Luck

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Luck (disambiguation).

"Good luck" redirects here. For other uses, see Good luck (disambiguation).

A four-leaf clover is often considered to bestow good luck.

The definition of luck (or chance) varies by the philosophical, religious, mystical, and emotional
context of the one interpreting it; according to the classic Noah Webster's dictionary, luck is "a
purposeless, unpredictable and uncontrollable force that shapes events favourably or
unfavourably for an individual, group or cause".[1] Yet the author Max Gunther defines it as
"events that influence one's life and are seeminglybeyond one's control".[2]
When thought of as a factor beyond one's control, without regard to one's will, intention,
or desired result, there are at least two senses that people usually mean when they use the term,
the prescriptive sense and the descriptive sense. In the prescriptive sense, luck is
asupernatural and deterministic concept that there are forces (e.g. gods or spirits) that prescribe
that certain events occur very much the waylaws of physics will prescribe that certain events
occur. It is the prescriptive sense that people mean when they say they "do not believe in luck".
In the descriptive sense, people speak of luck after events that they find to be fortunate or
unfortunate, and maybe improbable.
Therefore, cultural views of luck vary from perceiving luck as a matter of random chance to
attributing to such explanations of faith orsuperstition. For example, the Romans believed in the
embodiment of luck as the goddess Fortuna,[3] whereas the philosopher Daniel Dennett believes
that "luck is mere luck" rather than a property of a person or thing. [4] Carl Jung viewed luck
as synchronicity, which he described as "a meaningful coincidence".
Lucky symbols are popular worldwide and take many forms.
Contents
[hide]

1Etymology and definition

2Interpretations
o

2.1As lack of control

2.2As a fallacy

2.3As an essence

2.4As a self-fulfilling prophecy

3Social aspects
o

3.1Games

3.2Lotteries

3.3Means of resolving issues

3.4Numerology

3.5Science

4In religion and mythology

o

4.1Buddhism

4.2Christianity and Judaism

4.3Hinduism

4.4Islam

5International "good luck" greetings

6Luck in fiction

7See also

8Bibliography

9References

10External links

Etymology and definition[edit]

Look up Luck in
Wiktionary, the free
dictionary.

1927 advertisement for lucky jewellery. "Why Be Unlucky?".

The English noun luck appears comparatively late, during the 1480s, as a loan from Low
German (Dutch or Frisian) luk, a short form ofgelucke (Middle High German gelcke). Compare
to old Slavic word lukyj () - appointed by destiny and old Russian luchaj () -destiny,
fortune. It likely entered English as a gambling term, and the context of gambling remains
detectable in the word's connotations; luck is a way of understanding a personal chance event.
Luck has three aspects[5][6] which make it distinct from chance or probability.[7]

Luck can be good or bad.[8]

Luck can be accident or chance.[9]

Luck applies to a sentient being.

Some examples of luck:

Finding a valuable object or money.

Winning an event despite negative logical assumptions.

You correctly guess an answer in a quiz which you did not know.

Avoiding an accident at the last moment

Being born in a wealthy family

Before the adoption of luck at the end of the Middle Ages, Old English and Middle English
expressed the notion of "good fortune" with the word speed (Middle English spede, Old
English spd); speed besides "good fortune" had the wider meaning of "prosperity, profit,
abundance"; it is not associated with the notion of probability or chance but rather with that of
fate or divine help; a bestower of success can also be called speed, as in "Christ be our speed"
(William Robertson, Phraseologia generalis, 1693).
The notion of probability was expressed by the Latin loanword chance, adopted in Middle English
from the late 13th century, literally describing an outcome as a "falling" (as it were of dice), via
Old French cheance from Late Latin cadentia "falling". Fortuna, the Roman goddess of fate or
luck, was popular as an allegory in medieval times, and even though it was not strictly
reconcilable with Christian theology, it became popular in learned circles of the High Middle Ages
to portray her as a servant of God in distributing success or failure in a characteristically "fickle"
or unpredictable way, thus introducing the notion of chance.

Interpretations[edit]
Luck is interpreted and understood in many different ways.

