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FATE ACCORDING TO THE PROSE EDDA NARRATION OF RAGNAROK: A Theological contemplation, elaboration and insight to the Norse pagan concept of fate
University of Gävle, Faculty of Education and Business Studies, Department of Humanities, Religious studies.
2021 (English)Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (Two Years)), 20 credits / 30 HE creditsStudent thesis
Abstract [en]

The Prose Edda chapter, Ragnarok as recorded by Snorri, was taken as a pivotal point for exploring fate according to the Norse mythology. The eschatological concept of collapsing gods and destruction of the world was explored through the logical and theological fatalist theory, diverging the orientation from standard textual exploration. The thesis examines the concept by employing the methodology of hermeneutics to scrutinise the text. The analysis derived results confirmed the existence of belief in fate embedded in the text; the logical fatalism that polarises statements by their truthfulness, even though it was not found or indicated textually, provided a strong contrast to theological fatalism, evidenced throughout the text. The weak theological fatalism (determinism) was suggested in the findings based on Ragnarok text, by which the inexorable change of aeons as set-in motion by the Universal Force (predicted by the three Volvas), does not entirely compromise the Aesir's free will; such as the cosmic order includes the free will in its mechanism; while Aesir's voluntary choice was dependent on God's forescience, it was still free to operate within the remit of its emission, unperturbed within the cosmic design. The Nietzschean concept of Amor Fati (Love for Fate) in accepting the inevitable, through the cyclicality of time, and as it appears with a reason that is to keep one happy, additionally illuminated our understanding of fate in Ragnarok. To counterbalance this idea and bring it into equilibrium, I reflected upon the notion of "Designer of Destiny", whereby human beings are assumed to run the entirety of their destiny, soon to learn that this human urge clashes with theit biology (over which they do not have complete control) and the cosmic power that has already predetermined the human path. 

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2021. , p. 90
Keywords [en]
fate, fatalism, theological, logical, determinism, free will, Amor Fati
National Category
Philosophy, Ethics and Religion
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:hig:diva-36542OAI: oai:DiVA.org:hig-36542DiVA, id: diva2:1583637
Subject / course
Religious studies education
Educational program
Master Programme in Religious Studies
Presentation
2021-06-03, 12:00 (English)
Supervisors
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Available from: 2021-08-17 Created: 2021-08-09 Last updated: 2025-10-02Bibliographically approved

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CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • harvard-cite-them-right
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • sv-SE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • de-DE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
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  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf