Blog # 8: Freewill & Determinism Crosses Over

  The main issues the movie Minority Report and the play Oedipus the King touches on is freewill and determinism. Freewill is when a person has a choice to alter their situation. Determinism is the belief that everything in this world is already determined by God or some kind of natural laws. It is highly believed that with determinism, there cannot be freewill; or vice versa. Like in the play Oedipus the King, the fate of Oedipus was determined by a higher force, the gods. Oedipus did not believe he would be that type of person to marry his mother and kill his father. But unfortunately that was what happened to Oedipus; what the blind old prophet said was true. This may seem like Oedipus had no freewill, and his fate was irreversible and was already determined. But this is not true. Without freewill, Oedipus cannot have feelings. Emotions are what give people freewill. Everyone who feels have freewill. For example, we are able to choose to eat or not to eat depending if we feel like it, even if food is already presented in front of us. But for another living thing such as a flower, cannot choose to make glucose or not when healthy soil, water, carbon dioxide and the sunlight is presented to them; because a flower have no emotions. Just like John Anderson, he was determined by three precogs that he will kill Leo Crow, a man he doesn’t even know. It was all pre-determined by all three precogs that John Anderson will kill this man. It made no sense to any viewers just as it didn’t make sense to John Anderson. How can anyone kill someone they don’t even know? Turns out John Anderson was so determined to kill Leo Crow because Leo was the man who seemingly appears to have kidnapped and murdered John’s son. John’s anger took over him, he pulled out the gun and was ready to shoot Leo. But in the end, John managed to calm down and was determined to take his fate in his own hand, he did not kill Leo.  Although situations of Oedipus and John is different; that Oedipus did marry his mother and kill his father, while John did not kill Leo Crow; determinism will never be a hundred percent correct. Meanwhile, we can never have a hundred percent control of our fate. In  our lives, there are things that can be predetermined like how oil doesn’t mix with water or how Oedipus is fated to marry his own mother and murder his father. While there are also things we have freewill to do, like genetic engineering with our crops to turn them into the sweetest corns or how John Anderson can choose to override his fate and not kill the man he was determined to kill. Therefore, determinism and freewill crosses over. There are things that are predetermined, while there are things we have freewill alter our situations.