Moral Theories
The movie, “Minority Report” is based on a futuristic plot, dated in the year 2054, where the district of Columbia has developed a technology, called “pre-crime” that is used to predict murder crimes before they occur. This technology comprises of three precognitive beings, called “Pre-Cogs,” floating in a tank and whose brain waves are tapped to a computer that uses their thoughts to predict the crimes. The technology is beneficial that the district enjoys a streak of six years. However, tables turn when the technology predicts that John Anderton, played by Tom Cruise and the chief of the pre-crime department, is a potential murder suspect. Teaming up with one of the cogs, Agatha, who informs him of the actions of the police and warns him of any close contact with them, Anderton runs from the officials in his department as he tries to prove that “pre-crime” is wrong about the accusations against him (Karounos, 2016).
Generally, moral theories are understood as general accounts used to judge whether an action is right or wrong by considering our judgments and trying to understand the reasoning behind these judgments. When talking about moral theories, three particular theories come into mind. These are Kantian, Utilitarianism, and virtue theory (Aristotle) (Tzafestas, 2016). In the first, Kantian moral philosophy, the governing principle is standard rationality called categorical imperative (CI). According to the categorical imperative, personal judgment should be guided by an objective, rationally necessary, and unconditional individual principle independent of any external influence (Murray, 2017). In the movie, though Anderton is considered a fugitive, he stands by the personal belief that he could never be a murderer, and even goes up against his team to prove this to them. As the chief of the pre-crime department, Anderton believes in the “perfect” nature of the system and that someone is using the system to frame him for a murder that is unknown to him. His principles form the basis for his judgments of the situation and the corresponding actions.
The other theory, Utilitarianism, is a normative theory whose center of focus is on the consequences of deciding on specific actions at the expense of others when choosing what is right or wrong. In Utilitarianism, the effects not only affect the individuals themselves but also influence others’ decisions (Tzafestas, 2016). In the movie, Anderton believes that he is not a murderer, and to prove this, he decides to run from the authorities, who are out to arrest him. By choosing to run, Anderton is declared a fugitive. Therefore, according to the principles of Utilitarianism, the consequences of him running is being declared a fugitive. Furthermore, in ‘act utilitarianism,’ the right action is the one that generates utility or the greatest happiness (Strabbing, 2018). The utility in this movie is for Anderton to find out who used the “perfect” system that he helped develop to frame him for a potential murder.
Finally, as an approach of normative ethics, virtue theory of ethics focuses more on virtues and moral character than other forms of ethics like consequences and duties. In this theory, the assumption is that individuals acquire virtues through practice. Therefore, the “right action,” according to this theory, is undertaken by an individual with practical wisdom (Tzafestas, 2016). In the movie, Anderton has used the pre-crime system to predict crime, and according to him, it has been effective considering the six years streak without any murder crimes. This is an indication of the “perfect” nature of the system. Based on this knowledge, Anderton decides to work alone to determine who is using the system to frame him for a potential murder (Strabbing, 2018). The practical wisdom he has acquired working in the pre-crime department, coupled with his personal virtues and moral characters, fuel his decision to flee and work independently. To him, this is the “right action.”
In summation, as seen, the theories of moral action describe the decisions we make on account of them being moral or right. They are used to understand the reasoning behind individual human judgments and what influences human beings to settle on one particular action at the expense of another. Unlike in scientific theories, no specific theory is used to explain or predict human behavior in the future (Murray, 2017).
References
Karounos, M. (2016). Minority Report. Journal of Religion & Film, 6(2), 9.
Murray, D. (2017). General Moral Theories. In The Global and the Local: An Environmental Ethics Casebook (pp. 5-16). Brill.
Strabbing, J. T. (2018). Responsibility and Normative Moral Theories. The Philosophical Quarterly, 68(272), 603-625.
Tzafestas, S. G. (2016). Ethics: Fundamental Elements. In Roboethics (pp. 13-24). Springer, Cham.