John Anderton Essay

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Samantha Marie Dexter (J15019130); Ng Yew Ming; Low Ker Ann; Loi Su Wen; Low Yi Chean Mr. Adriel Wong PHL3100 21 July 2017 An Ethical Analysis of Minority Report Does John Anderton have freedom of will, the ability to make free choices despite the influences of his heredity or his environment? Does anybody? What does it matter for the criminal justice system whether or not we have the capacity to choose our action freely? Explain. The ethical theory in this question has to do with freedom and determinism. Are the people in this movie totally free or are they totally determined? Or is it a matter of degree of freedom and determinism. It is important to answer these questions first before a conclusion can be made for this section. Determinism …show more content…

They would say that the fact that there is hardly any deviation from the future the Pre-Cogs see means that something in the past, some uncontrollable event, caused people to commit that act and they have no choice in the matter …show more content…

Yes, John almost pulled the trigger himself. It can be said he was led to that act because of a single uncontrollable past event: the kidnapping and probable murder of his son. However, and this is the most important point, he stopped. He chose not to murder Crow. He had a chance to murder Crow and he knew, at the time, Crow was guilty. He also had the emotional burden of his lost son pushing him on. The only thing stopping John was himself. His own self. It is impossible to know exactly what went through John’s mind, but at the end of the day, John made a choice to not go down the path opened to him. He made a new path, one where the truth came to light and he avoided murdering an innocent man. True, Crow ended up killing himself anyways, but at the end of the day, John did not willingly pull the trigger. This makes all the difference in the world. So, because of this one defining moment in the movie, it can be said that yes, John is free, but that freedom is limited. Uncontrollable past events led him 75% down that path, but that last 25% was up to him. Would he or would he not take the final step? The decision was his and his

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