First:
From dictionary.com (my emphasis):
Destiny:
1. The inevitable or necessary fate to which a particular person or thing is destined; one's lot.
2. A predetermined course of events considered as something beyond human power or control: “Marriage and hanging go by destiny” (Robert Burton).
3. The power or agency thought to predetermine events
ok, so, to begin with, anyone who says that we are destined to do what we do yet we can still choose what to do is using the term "destiny" incorrectly. Pure determinism and free will are not compatible. If you are arguing for free will, then you cannot say that we are destined to do what we do.
Second:
Quote:
| SoccerfreakAB2 : "Who determines what everyone's destiny is? Are you a deist now? I mean, I can't prove your assertions wrong, but I can say that it's pointless to make such speculations seeing that we clearly determine our own destiny as free thinking humans; however, you seem to feel that a strange power is controlling us, like your own religion or something"
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Destiny (or determinism) does not require a "who," but only a what. That what is your past, your present physical state, and your present environment. Forces from the past (physical), your present physical state (intelligence, mood, tendency to act a certain way, etc.), and your present physical surroundings (two apples being presented to you, a bank to rob) provide sufficient physical causal powers to make a person act as they do. This is why you don't need a "who." What is also interesting about this is that the "strange power" you felt was required for destiny (and that you were so skeptical about) now becomes this stranger power called the "free will" (Why do you choose to do something? does your choice have a cause? If not, then it is random and not free, so you posit your "fee will" as the cause. What causes your will to "will" as it does? If it has a cause, it is determined, not free. if it does not have a cause then it is random, and still not free.) We can go into that in more depth in another topic if you'd like.
Third:
Quote:
| Isherwood: "What happens on any particular day of our lives just happens. I don't accept a personal destiny. That would imply a superior being that determined the future. "It's my destiny" is a hollow phrase that means nothing."
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Based on what I have said above, destiny does not imply a "superior being." Also, "destiny" is full of meaning (see the definitions). whether or not you apply it to your own life is another matter, and does not really affect the meaningfullness/meaninglessness of this particular term/concept.