Explain how the movie deals with consequentialism and non-consequentialism, particularly in the role the “Pre-Cogs” play in the movie and the idea behind Pre-Crime.
Consequentialism can be defined simply as being concerned with the consequences of an act or event. The consequences are of greater priority than the act itself. This is a means justifies the end view of things. There are two main forms of consequentialism, egoism and utilitarianism. The movie mostly showcases the latter form. Utilitarianism comes from the word ‘utility’ or usefulness. The idea is that as long as something done is useful to society at large, it is a moral act no matter what had to be done to achieve it. It is the view of the best consequences for the most amount of people.
Utilitarianism can be seen in how the Pre-Cogs are sacrificed to attain the best consequences for the most number of people. It is clear that it is unfair for Agatha and the twins to be kept as possessions or mere cattle just because of a genetic anomaly. However, this society that uses the Pre-Crime system believes that a few can be sacrificed for the good of the many. This is the main problem with the utilitarianism view; the problem of cost-benefit analysis or the ends-justifies-the-means approach. Because the society in Minority Report trusts in Pre-Crime, they see people as numbers. A few hundred may face bad consequences, but a few million will face good consequences. And this is an ethical good according to