Murder on the Orient Express: Free Will, Fate And Determinism Theories (Coursework Sample)

Name Institution Date Free Will Theories The theories of free will establish the different possibility of ways or activities that are unimpeded in the society. It depicts concepts of judgments that elaborate one's sins, responsibilities, and guilt that shows how one’s actions are freely chosen. The capacity of prohibition, advice, and persuasion, also associates with the art of free will in the contemporary society at large. Moreover, the choices we make that determine our outcomes predetermined by our experience and events facilitates the essence of free will which creates the art of determinism. Therefore, according to the ancient Greeks, determinism conceives free will, which is inconsistent making it incompatible. The essence of determinism concerning incompatibility is known as incompatibilism which claims that if determinism is wrong then free will is possible and when free will is not possible through hard determinism then the determinism is right or correct in the philosophical world of the Greeks. On the contrary, most compatibilists during classical times stressed that for free will to suffice then determinism is essential (Edelstein, Wenzel, & Salcido, 2015). In this regard, this paper will talk about a movie known as Murder on the Orient Express filmed and released in the late last year of 2017. The cinema displays an intelligent detective known as Hercule Poirot who was known for his talent to solve crimes of theft, murder, or corruption at large. The movie starts with him solving a crime in Syria as he travels to Stamboul the following day. In Stamboul, he meets his longtime friend Bouc at the hotel before he is served with a note of solving a crime back in England. Mr. Bouc helps him with a ticket on the Orient Express train that leaves in the next hour. In the train, Poirot meets Ratchett, an established businessman who wants to employ him as his bodyguard since he believed that people especially Italians are threatening him. In the train, there was Mrs. Hubbard, Mary Debenham whom they met on his way to Stamboul, Colonel Arbuthnot, Princess Dragomiroff, Count Andrenyi, McQueen, and Sonia, Hardman, Pilar, and the doctor among others (Charles, 2018). The prominent businessman Mr. Ratchett is assassinated in the train as Bouc begs detective Poirot to solve the case before he reaches his destination. Upon the death of Mr. Ratchett, any passenger in the train might account for the end of the businessman. The above narrative raises the question whether it was through free will, determinism, fate, or the combination of the theories as it is in the context. The determination by the detective to find the killer would promote justice in the train thus anyone might be held accountable for the murder. Poirot interrogates McQueen who was his accountant and took care of his business activities. The detective perceives that the case of Mr. Ratchette relates to the Armstrong case and that the real dead’s man name was not Ratchett but Cassetti. Poirot believed that Daisy Armstrong’s death was in Mr. Ratchett’s hands and that he was to die for it according to one of the threatening letters. At first, the essence of determinism stems out through McQueen who Poirot perceived that he is the prime suspect since he wanted to remain with Ratchett’s wealth. The claims that McQueen killed Ratchett shows the art of determinism is right, and therefore the essence of doing it on a free will is wrong according to the movie. Additionally, McQueen wanted to settle his father’s debts and revenge against Ratchett known as Cassetti who ruined his father’s life. It is a speculation of hard determinism since the above narrative is of free will is not possible because he could not have been the only one who could have stabbed Cassetti twelve times in the chest. The detective later accuses Mary Debenham of planning the murder of Ratchett seems confident that he recognized Sonia Armstrong’s sister in the train. In this regard, the art if free will is achieved since the detective stems out to describe how Debenham drugged Ratchett. At the time of Armstrong tragedy, Debenham was living in the Armstrong house because she loved Daisy Armstrong. Consequently, the free will theory stems out when Debenham said categorically, “Cassetti was a pig, and he deserved to die…” (Charles, 2018) Upon her words that free will is at least possible since she killed the businessman. Free will as defined earlier in this context is one's action that is freely chosen through one's guilt in the past course of experience hence the case of Debenham is of no exception. On the other hand, the doctor shoots at the detective claiming that Debenham did not kill Ratchett and that he was responsible for his murder. In the case of Armstrong that facilitated the killing of Cassetti displays that the doctor was like a son to John Armstrong who believed in him as his commander. The doctor says that the Armstrong family sent him to medical school and gave him a future after which Cassetti destroyed the Armstrong family. Detective Poirot also perceived that the doctor changed the time of death and drugged the victim and McQueen so that he could kill Ratchett. The doctor could not let Mary Debenham to be accused, and therefore he availed himself on a free will. In this case, the doctor says, “My sins are mine alone to pay for…” (Charles, 2018)The above notion elaborated the idea and definition of free will in the contemporary world today which involves one’s sins due to his or her experience that made one have a free will to perform his or her actions. Therefore, the doctor is a perfect definition of free will theory due to his past experiences with the Armstrong family despite the fact that Cassetti, later on, destroyed the family at large. Mr. Poiriot is the best detective in the world according to the movie. He believes there is murder among them. He determines that if the doctor killed Cassetti why he should come forward to confess that he is responsible for the killing. Concerning the detective’s theory and questioning raises the notion of Compatibilists notion of determinism that they perceive that it is essential for a free will to occur at large. The preference of one’s actions in an occurring event of activities also reveals the art free will theory in the doctor’s case. The above narrative is because he comes forward to confess that he was responsible for the murder of Cassetti since he destroyed the Armstrong family. Upon solving the crime in the train, the detective realizes that Hardman was traveled as a professor of Science and was once a police officer assigned to the Armstrong case. He claims that Hardman fell in love with the maid and that she was falsely accused as she took her own life upon her arrest. The past events caused by Cassetti made Hardman to quit the police force, and therefore he had no choice but to take part in the murder of Ratchett known as Cassetti. ...