The Philosophical Defense Of Free Will In Minority Report

One of the biggest themes throughout the 2002 film “Minority Report” is the battle between fate and free will. The main character John Anderton works for a company called precrime which serves to stop harsh crime, particularly murder before it happens by using three psychic individuals known as precogs to figure out who is going to commit the crimes before they happen. The concept of free will vs. fate has been a topic of discussion for centuries and is still a controversial issue today. The idea of free will holds that people are free to make their own judgments and choices. On the other side, fate is the idea that some higher authority, such as divine beings or gods, has predetermined our lives and our acts. In this paper, I will write about

The justification of free will is that moral responsibility is one of the most well-known philosophical defenses of free will. This argument contends that in order for a moral duty to have any real meaning, people must have the freedom to make decisions independent of outside influences. A second philosophical argument for free will is that if determinism is real, then humans lack the ability to make decisions and cannot be held accountable for their deeds. According to this reasoning, determinism indicates that all occurrences are predestined, and hence, individuals do not have the capacity to make choices or exercise free will. "If determinism is true, then our deeds are the inescapable results of the past and the laws of nature, and we are not free to choose otherwise than we do," writes philosopher Robert Kane. (“free will vs. fate &

For example, some believe in the power of fate and destiny, which is a predetermined path that someone is intended to follow that is often predetermined by a higher power. The idea of fate takes away the burden of responsibility from the individual. One cannot be held responsible for the actions of fate, and thus, one is freed from the worry of making decisions with potential consequences. Additionally, fate can be seen as a source of comfort, especially in situations of loss or tragedy. Proponents of fate may draw comfort from the idea that whatever was meant to be will ultimately be, and that the individual has no control over it. The silver lining of fate is that it gives us closure in situations and experiences that could otherwise be emotionally overwhelming. Believing in fate and destiny can be a source of comfort and understanding.