Conflict between Fatalism and Freewill in Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha

Abstract

This present research deals with various cultural and religious aspects of the western and non-western philosophies in Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha. This research focuses upon the complexity and conflict between fatalism and freewill expressed through the different classical, modern and post-modern philosophers and their views. Besides excavation of the inner conflict of human beings can be accessed through the life style, doing attitudes, values and norms of different people in different period, that is manifested by the protagonist Siddhartha and other characters of the novel. To show how relative and controversy of non-Western philosophy by mainstream of Western philosophy about the conflict between fatalism and freewill is challenged in this research Theoretical insights of different critiques and philosophers of classical Greek philosophy, as well as references of Hindu Buddhist and Christian philosophy, texts like; Ved, Vedanta, Upanisad Bible, Shree Mada Bhagwad Gita Buddha Mimamsa. Moreover modern and post modern scholars like; Kurt Vonnegut, Magister Ludi, Minner Rober, Michal J Cummings, and non western scholars; Anita Desai Yogi Peramhamsa, Bhiksu Shanti, Swami Chinmayananda, Dor Bahadur Bista, Swami Shraddhananda are mobilized to justify the claim of the research.