answer:What you’re getting at is the idea of determinism – the idea that free will is somewhat of an illusion because the future is already ‘planned out’ – it’s fixed, in the same way that the past is fixed, even though the future feels fundamentally different from the past. But a belief in determinism does not necessarily require a subscription to fatalism which is what you’re getting at in your last sentence. Determinism doesn’t say anything about what will happen in the future, just that what is going to happen has already been determined. This means that fatalism, which basically says that there’s no use trying because what’s going to happen is going to happen anyway, is pretty flawed (in my opinion). You may not be shaping the future, but nonetheless, giving up out of some belief that you’re doomed is not going to get you anywhere good.