“Minority Report” and “Oedipus the King” both deal with the
issue of free will and determinism whether they lived a life of free will or
was it determined already. Free will is to believe you control you life in
every aspect up to the decisions you make as determinism is the factor of how
your life was already predetermined already and the choices you make were
destined. In "Free Will and Determinism" the author Michael Huemer
tells us that determinist believe we have zero control over our lives, and I believe
he has a point in a way.
The play Oedipus the king you can say free will didn’t really
exist it was a plan of destiny to make people believe they have a choice but it’s
already destined to be that way in the end. I would have to say Oedipus the king was one
hundred percent determinism because he was already told of his future and his actions
made him fulfill his prophecy.
The movie “Minority Report” showed a type of determinism in
which these twins and women can see future murders and they were called
pre-cogs emphasized as the oracle. In the world of Minority Report the people
seen by the pre-cogs committing a murder were arrested before the crime was
committed. By the end of the movie it shows free will and how the main
character John Anderton was seen committing a murder, even though he still did
it he showed that he had a decision. Another example of free will is when the
Chief is seen murdering John Anderton but instead he also made his decision and
killed himself. The pre- cogs only showed one dimension where the crime was
committed but there was also the reality that they may have not committed the
crime but were already arrested before it was done.
It is hard to say, do we live in a free will world where we
have control or are our lives already pre-determined. I like to believe I have
free will but then again this subject of free will and determinism has you
thinking especially after watching Minority Report and reading Oedipus the
King.
