FREE WILL AND DETERMINISM
Free will discuses ones ability to choose
their decision with their own choice where determinism discuses the idea that
all of ones decision are premeditated. Every person has free will. They have
right to choose what’s good or bad for them. If the future is predetermined,
there is no way to change the outcome of something that has already been
determined. In the movie Minority Report, Oedipus the King and “Free Will and
Determinism in the World of Minority Report” portrays ways in how we can
determine whether humans have control over free will or not.
In
the passage, “free will and determinism in the world of minority report”
explained that, free will is required two things alternate possibilities and
self control. It mentions robot which lacks of free will because it lacks
alternate possibilities. It controls its own actions according to a definite
program, but when it comes to humans they almost have alternate possibilities
and self controls. In the play, Oedipus was predetermined to kill his father where
three roads meet. He met a herald and a horse drawn carriage and inside there
was an old man. The old man lashed out him and shoving him aside. Oedipus had
choice to walk away but he could not control his anger. That means Oedipus had alternate
possibilities to walk away and self control to control his temper.
In Minority report, the pre-crime system
punished criminals who haven’t committed crimes yet. This system is better for
mankind but there raise one question that is it unjust to punish someone for
what who he is not responsible for? In the movie, the pre-crime police explain
that, “the fact that you prevented it from happening doesn’t change the fact that
is going to happen”. Therefore, preventing these predetermined futures from
happening doesn’t mean the course of the event can’t be changed. If there is
free will in certain extent therefore hard determinism is a threat to free
will.
Michael
Huemer explains that “Free will and Determinism in the world of minority report”
there are two levels of determinism, hard determinism and soft determinism. Soft
determinism is true and yet we have free will anyway (Huemer106) and hard determinism
where we have no free will and our future is predetermined. In the movie and
the play these two determinism are taking place. In the movie “Minority report” John future was predetermined and he will be murderer of Leo crow. He choose to
face his future. According to the pre-crime, there only one future is possible
that he will commit a murder. However, he had his free will to choose whether
he wants to kill him or not and he decide to not to kill Leo. “One thing that
is often said is that when we make choices, at least some of the time, we
directly, introspectively aware of our freedom” (Huemer108). Therefore in this
situation soft determinism is taking place. In the play, Oedipus was predicted
to kill his father Laius and marry his mother Jocasta. He tried to escape his
future but he did not change his destiny. He did not had any other options to
avoid killing his father because he did not know that Laius his biological father.
Regarding this hard determinism is taking place because Oedipus didn’t a
criminal and he did not had free will to change his future.
Overall
it can be said that Oedipus and john faces the choice between free will and
determinism. They both have free will to change their lives. John Anderton
choose to not to kill the Leo and Oedipus had options to choose another fate but
he choose the wrong one; there was only determinism in which he had no
alternate possibilities.
