Blog 8: Are we living in a world of free will or determinism?

In both the play "Oedipus the king" and the movie "Minority Report" both of the main characters experienced free will and determinism. I believe both characters set out to show examples of free will during the plot. Overall, I believe the movie and the play had plenty of comparisons then differences. In the play Oedipus the king the main character Oedipus had been told his destiny, that he would murder his father and marry his mother. Throughout the play he experienced free will, he fled his city to avoid what he had been told. As stated in the article" Free will and determinism in the world of minority report" by Michael huemer the requirements of free will is that there is more than one future opened to one, one controls his own actions, which of the alternative possibilities is up to him. In the movie Minority report, the main character John Anderton had been shown the future murder he was about to commit by the precogs. Precogs are three humans that could tell the future in the movie. John Anderton was supposed to murder a man who had "supposedly" murdered his son, John went against what was supposed to occur and let this man live. The comparison both of these main characters share is that they were both told what their future held such as determinism, they both went against it and followed their free will to avoid the horrific events that they were told that would be occurring. A difference that both the movie and the play share is that in the play"Oedipus the king" Oedipus did everything in his power to avoid his future but ended up leading himself right into it. As stated in the article the author Michael huemer believes that the future is predetermined. In this situation I could believe this statement. On the other hand in the movie John avoided his future and towards the end of the scene it showed the better life he was living. John Anderton's future wasn't predetermined and followed his free will. I do believe humans have enough control over their life they have more free will than determinism in many situations. We may think higher authorities are taking away our free will at some points, but it's for the better. I do believe our destiny naturally unfolds itself I don't believe the laws of nature determine our future. As they say whatever is meant to happen will happen.