Freedom of Will and Destiny

[Mp II, 19, 1] Freedom of will, in itself nothing else but freedom of thought, is limited in a similar manner as freedom of thought is. Thought can not reach beyond the outermost boundaries of a circle of ideas, a circle of ideas, however, rests upon insights one has gained and can grow with their expansion and can be intensified, without, however, reaching beyond the limitations that are set by the construction of the (individual thinker's) brain. Similarly, up to the same point, freedom of will is capable of development and intensification. A different matter is the capability of practically applying will, of putting it to work; this capability is allotted to us in a fatalistic manner.

In that destiny appears to man through the mirror of his own personality, individual free will and individual destiny are mutual adversaries. We find that those nations that believe in destiny excel in strength and will power, contrary to which women and men who let events take their course on the basis of Christian misconceptions based in the premise that "God has made all things well", allow themselves to be guided by circumstances in a demeaning way. Generally, "submission to God's will" and "humility" are often nothing more than excuses for cowardly fear of boldly facing destiny.

If, however, destiny still appears more powerful than free will, then we must not forget two things, first, that destiny is only an abstract concept, a force without a material basis, that, for the individual, there is only an individual destiny, that destiny is nothing but a chain of events, that man, as soon as he acts, and thereby creates his own events, determines his own destiny, that, in general, events, as they impact upon man, must have, consciously or unconsciously, been caused by man, himself and that they must suit man. However, man's activity does not begin as late as with his birth, but rather already in his embryonic state and, perhaps, who can decide--already in his parents and grandparents. All of you who believe in the immortality of the soul also have to believe in the pre-existence of the soul, you have to also believe in this state of the soul's existence, if you do not want something immortal to develop out of something mortal, if you don't want to have the soul flutter around in the air until it is finally forced into the human body. The Hindu says: destiny is nothing else but the deeds that we have done in a previous state of our existence.

On what basis is one supposed to disprove that one has not already acted consciously since eternity? On the basis of the entirely undeveloped consciousness and awareness of the child? Could we not, rather, say that our actions are always proportionate to our awareness? Emerson, too, says:

Immer ist der Gedanke vereint (always, thought is united)
Mit dem Ding, das als sein Ausdruck erscheint (with the thing that appears as its expression).
In any event, can a sound touch us if there is no appropriate chord in us? Or, to express it differently: Can our brain receive an impression if our brain does not have the receptive capability for it?

Free will is also only an abstract concept and means the capability/ability to act consciously, while, by destiny, we refer to the principle that guides us in our conscious acting. Acting as such always also expresses an activity of the soul, a direction of the will that we, ourselves, do not have to focus on as an object. In our conscious actions, we can, as much as in our unconscious actions, allow ourselves to be guided by impressions, but also as little as in that case. In the event of a very fortunate action, we say: 'I have arranged it like that by accident.' That does not always have to be true, at all. The activity of the soul carries on, and that undiminished, even if we do not focus on it without mental perception.

Likewise, we often believe that, when we close our eyes in bright sunlight, for us, the sun is not shining. Yet, its effect on us, the invigorating force of its light, its mild warmth, do not stop, even if we do not perceive it with our senses.

When we, thus, do not perceive the concept of acting unconsciously as a mere allowing oneself to be guided by prior impressions, then for us, the strict division between destiny and free will vanishes and both concepts merge into the idea of individuality.

The further thins are removed from the inorganic, and the more that education increases, the more distinctly does individuality emerge, the more varied are its qualities. Self-acting, inner force and outer impressions, their developmental levers, what else are they but freedom of will and destiny?

In freedom of will, there lies for the individual the principle of separation, of separation from the whole, of the absolute freedom from limits and boundaries; destiny, in turn, organically reconnects man with the overall development and forces him, b seeking to dominate him, to freely develop his own strength against it; absolute free will without destiny would turn man into God, and the fatalistic principle would turn him into an automaton.

[Mp II, 20, 1] Only a Christian outlook is capable of bringing forth such world weariness, a fatalistic outlook would not be removed from it any farther than it is. It is nothing but despair over one's own strength and power, a pretext of weakness, if one creates one's own destiny with determination. Once we realize that we only have to answer to ourselves, that an allegation of a failed destiny can only be addressed at ourselves, not at some higher power, only then will the basic ideas of Christianity take off their outer garments and move into our bloodstreams. In essence, Christianity is a matter of the hart, only when it has become embodied in us, when it has become the core of our hear and soul, will humans be true Christians. The main teachings of Christianity only convey the basic truths of the human heart; they are symbols, as the highest has to be the symbol of the even higher. Finding one's salvation through faith does not mean anything but the truth that only the heart, not knowledge, can make us happy. that God has become man only points towards the idea that man should not seek his salvation in the infinite, but rather create his heaven on earth; the delusion of a supernatural world has moved human mind into a wrong position towards the earthly world: it was the product of a childhood of nations. The glowing soul of man's youth accepted these ideas with enthusiasm and, forebodingly, reveals the secret that has its roots in the past and in the future, at the same time, that God has become man. Under desperate doubts and struggles, humanity matures into manhood: in itself, it recognizes "the beginning, the center, the end of religion."

Live heartily well!

Your Fritz

SNmA. [Semper Nostra manet Amicitia]
V.G! [Vivat Germania!]

Pforta, April 27, 1862.