Debates about Fate in Early China

Debates on the nature of self, agency, and fate are central to the Chinese philosophical tradition. In some cases, debates about fate overlapped with debates about mantic practices (“divination”). I begin by identifying five major issues of the Chinese debates, with particular interest in their relevance to contemporary philosophical debates about determinism. I then turn to a more detailed account of the arguments about fate ascribed to Confucius, the Mohists, Mencius, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, and Wang Chong. The final section compares their views on fate to those of contemporary philosophers who take a compatibilist position on questions of determinism and free will.