Bianca asked:

Are our lives predetermined? And is there anyway to prove they are not? Could you please tell me
three different philosophers (one ancient, one from modern times, and an eastern philosopher) that
discuss the ideas of predetermination?

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I think that you're question probably needs to be rephrased. Since modern times the live question in
(anglo-american) philosophy has been whether or not freewill is compatible with causal determinism.
Some philosophers say yes and some say no. I would definitely fall on the "no" side. I won't offer an
argument against causal determinism, but will instead outline what I think are good considerations in
favor of freedom and causal determinism being incompatible with each other. (This would be the first
step toward an argument against determinism).

First, if some agent A freely performed some act p, then A could have chosen to do other than p.

Second, If A could have chosen to do other than p, then it was not causally determined that A perform
p.

Third, some agent A has freely performed some act p. Therefore causal determinism is incorrect.

Admittedly there are several disputed issues lurking below the surface of this sketch of an argument.
And many, if not most, philosophers would disagree with the second statement (that is they would
claim that "choosing to do otherwise" is compatible with causal determinism being a correct theory). If
you are interested in exploring both sides of the question further you could start with the following
books:

(1) Peter van Inwagen An Essay on Free Will

(2) Daniel Dennett Elbow Room: On the Varieties of Free Will Worth Wanting

Those two works will give you a very balanced introduction to the current debates surrounding free
will. The following are some philosophers that discuss the topics of free will and determinism:

Ancient: St. Augustine (if you consider him an ancient; he is a neo-Platonist in any case)

Modern: John Locke, Thomas Hobbes

Eastern: I'm afraid I'm not very well read in this area. Schopenhauer's "Prize Essay on Free Will" is
probably influenced by eastern philosophy.

Lance Floweree