Tolkien, Fate And Free Will

Last updated on: September 22, 2021 at 5:39 am by Henry Karlson

Tolkien, Fate And Free Will 2021-09-22T05:39:44-05:00 Henry Karlson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

cocoparisienne: Clock, Fate, Lifetime / pixabay

We are contingent beings; this is why, though we have free will, our will has limits as to what it can and cannot do. There are boundaries to our freedom. Nonetheless, those boundaries, those limits, establish the context in which we act. We need that context if we want our actions to have meaning and value. For what we decide to do, given the options we have, not only will show to others, as well as to ourselves, the kind of character we have, it will help form and establish our character. For what we do becomes a part of who and what we are. This is what our free will is about and why we have been given it. It gives us the opportunity to create and establish for ourselves what we want to be. Of course, we also are given some (but not absolute) ability to influence things outside ourselves, that is, to shape the context for our future actions, for what we do not only changes us, but changes the world outside of ourselves as well. That there are things outside of our control does not mean we have no freedom; limited freedom is still freedom, because it means there remains some element of our actions which result from our own personal choice outside of the bounds of necessity.

Tolkien, speaking through the voice of various sages in his writings, tried to deal the problem of free will, reflecting upon how and why it could be said to be preserved even if it were not absolute:

They would not have denied that (say) a man was (may have been) “fated” to meet an enemy of his at a certain time and place, but they would have denied that he was “fated” then to speak to him in terms of hatred, or to slay him. “Will” at a certain grade must enter into many of the complex motions leading to a meeting of persons; but the Eldar held that only those whose efforts of “will” were “free” which were directed to a fully aware purpose. On a journey a man may turn aside, choosing this or that way – e.g. to avoid a marsh, or a steep hill – but this decision is mostly intuitive or half-conscious (as that of an irrational animal) and has only an immediate object of easing his journey. His setting-out may have been a free decision, to achieve some object, but his actual course was largely under physical direction – and it might have led to/or missed a meeting of importance. [1]

Tolkien’s reflections followed along the lines of many medieval thinkers in the way they dealt with predestination (or fate) and human freedom. He did so creatively, as can be seen in the way he turned fate into a category which reflected all those conditions which lay outside our control, that is, into a category related to objectivity. However, he understood, even in situations where fate seemed to have the most influence on our actions, we still had freedom, because we still have the ability to react to whatever it is we experience, for in that reaction, we find we can and will exercise our will. For example, death is a matter of fate; we shall all die, and that fact lies outside of our control; nonetheless, how we deal with death, both in the way we prepare for it all our lives, but also when it is right upon us, indicates where our freedom lies. Thus, while fate often is seen as being opposed to freedom, Tolkien thought that there was a way in which the two could be said to work together. Even when fate seems to have the upper hand, and there are situations which we are “fated” to experience, or actions which we are “fated” to do, Tolkien thought such fate was not absolute and that there remained some room for us to act and react to that fate. Indeed, there could be some good intended for us which, through our actions, we lose or there could be some evil which we are predicted to suffer, but due to the way we exercise our freedom, we circumvent it.[2] Nonetheless, it is clear that Tolkien was concerned about the way we could miss out on some important event, some great good, by the way we act; that is, if we will to do some sort of evil, we could impede our full potential and therefore lose out on various goods which God intended for us.[3]

This follows the way many medieval Christians understood their relationship to the world at large. Though they knew they had freedom, they also knew that many, if not most, of the conditions of their lives were outside of their control. They also knew that many things could and would influence them, and that they must exercise their will to make sure they stayed in control instead of being dominated by such influences. They did not think all such influences were bad, indeed, many, as Hugh of St. Victor explained, were meant for our benefit, but even then, we would have to engage them properly:

God made three wonders of beneficial influence in creation: herbs, precious stones, and the stars. Some herbs have the power to cool down and warm up, causing a complete change in the condition of the body. And all the stars, the planets in particular, have specific effects through the air on bodies subsisting below them. And when the body is changed, its affinity with the soul inside causes the soul to change as well, receiving joy or sadness or other such affections from outside. But these affections do not rule the human soul to such an extent that our actions follow them rather than our discretion and free will. [4]

The problem that most church officials had with astrology was not the notion that the stars could and would influence people and events, but rather, the notion which developed from that premise, the idea that such influence was absolute, making everything outside of our control. Thus, if we look to ancient Christian writings, we will see many, including many of the most educated and holy among them, reflected upon the stars and their influences, that is, engaged some form of astrology, not because they believed the stars established fate, but rather, because they believed those influences could be overridden if we knew of them and actively worked against them.[5] Those who would try to plot the future, as if it were all absolutely predetermined with nothing that we could do to change it, were those whom the church rejected, but otherwise, the premises behind astrology were often taken seriously, and studied side by side with the rest of the astronomical sciences. It is in doing so, moreover, science was able to advance, showing that many of the supposed influences were not there (or very weak), demonstrating how erroneous it was to try to cast horoscopes in order to predetermine what must come to pass.[6]

Thus, though we have free will, we are influenced by things outside of ourselves, some more directly than others. If we let them, those influences could undermine our will. However, no matter how much we follow after them, how much we let them undermine us and our freedom, we never lose it entirely; we never become pure objects without subjectivity. We remains subjects with a will of our own, and though it has been weakened, thanks to grace, we can exercise it, and make it grow stronger, so that we can regain what we lost. This is why, no matter how much we allow “fate” to influence us and direct us, we still can encounter that “fate” and make something of it for ourselves. Our freedom, our ability to make choices always remains with us. We can sense it in every moment of our existence. Even if and when we feel completely trapped by a situation outside of our control, we still try to do something to change it. We do not give up. We feel there is something which we can do. We could not and would not feel trapped if we did not first know and experience freedom for ourselves, indeed, if we did not yet experience at least some level of that freedom, no matter how miniscule, remained with us. For it is that awareness which allows us to know that our freedom has been impeded; if we did not possess it. This is why Tolkien’s examination of “fate” and its relationship with free will is interesting and important because it shows us one of the ways in which our will will always remain free, for we will always have the freedom to determine for ourselves our reaction to that situation, even if that reaction is internal and not capable of changing the situation in and of itself.

[1] J.R.R. Tolkien, “Fate and Free Will,” in The Nature of Middle Earth. Ed. Carl F. Hostetter (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2021), 229.

[2] Is that not what happened to the people of Nineveh?

[3] For example, if someone were called to religious life, but did not enter it, they would lose out much of the glory which God desired them to obtain through such a life.

[4] Hugh of St. Victor, “Notes on Genesis,” in Interpretation of Scripture: Practice. Trans. Jan van Zweiten. Ed. Frans van Leiere and Franklin T. Harkins (Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols, 2015), 66

[5] Indeed, in the renaissance, this exactly was what Ficino was doing when he engaged astrology: he was trying to create various means by which human freedom could be increased, not diminished, showing that astrology did not have to be indicative of fate but rather of potentialities.

[6] Nonetheless, the interdependent relationship between all things means all things can and will have some sort of influence upon everything else; the question is not about the possibility of such influence, but how much influence is really there, and it would seem, for most things, it is relatively little.

Stay in touch! Like A Little Bit of Nothing on Facebook.
If you liked what you read, please consider sharing it with your friends and family!

Previous Post

September 20, 2021

The Conventional Truth Of Revelation

Next Post

September 23, 2021 The Problem With EWTN Began With Mother Angelica

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Abortion Abraham abuse Aesthetics AI Aliens Ambrose Ancestors and Everything Andrew Angels Animals Anne Anthony Antisemitism apologetics Apophatic Apostle John Aquinas Artificial Intelligence Asanga Ascension Asceticism Assumption Atheism Attachment Augustine Authority Avarice Balthasar Baptism Beauty Biden birthright citizenship Bishops Black History Books Buddhism Bulgakov Byzantine Calendar C.S. Lewis Calcidius Catholic Catholicism Catholicism Celibacy Charity Chastity children Chrismation Christ Christmas Christology Church Climate Change Common Good Communion Confession Confirmation Conscience Constantine conventions conversion councils Covid Creation Cross Dead Death Death Penalty Debate Deception Demagogues Demons Desert Monks Desert Mothers Desire destruction development Dialogue Dignity Dionsyius Dionysius Discipline Diversity Division Doctor Who doctrine dogma Dormition Dualism Easter Easter Series Ecumenical Councils Ecumenism Education Election Empathy Environment Error Eschatology eschaton Eternity Ethics Eucharist Evangelism Eve Evil evolution Faeries Faith Fear femininity Ficino Florence Florensky Folktale Fools Forgiveness Freedom Future gender Gentile Gentiles Glory Gnostic God gods Good Samaritan Goodness Gospel Government Grace Great Fast Guns Hate healing Health Heaven Hell Hellenism Heresy Hierarchy Hildegard Hinduism History Holiness Holy Spirit Holy Week Hope Horror Human rights humanity Humility hypocrisy ICE icon icons Identification Identity Idol II Nicea Immigration incarnation Individualism Informal Reflections Inklings Intention Inter-Religious Interfaith Internet Interpretation Intrinsic evil Irenaeus Islam Israel Jacob Jerome Jesus Jews John Chrysostom John of Damascus John the Baptist Joseph Judaism justice Justification kenosis Kindnesss Kingdom of God Kingdom of Heaven Law Law of Moses Lazarus Leaf by Niggle Lent Lenten Reflection Liberation Theology Lies Life Listen Literature Liturgy locutions Logic Logos Love Marriage Martyrs Mary Mass Maximos The Confessor Meanness Meditation Mercy Middle Path Migrants Mind Miracles Miriam Morals Moses Movies Music Muslims Myths Names Nationalism Native Americans New Year Nicea Nicholas Nothing Novatian Obedience Occam's Razor Ordination Origen Original Sin Orthodox orthopraxis Pagans Palamas Palm Sunday Paradise Paschaltide Paul Peace Pentecost person Peter piety PKD Plato pluralism Plurality Poem Poetry Poiltics Politics Poor Pope Pope Francis Pope Leo XIV Post Office Prayer Pride Pro-life Prodigal Son propaganda Prophecy Prophets Providence Putin Racism Reading Reason Reflection Refugees Relationships Religion Religion Series Religious Liberty Repent Republicans Rest Resurrection Rich Rites Russia Sacraments Saints Salvation Salvian Santa Science Scripture Self-Giving Sexuality Sibyl Sick Silence Sin Singlehood Social Justice Society Sodom Solovyov Speculations Spiritual Reflection St. Cyril of Alexandria St. Justin Martyr Suffering Sunday of the Paralytic Man Sunday of the Samaritan Woman Superhero Supreme Court Teaching Technology Thanksgiving The Father the Universe Theological Reflection Theology Theosis Theotokos Thomas Timaeus Time Tolerenace Tolkien Tradition Transfiguration Trinity Trump Truth Uncategorized Unity Universities USCCB Value Vatican II Vegetarian Vices Violence Virtue Vocations War Water Welcome Wisdom Womanhood Women Work World View Worship Writing Zacchaeus

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz