blog 8

The allegory of the cave is the foundation for all the works we have seen or read this semester. It involves the search for the truth and how one must question what they know because ones reality might just only just be ones perceived reality. All the movies show the main character going against what society considers being the norm. Attica utopian society believes genetically engineered people are superior and can’t be matched by a non-genetically engineered person, the matrix deals with people living in a simulated reality and a band of rebels trying to free mankind from it, in minority report we have the system of prescribe that no one really knows how it really works but society accepts it. While all these movies have different plots they all have the search for truth in common.

The texts further enhance our understanding of the films, Oedipus just like the movies involves a characters path to the truth, the text free will and determinism in the world of minority report enhances our understanding of the movie so that we can decide whether the truth shown to us is a truth we accept or one we question. All in all the works we have seen or read this semester have helped me understand a lot more about finding out the truth and ways one can go about find the truth. On top of showing me how and why I should search for the truth these works have also showed me that not every truth we find is not one we always want but is one we have to accept.

The Cave-finding the truth

Oedipus-man’s search for truth led to a horrible discovery

Man on the moon-genetic engineering

Free will/minority report-how much control do we have

Matrix-is this real

blog 6

How much control do we have in our lives, some people may say we have one outcome and those would be hard determinists, while people who believe we have choices will be more associated with free will. The movie Minority report and the story of Oedipus both show how both these views can shape how a person lives their life. In the world of Minority Report there are ads that scan your eyes and are able to tailor their message to you personally.These Ads bombard you from every angle,If you weren't interested in spending money and you’d find yourself working really hard to resist temptation when it is being shoved in their face.There are those who resist then there are those who give in. People have the will and power to control their wants. It’s difficult if you’re being swarmed with a thousand ads and your penalty would be spending over budget. Then again, your wants are being injected in your head. It is not what you really want, it’s what they want you to want. I believe this is when free will comes at hand. You wont be deciding whether or not the ads are there or how they communicate to you but if you are going to let them tempt you into buying the product.In Oedipus the King, Oedipus wasn’t given free will. His destiny was manipulated by oracles who prophecy told Oedipus he would kill his father and marry his mother. When told of this he left in order to stop him from killing his adopted father; killing his biological father. Oedipus wasn't granted the will from the beginning since he was given away. Had his father not decided to sent him to get “killed” he would’ve been able to not fulfill his destiny. In the article “Free Will and Determinism in the World of Minority Report” its stated that “even though the robot controls its own actions, it has only one possibility to open it at any given time.” People control their actions but if others weren’t to extend the possibilities of doing what you want to then free will wouldn’t be as difficult to explain. Everyday we are given the chance to take actions on our belts. However, the environment that surround us creates these restrictions that limit our free will. It’s a form of temptation to do what’s not supposed to be done to later on be punished for as a consequence. We do have free will, but others also have free will upon us.