I don't think free will and fate are neccessarily incompatible. If fate only determines certain events which are inescapable, then there would be plenty of room for free will to fill in the gaps. On the other hand, if fate determines each and every moment from the beginning of time to the end, then I find it hard to see how one can make choices that are truely free.
I maybe used the term 'free will' a little loosely in my previous posts. The elves probably had a kind of free will, in that they had the power to make choices, but couldn't in the end escape fate. Men, though, were truely free, not being bound by fate.
-Voronwë
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"If you would be a real seeker after truth, you must at least once in your life doubt, as far as possible, all things." -- René Descartes
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