The Adjustment Bureau: determinism vs free will
Rebecca Vlemmix
November, 10, 2014
The Adjustment Bureau: Reflection Question The problem with determinism is that if there is no free will, then there is no moral responsibility, which means ours lives have less meaning. If this is the case, nothing that we do or accomplish really makes a difference. Our individuality and unique character traits disappear because someone is masterminding our lives. On the other hand, the problem with the idea of free will is that our actions are uncaused, and seem to be random. We happen to perform one action, but there is no explanation of why we performed this action instead of another. However, those moments in our life when we desire the freedom of our actions, are the times in which we do have reasons for one action over another. It seems that in such cases, there is an explanation of why we perform the action instead of some other action, and the fact that there is an explanation of the action seems to imply that it is caused. This shows the compatibility between freewill and determinism, because actions made in freewill are not uncaused actions, but rather actions that are caused for a particular reason. The film emphasizes the belief that free will does not exist and that if it did we would not want it. While that might be true, I still believe that whether our lives are completely drawn out beforehand or not, God is still all knowing of our decisions and our futures but he gives us the opportunity to make our own decisions and allows us to fall. In doing this, he lets us get back up once we learn from the mistakes that we make as imperfect beings. Ultimately, people have freedom, but they are limited by their imperfection and passions.
November, 10, 2014
The Adjustment Bureau: Reflection Question The problem with determinism is that if there is no free will, then there is no moral responsibility, which means ours lives have less meaning. If this is the case, nothing that we do or accomplish really makes a difference. Our individuality and unique character traits disappear because someone is masterminding our lives. On the other hand, the problem with the idea of free will is that our actions are uncaused, and seem to be random. We happen to perform one action, but there is no explanation of why we performed this action instead of another. However, those moments in our life when we desire the freedom of our actions, are the times in which we do have reasons for one action over another. It seems that in such cases, there is an explanation of why we perform the action instead of some other action, and the fact that there is an explanation of the action seems to imply that it is caused. This shows the compatibility between freewill and determinism, because actions made in freewill are not uncaused actions, but rather actions that are caused for a particular reason. The film emphasizes the belief that free will does not exist and that if it did we would not want it. While that might be true, I still believe that whether our lives are completely drawn out beforehand or not, God is still all knowing of our decisions and our futures but he gives us the opportunity to make our own decisions and allows us to fall. In doing this, he lets us get back up once we learn from the mistakes that we make as imperfect beings. Ultimately, people have freedom, but they are limited by their imperfection and passions.