Our Control of Fate: The Possibility of Free Will in 'Pygmalion,' 'Galileo,' and 'Arcadia' Geoffrey Yu Zhang College

The nature of the environment around us is governed by the sciences. Chemical reactions can be represented by equations, specific bonds form between certain molecules, and organisms act based upon biological processes. In a world where people can predict the actions and properties of particles, chemicals, and even human behavior, how can free will exist to any extent? The classic debate of determinism versus the concept of free will is one of the most disputed philosophical questions of all time. Furthermore, in a multitude of books, this problem of free will against fate is a recurring motif. Eliza Doolittle, in George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion, is originally sentenced to a life of poverty despite her bright mind and strong will. In Brecht's Life of Galileo, Galileo's protest for an unbiased scientific culture only leads to his life imprisonment. Arcadia, by Tom Stoppard, describes various acts of uncontrollable passionate love and portrays the prodigy Thomasina's death at the age of seventeen. These plays point to how humanity always has been doomed, in regard to our society, our individual selves, and our inevitable fates. However, the circumstances that seems to predetermine our lives are not rigid. Characters such as Eliza...