the pain of free will

Every day we live and choose; but do we actually want to?

Free will is at the heart of humane philosophical discussion. From whether we even have free will, to what is right or wrong to use it for, there's always debate, but no true answer. I think there's something important to be known here though; whether we do or don't, should we act as though we do? That way, whatever truth we find ourselves with, we should be the overlord of it.

We can see this harsh lesson from many anime. In Tokyo Ghoul, Ken Kaneki struggles with his refusal to pick either humans or ghouls. Jonah from Jormungand passes his free will off to Koko Hekmatyar. Kida from Durarara!! allows his past to prevent his future, along with depending on Izaya for decision. Jet from Cowboy Bebop drifts to avoid any decision, like his companion Spike. They all miss the opportunity cost. They allow the word around them, their societies and more, told hold power over the individual over anything else.

But, we witness anime where things can turn out okay, if one is careful. Gurren Lagann and Simon present us with how following, in this case Kamina, ended up making Simon better. Trigun and Vash the Stampede as always provides us with some hope, this time in never choosing one over another, good or evil. Death Parade presents us with pain as a necessity, but where choosing it makes the end better. And our course, Psycho-Pass is all about free will, from Akane to Makishima.

Today we'll look at these anime, and explore the pain of free will, the suffering of choice, but higher the cost of indecision. We’ll see we have no choice but to choose.

#anime #animeanalysis #professorviral #tokyoghoul #cowboybebop #psychopass

0:00 Part 0: Introduction
2:37 Part 1: Always Saying No
19:21 Part 2: Learning to Say Yes
32:24 Part 3: A Moment, or a Lifetime?