Groundhog Day and Fatalism/Free Will

I figured that I would get the cliche topics out of the way, and talk about the movie Groundhog Day. In this film, the main character relives one day from his life over and over again. This brings forth ideas about determinism, free will, etc. Phil tries different things each day, since he pretty much doesn't have to deal with consequences. He seems kinda nihilistic at times.

By the way, I'm reading over this and I feel like I didn't do a great job of explaining, if you are bored then here's a Wikipedia article that does a decent job outlining the whole "free will" thing.

Ok, back to the blog.

The questions about free will that this movie brings up are interesting, although in some ways confusing. For example, the fact that Phil is able to make different decisions in the same situations almost seems to bring him "freedom." However, if we really dig down and think about it, are the situations he is in really the same? His surroundings are different, but he himself has changed due to his added experiences. If Phil were to relive the same day as the "same person" (without additional experiences) would he really have the capacity to change his behavior?

I assume that most theorists would believe that our actions wouldn't change if we were run though our experiences time after time (without the benefit of knowing what is happening to us, or having gained additional knowledge). Basically, it's a question of whether or not we would WANT to have our actions change in such a scenario.

Would you want to have your actions change if, for example, you went through the last hour of your life ten more times (without knowing you were repeating anything)? It certainly breaks down some of the major issues people have with free will, or the lack thereof: we want the ability to do otherwise. But what does that really mean? To say "in the past, I COULD HAVE behaved differently, or done better on that test" doesn't really mean that it could have been different. To some prominent modern psychologists, to say that I COULD have done otherwise really only means that in a similar scenario in the future I have the potential to not repeat my mistake. It doesn't mean that I had a real choice in the past (at least, not in a way that would allow my volition to change arbitrarily).

It's occurred to me that I didn't really give much of a background for this topic. Free will is tricky, and so I'll include a couple of quotes that might help out.

From Wikipedia (although most of it is a quote from Van Inwagen, who explains the problem with free will and "determinism" or the thought that the entirety of history can be inferred at the Big Bang through the knowledge of all matter in the universe and an understanding of all laws in the universe):

Van Inwagen's central argument (the Consequence Argument) for this (incompatibilist) view says that "If determinism is true, then our acts are the consequences of the laws of nature and events in the remote past. But it is not up to us what went on before we were born, and neither is it up to us what the laws of nature are. Therefore, the consequences of those things (including our present acts) are not up to us."

So from this, it seems like we have no choice in our actions, since the determining factors in those actions came before we were even born. There is a pretty huge debate on whether or not this is true, and the favored position on free will, compatibilism, denies Van Inwagen's claim. It does echo similar concerns within religion (i.e. what is our amount of freedom if God knows the entirety of the future, and knew what we would do before he even created us?). What would Phil from Groundhog Day say to this? When he says "I could have done otherwise" he proves it, by doing something else within the same circumstances. But, just like we have already said, it is not quite the same. He has new experiences to think about when he is acting, even if it is in an identical situation.

Really, though, would we want to be able to say that given the absolute same situation, state of mind, surroundings, that we would have different results each time we ran through it? I'm not sure how satisfying that would feel. It would almost make our actions random, something that we as "selves" have no real control over. In the end, that might be more dissatisfying than saying that we are determined, or only have one pathway to go down when making decisions.

And it's not like we aren't deliberating and weighing choices carefully when we decide on our actions, right? At any rate, that's enough randomness. I'm sure I've slaughtered the debate, or at least made it more confusing than it needs to be. Plus, I've left out some pretty important parts, so feel free to ask questions or force me to clarify.

Nazi Zombies... Existential? Sure, why not...

I'm not going to lie to all of you and say that I don't have an obsession with Call of Duty's "Nazi Zombie" game-mode. It's very addicting, and nothing is better than killing zombies online with angry 12 year old stereotypes. (Just FYI, not everyone with a high voice on Nazi Zombies is a 12 year old boy. It seems that girls also like to play, and both groups get offended when mistaken for each other...)