As lack of control[edit]
Luck refers to that which happens to a person beyond that person's control. This view
incorporates phenomena that are chance happenings, a person's place of birth for example, but
where there is no uncertainty involved, or where the uncertainty is irrelevant. Within this
framework, one can differentiate between three different types of luck:
1. Constitutional luck, that is, luck with factors that cannot be changed. Place of birth and
genetic constitution are typical examples.
2. Circumstantial luckwith factors that are haphazardly brought on. Accidents and
epidemics are typical examples.
3. Ignorance luck, that is, luck with factors one does not know about. Examples can be
identified only in hindsight.

As a fallacy[edit]
Another view holds that "luck is probability taken personally." A rationalist approach to luck
includes the application of the rules of probability and an avoidance of unscientificbeliefs. The
rationalist thinks that the belief in luck is a result of poor reasoning or wishful thinking. To a
rationalist, a believer in luck who asserts that something has influenced his or her luck commits
the "post hoc ergo propter hoc" logical fallacy: that because two events are connected
sequentially, they are connected causally as well. In general:
A happens (luck-attracting event or action) and then B happens;
Therefore, A influenced B.
More contemporary authors writing on the subject believe that the definition of good destiny is:
One who enjoys good health; has the physical and mental capabilities of achieving his goals in
life; has good appearance, and; has happiness in mind and is not prone to accidents. [10]
In the rationalist perspective, probability is only affected by confirmed causal connections.
The gambler's fallacy and inverse gambler's fallacy both explain some reasoning problems in
common beliefs in luck. They involve denying the unpredictability of random events: "I haven't
rolled a seven all week, so I'll definitely roll one tonight".

As an essence[edit]

Maneki-neko withSeven Lucky gods.

There is also a series of spiritual, or supernatural beliefs regarding fortune. These beliefs vary
widely from one to another, but most agree that luck can be influenced through spiritual means
by performing certain rituals or by avoiding certain circumstances.
Luck can also be a belief in an organization of fortunate and unfortunate events. Luck is a form
of superstition which is interpreted differently by different individuals. Carl Jung coined the
term synchronicity, which he described as "a meaningful coincidence".
Abrahamic religions believe God controls future events; belief in luck or fate is criticised in Book
of Isaiah chapter 65, verses 11-12:

What will happen to you for offering food and wine to the gods you call good
luck and fate? Your luck will end.

Belief in the extent of Divine Providence varies; most acknowledge providence as at least a
partial, if not complete influence on luck. Christianity, in its early development, accommodated
many traditional practices which at different times, accepted omens and practiced forms of
ritual sacrifice in order to divine the will of their supreme being or to influence divine favoritism.
The concepts of "Divine Grace" or "Blessing" as they are described by believers closely
resemble what is referred to as "luck" by others.
Mesoamerican religions, such as the Aztecs, Mayans and Incas, had particularly strong beliefs
regarding the relationship between rituals and the gods, which could in a similar sense to
Abrahamic religions be called luck or providence. In these cultures, human sacrifice (both of
willing volunteers and captured enemies), as well as self-sacrifice by means of bloodletting, could
possibly be seen as a way to propitiate the gods and earn favor for the city offering the sacrifice.
An alternative interpretation[11] would be that the sacrificial blood was considered as a necessary
element for the gods to maintain the proper working order of the universe, in the same way that
oil would be applied to an automobile to keep it working as designed.
Many traditional African practices, such as voodoo and hoodoo, have a strong belief in
superstition. Some of these religions include a belief that third parties can influence an
individual's luck. Shamans and witches are both respected and feared, based on their ability to
cause good or bad fortune for those in villages near them.

As a self-fulfilling prophecy[edit]
Some encourage the belief in luck as a false idea, but which may produce positive thinking, and
alter one's responses for the better. Others, like Jean-Paul Sartre and Sigmund Freud, feel a
belief in luck has more to do with a locus of control for events in one's life, and the subsequent
escape from personal responsibility. According to this theory, one who ascribes their travails to
"bad luck" will be found upon close examination to be living risky lifestyles. In personality
psychology, people reliably differ from each other depending on four key aspects: beliefs in luck,
rejection of luck, being lucky, and being unlucky.[12] People who believe in good luck are more
optimistic, more satisfied with their lives, and have better moods.[12] If "good" and "bad" events
occur at random to everyone, believers in good luck will experience a net gain in their fortunes,
and vice versa for believers in bad luck. This is clearly likely to be self-reinforcing. Thus, a belief
in good luck may actually be an adaptive meme.

