been influenced by so many people about this moment in your life: school and parents etc saying don't do it, then maybe friends and people urging you to.

We are already born into our lives, and there is absolutely nothing we can do about how our lives have already been shaped out to be.

In reality, I think we have more control over other people's lives than our own. It all comes down to making decisions, because if you didn't have to do that then you would have no 'life'. Left to your own devices, you may say 'yes' to something important in your life. You made that decision on your own, therefore you would ALWAYS have made that decision. Your thought process would have been exactly the same, as there was nothing there to sway you. But imagine instead there was somebody there who said, 'but what about....' that could change your decision entirely.

I know this might not have made sense and I have possibly missed the point entirely, but what I am trying to say is that I think we DO control our futures as a whole, but more so each other's than ourselves. It is a much easier target to help somebody else, than to help ourselves. I'm not saying let go of our lives completely, but our lives are going to happen how they do, whatever we do.

There is nothng you can do about the fact that you are going to influence people throughout your life, so why not manipulate that influence.... in whatever direction you belive best.

I feel free.

I know there are things I cannot do without serious reactions, like prison, being dumped, dying etc..to be extreme.

But it doesn't mean I can't do them, it just means I have made many choices over the years that have conditioned me to choose to be free within the constraints of my beliefs and morals.

Enough to get by >.>

I think we are all full of more power than we can handle. I believe we're all scared of the power we wield. Deep inside of us, we each know what power we truly posses. We each hold the power needed to create our future. We have the power to create more than that, too. Many people have discovered that power, but have used it unwisely (i.e. Hitler, Saddam, etc.). On the other hand there are many who have found the same power and used it for good (i.e. Washington, Lincoln, Ghandi, Martin Luther King Jr., etc.). I think we all hold the same power that they did we simply have to find it and chose what to do with it. Our future is clear. We make what we want with it.