At any rate, I feel the need to legitimize my fascination with such a repetitive and ultimately unbeatable game. It's a stretch, like many of these posts, but Nazi Zombies helps us deal with a basic truth: we are all going to die. Inevitably.

To give a quick summary of the game, Nazi Zombies is about surviving waves of progressively stronger undead soldiers. There is an infinite number of zombies, which means that you WILL die eventually. You might get to round 5, or you might survive to round 40; you're still not going to live forever.

Most players don't even consider the possibility of dying on, for example, round 3. However, the more you advance in the game, the likelier it is that you will get your face chewed off by one of the living dead. It seems to me that life is a bit like that; in other words, the longer we have been alive, the more aware of death we become. It's certainly the case that young people are usually under the impression that they will live forever.

Well, I'm sure you are waiting for an obligatory clip that isn't fail. This shows a pretty badass player getting to level 45. You'll notice, of course, that he still dies in the end...

Also, disregard this clip! Freaking cheaters....

To recycle some people from my last post, Heidegger talks about the realization of death and its effects on humans (Dasein, if you care enough to click the link) in his writings. The subject also comes up in literary masterpieces like The Death of Ivan Ilyich, written by Leo Tolstoy, and a myriad of other works. The realization of death isn't necessarily a bad thing, although it is unpleasant; it can make our lives richer, and prepare us for the challenges we face in killing zombies and leaving a reputation for pwnage. Or deep personal fulfillment. One of those things.

Existentialism in Ikiru; Sudden Realization of Impermenence

The movie Ikiru follows the last days of a rather uptight man named Watanabe who spent most of his adult life working at a boring desk job. His realization that he has less than a year to live shakes him out of the stupor of everyday life; at first he despairs over his cancer, then he tries to forget it by living a carefree life off of his savings. Both of these options turn out poorly for him; neither in despair nor pleasure can he find an escape. The "absurdity" of life mentioned by Sartre and other existential thinkers still strikes him, filling him with anxiety and emptiness.

Most existential writers subscribe to the notion that the world has no underlying meaning; from this seemingly empty world (devoid of objective truth, etc.) we are forced to either flee into "The They" (which basically means society as a whole, although it is not something that is separate even from the individual, however confusing that seems) as Heidegger says, or acknowledge the apparent meaninglessness and grasp onto a purpose for ourselves, which is what Watanabe eventually does.

Some of the most interesting scenes are from Watanabe's attempted escapes. As he wanders throughout stores and bars trying to grasp some sort of comfort, he sings in one of the most famous scenes of the movie. Ikiru deals heavily with the idea of impermanence, which shows ties to Buddhism as well as Existentialism. Nothing seems to have worth or substance; everything fades away, as he makes clear in his song. In the end, Watanabe finds meaning in a project that seemingly has no chance of happening; he helps a group of concerned community women build a park that is safe for their children to play in. While this doesn't seem like a lot, the bureaucracy in Watanabe's office was such that only a determined individual could have helped the women (and his associates had no intention of going out of their way to create a safe area for children.

Overall, Ikiru is a very thought-provoking film; it was produced in 1952, and is dubbed in Japanese with English subtitles. The quality of the video, while decent for the time, is quite outdated; still, I would recommend checking it out if you have any interest in this post. Feel free to comment... since none of us have a choice...

Mission Statement

Think about some of your favorite films and what makes them so interesting. Many films and video games have themes derived from philosophy, psychology and various world religions. Some of these themes are hard to pick up on; others are fairly easy to locate. Ethical questions often come up even in action and adventure movies; why does the "good guy" not resort (typically) to the methods of his evil counterpart, even if it would save the day with less risk to himself? Movies such as Fight Club and Ikiru deal with issues found in the psychological and philosophical movement of Existentialism, and The Matrix is based partially off of ancient writings from Plato. These are just a few examples of media that draws upon religion, philosophy and psychology to tell a story and convey a message, and I hope that by the end of this semester I will have helped to shed light on the themes of some of our favorite films (and other entertainment mediums).