fatalist

A fatalist is someone who believes that the course of events is fixed by fate or divine decree and that individual actions cannot truly alter predetermined outcomes.

Fatalism contrasts with beliefs that emphasize agency or with determinism, which holds that events are caused by preceding factors. In fatalism, efforts to change outcomes are often seen as futile, even if they feel rational or reasonable.

Historically, fatalist ideas appear in multiple traditions. In Western philosophy, debates about fatalism have intersected with determinism and discussions of free will. Theological fatalism or predestination asserts that a higher power determines events, though interpretations vary on human responsibility. In ancient Stoicism, acceptance of a rational order has been described as fatalistic in popular discourse, even though Stoics also emphasized living in accordance with reason.

In religious and cultural contexts, notions of fate or predestination recur across many traditions. In modern usage, fatalist concepts appear in literature and everyday speech to describe a person who treats outcomes as inevitable. Psychologically, fatalistic beliefs can influence motivation and coping, sometimes reducing perceived control but sometimes offering a means to tolerate uncontrollable circumstances.

See also determinism, predestination, and Stoicism.