Social aspects[edit]

Wheel of fortune as depicted in Sebastian Brant`s book, author Albrecht Drer

Luck is an important factor in many aspects of society.

Games[edit]
A game may depend on luck rather than skill or effort. For example, chess does not involve any
random factors such as throwing dice, whiledominoes has the "luck of the draw" when selecting
tiles. In poker, especially games with a communal board, pure luck may decide a winning hand.
Luck in games involving chance is defined as the change in a player's equity after a random
event such as a die roll or card draw.[13] Luck is positive (good luck) if the player's position is
improved and negative (bad luck) if it is worsened. A poker player who is doing well (playing
successfully, winning) is said to be "running good". [14] There is, currently, no academic research
as to explain how some profitable players who ascribe their profitability to a mix of probability and
chance understand luck in the game.
In baseball, it is unusual for the best team in the league to win the World Series.[citation needed] Experts
from statisticians to oddsmakers say chance plays an unusually big part in the game, partly

because play is spread out over such a large area.[citation needed] The game's complexity is also
relevant: The scoring value of a base hit, for instance, depends largely on factors outside the
hitter's controlnamely the ability of the previous batters to get on base.

Lotteries[edit]
Many countries have a national lottery. Individual views of the chance of winning, and what it
might mean to win, are largely expressed by statements about luck. For example, the winner was
"just lucky" meaning they contributed no skill or effort.

Means of resolving issues[edit]

"Leaving it to chance" is a way of resolving issues. For example, flipping a coin at the start of
a sporting event may determine who goes first.

Numerology[edit]
Main article: Numerology
Most cultures consider some numbers to be lucky or unlucky. This is found to be particularly
strong in Asian cultures, where the obtaining of "lucky" telephone numbers, automobile license
plate numbers, and household addresses are actively sought, sometimes at
great monetary expense. Numerology, as it relates to luck, is closer to an art than to a science,
yet numerologists, astrologists or psychics may disagree. It is interrelated to astrology, and to
some degree to parapsychology and spirituality and is based on converting virtually anything
material into a pure number, using that number in an attempt to detect something meaningful
about reality, and trying to predict or calculate the future based on lucky numbers. Numerology
is folkloric by nature and started when humans first learned to count. Through human history it
was, and still is, practiced by many cultures of the world from traditional fortune-telling to online psychic reading.
See: Triskaidekaphobia.

Science[edit]
Different thinkers like Thomas Kuhn have discussed the role of chance in scientific
discoveries. Richard Wiseman did a ten-year scientific study into the nature of luck that has
revealed that, to a large extent, people make their own good and bad fortune. His research
revealed that "Lucky people generate their own good fortune via four basic principles. They are
skilled at creating and noticing chance opportunities, making lucky decisions by listening to their
intuition, creating self-fulfilling prophecies via positive expectations, and adopting a resilient
attitude that transforms bad luck into good."[15] Researchers have suggested that good luck and
good mood often co-occur (Duong & Ohtsuka, 2000) [16] and that lucky people are happy and
optimistic whereas unlucky people feel anxious and depressed (Day & Maltby, 2003; Wiseman,
2003).[15][17]
Although previous studies have explored the antecedences and consequences of luck using
attribution theory (e. g., Fischoff, 1976; Weiner et al., 1987),[18][19] personality variables (Darke &
Freedman, 1997a;b),[20] and more recently a cognitive priming approach (DeMarree et al., 2005;

Kramer & Block, 2008) research on the underlying mechanism of how luck influences consumer
judgment and behavior has been noticeably absent in the extant literature. Moreover, in much of
this previous work, luck is manipulated in a way that is very likely to elicit positive affect as well.
Thus, it is difficult to articulate whether the observed effects of luck are due to chronic beliefs
about luck, temporary changes in how lucky people feel, or because of changes caused by the
positive affect that is experienced. Their research showed that priming participants subliminally
with luck-related stimuli made them feel luckier and happier. It was also found that the effects of
priming luck using subliminal messages increased participants' estimates of the likelihood of
favorable events, their participation in lotteries, the amount of money they invested in relatively
risky financial options and these effects appeared to be mediated by temporary changes in
perceptions of luck rather than by affect).[21][22]

