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De fato
De Fato (English: "Concerning Fate") is a partially lost philosophical treatise written by the Roman orator Cicero in 44 BC. Only two-thirds of the work exists; the beginning and ending are missing.[1][2] It takes the form of a dialogue, although it reads more like an exposition,[1][3] whose interlocutors are Cicero and his friend Aulus Hirtius. In the work, Cicero analyzes the concept of Fate, and suggests that free will is a condition of Fate.[4][5] Cicero, however, does not consciously deal with the distinction between fatalism and determinism.[6] It appears that De Fato is an appendix to the treatise on theology formed by the three books of De Natura Deorum and the two books of De Divinatione.[7] These three books provide important information regarding Stoic cosmology and theology.[8] HistoryDe fato is part of the second group of Cicero's writings.[1][9] The work was composed at Pozzuoli between April 17 and May 23 of 44 BC.[1][3] In any case, the work would have most likely been completed prior to Cicero's abortive departure for Greece in July of that year.[1][3] The work was written in haste, as Cicero was planning to return to the political arena.[1][2] ArgumentationHirtius notes that Cicero has adopted the Academic method of investigation: arguing against all propositions.[10] Therefore, he outlines the positions of Democritus, Heraclitus, Empedocles, and Aristotle as those who maintained that everything happens by necessity. As such Cicero develops the propositions of fate and necessity as follows:
Cicero essentially dismisses this proposition as antithetical to what is observed, but postulates freedom as a necessity for moral life.[6] Ultimately, Cicero maintains this position as he is emotionally convinced that it is in man's power to achieve virtue for himself; if determinism were the order of things, then such ability would not be true.[6] See also
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