OrangePhilosophy

There's an X-Files episode with roughly the same premise that I've used for free will. Mulder and Scully raise a lot of the questions that will come up in an intro survey of free will, so I like to show that before I cover any of them, and I can then refer back to it. The concept also appears in a hilarious episode of Xena, but the first appearance I know of is before Groundhog Day. It's in a Star Trek: The Next Generation episode. For those who like to show these in class, it's easier to use these shorter TV show episodes than it is to show whole movies. I do think the movie is better for issues like the meaning of life, but the X-Files one is by far the best for free will.

Is that the bank robbery episode of X-Files, Jeremy?

Yes, the one where it blows up at the end of each segment and then Mulder wakes up to his water bed leaking at the beginning of the day again. The interesting thing about it was that the story isn't told from the perspective of the one person who knows it's being repeated. The Xena episode did that too.

For those of you with an interest in this, Dr. Richard Cocks (whom many of you know from LeMoyne) is giving a talk with the title "The Philosophy of Groundhog Day" as a part of the Oswego Philosophy colloquium series. This will be on April 8. Here is a link: http://www.oswego.edu/news/news_story.html?id=538_0_2_0_C

Re. X-Files Bank Robbery episode

"Monday 6.15" 6th Season? Intrigued to find that this is now the subject of some debate and discussion: a story which explores the dialectic of predeterminism or predestination vs freewill perhaps? The idea that you must repeat the same action/relive the same life endlessly until a satisfactory outcome - the 'right' result - is achieved. Possibly recalling an aspect of Eastern thought too: liberation from the wheel of life? Your views and comments are invited.

With kind regards

Anthony Looker