In religion and mythology[edit]

Buddhism[edit]
Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, taught his followers not to believe in luck. He taught
that all things which happen must have a cause, either material or spiritual, and do not occur due
to luck, chance or fate. The idea of moral causality, karma (Pali: kamma), is central in Buddhism.
In the Sutta Nipata, the Buddha is recorded as having said the following about selling luck:
Whereas some religious men, while living of food provided by the faithful make their living by
such low arts, such wrong means of livelihood as palmistry, divining by signs, interpreting dreams
... bringing good or bad luck ... invoking the goodness of luck ... picking the lucky site for a
building, the monk Gautama refrains from such low arts, such wrong means of livelihood. D.I, 9
12[23]
However, belief in luck is prevalent in many predominantly Buddhist countries. In Thailand,
Buddhists may wear verses (takrut) or lucky amulets which have been blessed by monks for
protection against harm.[24]

Christianity and Judaism[edit]

Proverbs 16:33 states "the lot is cast into the lap, but the whole disposing thereof is of the
Lord". Ecclesiastes 9:11 states: "chance happeneth to them all".

Hinduism[edit]

A Rangoli design.

In Hinduism it is said that by proper worship, with a meticulous prayer procedure (Sanskrit: Shri
Lakshmi Sahasranam Pujan Vidhi) the blessings of Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of money and
fortune, may be obtained. Lakshmi Parayan (prayer) is performed in most Hindu homes on the
day of Diwali, the festival of lights. At that time also Rangoli are drawn, decorative designs on
floors of living rooms and courtyards during Hindu festivals that are meant as a sacred
welcoming area for the luck.

Islam[edit]
There is no concept of luck in Islam other than actions determined by Allah based on the merit of
the choice made by human beings. It is stated in the Qur'an (Sura: Adh-Dhariyat (The Wind that
Scatter) verse:22) that one's sustenance is pre-determined in heaven when the Lord says: "And
in the heaven is your provision and that which ye are promised." However, one should supplicate
towards Allah to better one's life rather than hold faith in un-Islamic acts such as using "lucky
charms". However, in Arabic language there is a word which directly means "luck", which
is h a , and a related word for "lucky", mah . It is also forbidden to believe in luck or
anything else related to luck, as it is classified as shirk (associating partners of Allah or giving any
share of any attribution which belongs to Allah and Allah alone).
The Tunisians retain some native beliefs of Berber origin such as the evil eye.[25] A number of
practices, such as shutters painted blue are also used to repel evil spirits. [26]

International "good luck" greetings[edit]

Arabic: !

Bengali: !

Chinese:

Dutch: Veel geluk!

English: Good luck![27]

German: Viel Glck!

Greek: !

French: Bonne chance!

Italian: Buona Fortuna!

Japanese:

Korean: !

Polish: szcz Boe[28]

Portuguese: Boa sorte!

Romanian: Noroc bun

Russian: ! (Stschastliwo!)

Spanish: Buena suerte!

Swedish: Lycka till!

Turkish: yi anslar!

Vietnamese: Chc may mn!

Luck in fiction[edit]

Donald Duck's cousin Gladstone Gander, created by Carl Barks in 1948, is known for his
extreme good fortune that causes him to be given anything he wants without any effort.
There have been different versions how he got so lucky, Carl Barks tells in his story Luck of
the North that Gladstone was born under a lucky star, while Don Rosa tells that he inherited
his luck from his mother, who got it from a distelfink symbol when she was born. In many
Italian comics Gladstone is extremely lucky because the goddessFortuna is in love with him.

In Larry Niven's novel Ringworld, the character Teela Brown was the incredibly lucky
result of a centuries-long breeding program initiated by the alien Pierson's
Puppeteersdirected to just such an outcome. The consequence of her state was that she had
led such a charmed and worry-free life that she was emotionally immature and unprepared
for "harsh reality."

The premise of the 2001 Spanish thriller film Intacto is that luck can be amassed and
transferred as any other commodity and fortune flows from those who have less to those
who have more.

