Minority Report: Free Will Vs Determinism
Elbert Hubbard, an American writer, publisher, and philosopher, once said, "Life is a compromise between fate and free will." Not only in today's society, but all throughout time, there is the constant debate between free will and determinism. The debate has been presented in movies, plays, and other forms of literature. Most people either believe that they have the choice to make decisions (free will), or that life is already decided for them (determinism). I believe, however, that free will and determinism coexist, which is referred to as compatibilism.
The movie Minority Report is set in Washington D.C. during the year of 2054. The city is at the point of full automation: cars are self-driven, iris scanners are used as a way of identification, …show more content…
When the PreCogs predicted the murder and revealed their vision to the PreCrime members, they were already determining the victim(s) and perpetrator(s) future. When the officers of PreCrime arrested the "criminal," they did not allow him to exercise free will because he was not able to completely live out the situation. In all of the murders that were stopped, some would have actually pulled the trigger, stabbed the victim, etc., but others (like John) would have realized that they have a choice; they do not have to choose the life of a murderer. The ones that followed the PreCogs vision followed the lines of determinism because it was predicted, but those, like John, who would have decided not to exercised free will. Like Thomas Hobbes said, "Freedom exists when physical restraints are not present;" PreCrime, placing a halo on the pre-determined murderers and placing them in containment, took away the ability to exercise freedom because of the physical …show more content…
The idea has been displayed throughout various forms of literature and also through academic textbooks backed by philosophers. The thirteenth edition of Philosophy: A text with Readings, used Walter Stace's, an American philosopher, idea of free acts and unfree acts as support for compatibilism. He said that a free act would be Gandhi fasting because he wanted to free India, but a man fasting in the desert because there is no food is unfree. Gandhi made the decision to fast in the desert, therefore exercised his power of free will. The man, on the other hand, was fasting due to a predetermined cause- being stranded. Both of these acts, or similar scenarios, have actually taken place which demonstrates that free will and determinism
The movie Minority Report is set in Washington D.C. during the year of 2054. The city is at the point of full automation: cars are self-driven, iris scanners are used as a way of identification, …show more content…
When the PreCogs predicted the murder and revealed their vision to the PreCrime members, they were already determining the victim(s) and perpetrator(s) future. When the officers of PreCrime arrested the "criminal," they did not allow him to exercise free will because he was not able to completely live out the situation. In all of the murders that were stopped, some would have actually pulled the trigger, stabbed the victim, etc., but others (like John) would have realized that they have a choice; they do not have to choose the life of a murderer. The ones that followed the PreCogs vision followed the lines of determinism because it was predicted, but those, like John, who would have decided not to exercised free will. Like Thomas Hobbes said, "Freedom exists when physical restraints are not present;" PreCrime, placing a halo on the pre-determined murderers and placing them in containment, took away the ability to exercise freedom because of the physical …show more content…
The idea has been displayed throughout various forms of literature and also through academic textbooks backed by philosophers. The thirteenth edition of Philosophy: A text with Readings, used Walter Stace's, an American philosopher, idea of free acts and unfree acts as support for compatibilism. He said that a free act would be Gandhi fasting because he wanted to free India, but a man fasting in the desert because there is no food is unfree. Gandhi made the decision to fast in the desert, therefore exercised his power of free will. The man, on the other hand, was fasting due to a predetermined cause- being stranded. Both of these acts, or similar scenarios, have actually taken place which demonstrates that free will and determinism