Oedipus had a horrible life, though he was the one with the terrible destiny, many people were connected to him and suffered the consequences. One of those people was his mother and wife Jokaska, who arguably suffered the most, next to Oedipus. Aristotle was a soft determinist, which means that all of our actions are part of a causal chain, but we are still apart of that chain and can make right or wrong decisions. Though the gods sealed Oedipus’ fate, philosophers such as Aristotle would argue that Oedipus and Jokaska were still somewhat responsible for what happened to them because of free will. At one point in the play Jokaska recalls a prophesy her and King Laios received form an oracle before Oedipus was born, “It said that Laios was destined to die at the hands of a son born to him and me.” (Oedipus the King, 52). At this point they both had the choice to not have any children at all, though it would have been hard it was a possibility. Aristotle would say that procreation is a voluntary action, and that they were both fully informed about the particulars from the oracle (F.W., 3). They knew that the consequences of this action were possible death for Laios at the hands of his son and chose to do it anyway. Therefore, they are responsible for what precedes. Laios and Jokaska decided to have children, even after hearing the terrible prophecy.
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To their dismay, they happened to have a son. At this point they had options, they could have killed him on the spot, let him grow up with them and allow history to play its self out, or send him away. After naming their son Oedipus, they bound his ankles and gave him to a servant with the instructions to leave him in a mountain to die. They may not have been aware that the servant would disobey and give their son away to be raised by another couple, so at this point they were most likely unaware of this immediate consequence (Oedipus the King, 71). Aristotle could either say that she is still responsible because she exercised her free will when she chose to send the child off and she was fully aware of the overall consequences of Oedipus living (F.W., 3). He could also say that she is not responsible because she was ignorant of the fact that her servant would disobey her, therefore she was not sure of all possible consequences (F.W., 3). When Jokaska met Oedipus after the death of Laios she may not have know who he was and thought that her son was dead but she should have been skeptical. This man was her son’s age, with her son’s name that showed up at her kingdom immediately after her husband’s death. Oedipus also had scares around both of his ankles form where Jokaska pinned them before she sent him to die, “From birth I’ve carried the shame of those scars.” (Oedipus the King, 72.) Aristotle would have most likely said that Jokaska was unaware the Oedipus was her son, giving her the excuse of ignorance of identity (F.W., 3). However, he could also argue that she chose to marry and have children with Oedipus while she knew many particulars that could and should have lead her to at least
To their dismay, they happened to have a son. At this point they had options, they could have killed him on the spot, let him grow up with them and allow history to play its self out, or send him away. After naming their son Oedipus, they bound his ankles and gave him to a servant with the instructions to leave him in a mountain to die. They may not have been aware that the servant would disobey and give their son away to be raised by another couple, so at this point they were most likely unaware of this immediate consequence (Oedipus the King, 71). Aristotle could either say that she is still responsible because she exercised her free will when she chose to send the child off and she was fully aware of the overall consequences of Oedipus living (F.W., 3). He could also say that she is not responsible because she was ignorant of the fact that her servant would disobey her, therefore she was not sure of all possible consequences (F.W., 3). When Jokaska met Oedipus after the death of Laios she may not have know who he was and thought that her son was dead but she should have been skeptical. This man was her son’s age, with her son’s name that showed up at her kingdom immediately after her husband’s death. Oedipus also had scares around both of his ankles form where Jokaska pinned them before she sent him to die, “From birth I’ve carried the shame of those scars.” (Oedipus the King, 72.) Aristotle would have most likely said that Jokaska was unaware the Oedipus was her son, giving her the excuse of ignorance of identity (F.W., 3). However, he could also argue that she chose to marry and have children with Oedipus while she knew many particulars that could and should have lead her to at least