In J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry drinks a potion
called Felix Felicis, also known as 'Liquid Luck'. It makes the drinker lucky for a period of
time, during which everything they attempt will have an extremely good chance of being
successful.

While the video game Fallout: New Vegas depicts Luck as a statistic (one of seven that
define characters), one character offers an implant called a Probability Calculator. Its effect is
similar to that described in Science above, allowing its recipient to understand probabilities
better. Notably, one of the major non-player characters, Robert House, has a perfect luck
score, and in-story had done everything from calculating the date of a nuclear war (being off
by mere hours) and taking control of a 'vault' fallout shelter in a game of chance.

See also[edit]

Serendipity

Self-fulfilling prophecy

Randomness

Probability

List of lucky symbols

List of unlucky symbols

Jinx

Bibliography[edit]

Gunther, Max. "The Lucky Factor" Harriman House Ltd 1977. ISBN 9781906659950

Mlodinow, Leonard. "The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives" Penguin
Group, 2008. ISBN 0375424040

Mauboussin, Michael. "The Success Equation: Untangling Skill and Luck in Business,
Sports, and Investing." Harvard Business Review Press, 2012 ISBN 9781422184233

Taleb, Nassim N. "Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the
Markets" Random House 2001 ISBN 0812975219

References[edit]
1.

Jump up^ Gunther, 1977. View on Google Books.

2.

Jump up^ Ibidem, Gunther, 1977.

3.

Jump up^ "Fortuna". The Obscure Goddess Online Directory. Retrieved 2011-05-13.

4.

Jump up^ Elbow Room by Daniel Clement Dennett, p. 92. "We know it would be
superstitious to believe that "there actually is such a thing as luck" - something a rabbits' foot
might bring - but we nevertheless think there is an unsuperstitious and unmisleading way of
characterizing events and properties as merely lucky."

5.

Jump up^ Luck: the brilliant randomness of everyday life p. 32. "Luck accordingly
involves three things: (1) a beneficiary or maleficiary, (2) a development that is benign (positive) or
malign (negative) from the stand point of the interests of the affected individual, and that,
moreover, (3) is fortuitous (unexpected, chancy, unforeseeable.)"

6.

Jump up^ CHANCE News 4.15 ...the definition in the Oxford English dictionary: "the
fortuitous happening of an event favorable or unfavorable to the interest of a person"

7.

Jump up^ Luck: the brilliant randomness of everyday life p. 28. "Luck is a matter of
having something good or bad happen that lies outside the horizon of effective foreseeability."

8.

Jump up^ Luck: the brilliant randomness of everyday life p. 32. "Luck thus always
incorporates a normative element of good or bad: someone must be affected positively or
negatively by an event before its realization can properly be called lucky."

9.

Jump up^ Luck: the brilliant randomness of everyday life p. 32. ..."that as a far as the
affected person is concerned, the outcome came about "by accident." "

10.

Jump up^ Sumit Kumar Sirkar, Pothi (2010). "How to be Lucky and Successful in Life".
Pothi.com. p. 5. Retrieved 2012-10-04.

11.

Jump up^ Burland, C. A (1985). The Atecs: gods and fate in ancient Mexico.
London: Orbis Publishing.

12.

^ Jump up to:a b Maltby, J., Day, L., Gill, P., Colley, A., Wood, A.M. (2008). Beliefs around
luck: Confirming the empirical conceptualization of beliefs around luck and the development of the
Darke and Freedman beliefs around luck scale Personality and Individual Differences, 45, 655
660.

13.
14.

Jump up^ Zare, Douglas. "A Measure of Luck". Retrieved 12 June 2013.
Jump up^ Miller, Ed (Nov 27, 2009). "The Pitfalls of Running Good". CardPlayer.com.
Retrieved 11 April 2014. Ive always thought that one of the worst things that can happen to new
poker players is for them to run really good right out of the gate. If they rack up a number of big
wins early on, a couple of bad things can happen.

15.

^ Jump up to:a b Wiseman, R. (2003). The luck factor. London, UK: Random House.

16.

