Journal #9

Free Will - The power of making free choices that are unconstrained by external circumstances or by an agency such as fate or divine will.

Determinism - The philosophical doctrine that every event, act, and decision is the inevitable consequence of antecedents, such as genetic and environmental influences, that are independent of the human will.

Free Will vs. Determinism

In Othello, throughout the book there was the argument of free will versus determinism to which one was why the book ended as it did. It is unsure what was the main reason why those events happened the way they did and there are very good arguments augmenting both ways. One argument is that it was all free will. This is a good argument, because just like Iago said many times in the book, Othello did not have to believe that his wife was cheating on him, but he chose too, using his free will. Also another example is that Rodrigo did not have to do everything Iago asked him to such as trying to kill Cassio, but he chose too. Iago often says to Rodrigo that the whole world is based on free will, and everyone has the choice to control their own life and their own destiny. Iago believes in free will and the power of choices.

On the other hand, determinism, or something similar to the idea of cause and effect could have also been the reason that the terrible events occurred in the book. Othello did chose to believe that that his wife was cheating on him, but that was an effect to all the evidence that Iago was showing him. Also, none of this would of had happened if Othello would have had just given Iago the job he wanted, even though he may not of been as well suited for it as Cassio. Or, it also would not have happened if Rodrigo was not as gullible as he is, and would have said no to Iago. Put these flaws that cause the character to become manipulated was not their choice, it was something they where born with that they could not change, this being the cause, and the death and destruction that Iago caused was the effect.Overall, with both of the arguments, there is no clear winner. In my opinion it is a combination of both the idea of free will and determinism that both contributed to the final outcome of the book with three people dying and one going to jail. Others may argue differently, but they will never be able to prove one way or another without any doubt.