philosophy db 7

To reflect on our question “Are We Really Free?” let’s look at the classical Greek tragedy of Sophocles’ Oedipus the King.  In the background of the play’s action lies the account of King Laius and Queen Jocasta of Thebes.  They learned from the “fortune-telling” oracle at Delphi that they would have a son who would grow up to murder his father and marry his mother.  To avoid this horror of a prediction, they took matters into their own hands and had their infant son taken to a mountain top by a shepherd to be killed.  Out of pity for the infant, the shepherd gives the child to another shepherd who eventually presents the child to the King Polybus and Queen Merope of Corinth for adoption.  Oedipus is raised by Polybus and Merope, and he believes them to be his biological parents.  When he hears a version of the oracle about his destiny from a drunken soldier, Oedipus flees Corinth to avoid the prospect of killing his father and marrying his mother.  He makes his way toward Thebes, but on his way, he has an altercation with a man in a chariot over the right of way, and Oedipus strikes the man killing him.  When he arrives in Thebes, he finds the town is under a curse until a riddle is solved.  He solves the riddle, and his reward is the right to marry the Queen, Jocasta, a recent widow.  Obviously, Oedipus, in his honest and earnest desire to avoid the prophecy shared by the “gods” through the oracle, has fulfilled the oracle in every detail.  The drama actually begins at the point the prophecy has been fulfilled, and the drama evolves as Oedipus learns who he is and what he has unwittingly done.  Oedipus takes justice into his own hands and murders Jocasta, his mother/wife, gauges out his own eyes, and banishes himself from Thebes.  So much for Greek justice!

Now, for the question: Is Oedipus really guilty, or is he merely a victim of the gods’ will which could not be countered despite the best intentions and efforts?  Was he making "free will" choices or were his actions determined by the "gods" or Fate?  What say ye?