Jump up^ Duong, T.,&Ohtsuka,K. (2000). TheVietnamese-language SouthOaksGambling

Screen for the Australian context. In J. McMillen, & L. Laker (Eds.), Developing strategic alliances:
Proceedings of the 9th National Association for Gambling Studies Conference, Gold Coast,
Queensland 1999 (pp. 161171). Kew, Australia: The National Association for Gambling Studies.

17.

Jump up^ Wiseman, R., & Watt, C. (2004). Measuring superstitious belief: Why lucky
charms matter. Personality and Individual Differences, 37, 15331541.

18.

Jump up^ Fischoff, B. (1976). Attribution theory and judgment under uncertainty. In J. H.
Harvey, W. J. Ickes, & R. F. Kidd (Eds.), New directions in attribution research (Vol. 1, 421452).
Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

19.

Jump up^ Weiner, B., Frieze, I., Kukla, A., Reed, L., Rest, S., & Rosenbaum, R. M.
(1987). Perceiving the causes of success and failure. In Edward E. Jones,David E. Kanouse,
Harold H. Kelley, Richard E. Nisbett, Stuart Valins, & Bernard Weiner (Eds.), Attribution:
Perceiving the causes of behaviors pp. 95120. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

20.

Jump up^ Darke, P. R., & Freedman, J. L. (1997a). The belief in good luck scale. Journal
of Research in Personality, 2, 486511.

21.

Jump up^ DeMarree, K. G., Wheeler, S. C., & Petty, R. E. (2005). Priming a new identity:
Self-monitoringmoderates the effects of nonself primes on self-judgments and behavior. Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 89(5), 657671.

22.

Jump up^ Kramer, T., & Block, L. (2008). Conscious and non-conscious components of
superstitious beliefs in judgment and decision making. Journal of Consumer Research, 34(6),
783793.

23.

Jump up^ "A Basic Buddhism Guide: Good Luck and Fate". Buddhanet.net.
Retrieved 2011-05-13.

24.

Jump up^ Thai Amulets (2007-02-09). "Thai Amulets". Thailand Life. Retrieved 2011-0513.

25.

Jump up^ "La Tunisie de A Z, Khomsa". Saisons tunisiennes. Retrieved September

10, 2009.

26.

Jump up^ Pags, Jean-Louis (2005). Tunisie-Plus (in French). Limoges: d. Solilang.
p. 33.

27.

Jump up^ http://dict.leo.org/forum/viewGeneraldiscussion.php?

idThread=3431&idForum=4&lp=ende&lang=de

28.

External links[edit]

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calapha odorata

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tune cookie

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Jump up^ http://dict.leo.org/forum/viewGeneraldiscussion.php?

idThread=299404&idForum=4&lp=frde&lang=en

"Luck". Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

[hide]

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Destiny or fate is a predetermined course of events.[1][2] It may be conceived as a predetermined

future, whether in general or of an individual.
Contents
[hide]

1Fate

2Fortune

3Philosophy

4Religion

5Literature

6Further reading

7See also

8Notes

9References

Fate[edit]

Fate, by Alphonse Mucha

Although often used interchangeably, the words "fate" and "destiny" have distinct connotations.

Traditional usage defines fate as a power or agency that predetermines and orders the
course of events. Fate defines events as ordered or "inevitable" and unavoidable. It is a
concept based on the belief that there is a fixed natural order to the universe, and in some
conceptions, the cosmos. Classical and European mythology feature personified "fate
spinners," known as the Moirai in Greek mythology,[3] the Parcae in Roman mythology, and
the Norns in Norse mythology. They determine the events of the world through themystic
spinning of threads that represent individual human fates. Fate is often conceived as being
divinely inspired.[citation needed]

Destiny is used with regard to the finality of events as they have worked themselves out;
and to that same sense of "destination", projected into the future to become the flow of
events as they will work themselves out.[citation needed]

Fatalism refers to the belief that events fixed by fate are unchangeable by any type of
human agency. In other words, humans can have no effects upon their own fates or upon the
fates of others.[1]

Fortune[edit]
Fortune differs terminologically from destiny and fate in that it has more to do with specific
occurrences and outcomes, whereas destiny ultimately revolves around death rather than the
events of ones life. In Hellenistic civilization, the chaotic and unforeseeable turns of chance gave
increasing prominence to a previously less notable goddess, Tyche(literally "Luck"), who
embodied the good fortune of a city and all whose lives depended on its security and prosperity,
two good qualities of life that appeared to be out of human reach. The Roman image of Fortuna,
with the wheel she blindly turned, was retained by Christian writers, revived strongly in the
Renaissance and survives in some forms today.[4]

Philosophy[edit]
Philosophy on the concepts of destiny and fate has existed since the Hellenistic period with
groups such as the Stoics and the Epicureans.
The Stoics believed that human decisions and actions ultimately went according to a divine plan
devised by a god. They claimed that although humans theoretically have free will, their souls and
the circumstances under which they live are all a part of the universal network of fate.
The Epicureans challenged the Stoic beliefs, denying the existence of this divine fate. They
believed that mens actions were voluntary so long as they were rational. [5]
In daily language, "destiny" and "fate" are synonymous, but with regard to 19th century
philosophy, the words gained inherently different meanings.
For Arthur Schopenhauer, destiny was just a manifestation of the Will to Live, which can be at
the same time living fate and choice of overrunning the fate same, by means of theArt, of
the Morality and of the Ascesis.
For Nietzsche, destiny keeps the form of Amor fati (Love of Fate) through the important element
of Nietzsche's philosophy, the "will to power" (der Wille ur Macht), the basis of human behavior,
influenced by the Will to Live of Schopenhauer. But this concept may have even other senses,
although he, in various places, saw the will to power as a strong element for adaptation or
survival in a better way.[6] Nietzsche eventually transformed the idea of matter as centers of force
into matter as centers of will to power as mankinds destiny to face with amor fati. The
expression Amor fati is used repeatedly by Nietzsche as acceptation-choice of the fate, but in
such way it becomes even another thing, precisely a "choice" destiny.
Determinism is a philosophical concept often confused with fate, it can be defined as the notion
that all intents/actions are causally determined by the culminations of an agents existing
circumstances; simply put, everything that happens is determined by things that have already
happened.[7] Determinism differs from fate in that it is never conceived as being a spiritual,
religious, nor astrological notion; fate is typically thought of as being "given" or "decreed" while
determinism is "caused." Influential philosophers like Robert Kane (philosopher), Thomas
Nagel, Roderick Chisholm, and A.J. Ayer have written about this notion.

Religion[edit]
The idea of a god controlled destiny plays an important role in numerous religions.

Followers of Ancient Greek religion regarded not only the Moirai but also the gods,
particularly Zeus, as responsible for destiny.

Those who followed Gnosticism believed in fate as something strict and unchangeable,
resulting in salvation only for the chosen ones.

Followers of Christianity consider God to be the only force with control over ones fate,
meaning that he is responsible for fortune and good as well as evil and misfortune. Many
believe that humans all have free will, which is contrasted with predestination, although
naturally inclined to act according to Gods desire. [5]

In Islam, fate or qadar is the decree of Allah.

Literature[edit]
Historically and globally, fate has played a large role in several literary works. In ancient Greece,
many legends and tales teach the futility of trying to outmaneuver an inexorable fate that has
been correctly predicted. This portrayal of fate is important is present in works such as Oedipus
Rex (427 BCE),[8] the Iliad, the Odyssey (800 BCE), and Theogony.Many ancient Chinese works
have also portrayed the concept of fate, most notably the Liei, Mengi, and
the Zhuangi. Similarly, and in Italy, the Spanish Duque de Rivas' play that Verdi transformed
into La Fora del Destino ("The Force of Destiny") includes notions of fate. In England, fate has
played a notable literary role in Shakespeare's Macbeth(1606), Thomas Hardy's Tess of the
d'Urbervilles (1891), Samuel Beckett's Endgame (1957), and W.W Jacobs' popular short story
"The Monkey's Paw" (1902). In America,Thornton Wilder's book The Bridge of San Luis
Rey (1927) portrays the conception of fate. In Germany, fate is a recurring theme in the literature
of Hermann Hesse (18771962), including Siddharta (1922) and his magnum opus, Das
Glasperlenspiel, also published as The Glass Bead Game (1943). The common theme of these
works involves a protagonist who cannot escape a destiny if their fate has been sealed, however
hard they try.