Determinism: philosophical foundations and implications

Determinism and Sliding Doors

Determinism is an integral theme in Director Peter Howitt's movie, Sliding Doors. In Sliding Doors, a small, seemingly insignificant act makes profound changes in the life of the lead character, Helen. Nonetheless, as the movie progresses, it becomes clear that some fundamental aspects of Helen's life, told in parallel stories, remain the same, suggesting some role for determinism.

Determinism is a school of philosophical thought that argues that every event is predetermined, or caused, by events in the past. Even human thoughts are caused by prior events and thoughts, according to the determinist idea. This contrasts completely with the idea of free will, in which humans are capable of making decisions and taking actions that can alter the course of their lives (Wikipedia).

The movie, Sliding Doors, tackles the problem of determinism vs. free will head on. Sliding Doors examines two potential parallel life courses for a young British woman, Helen (Gwyneth Paltrow). Helen is fired from her PR job, and goes home in the middle of the day on an underground train. In one timeline, Helen catches the train, and finds her lover, Gerry (played by John Lynch) in bed with Lydia (Jeanne Tripplehorn). She leaves the apartment, goes to a pub, where she runs into James (John Hannah), a young man she had spoken to on the train on the way home. Helen makes some major changes in her life and career, and begins to fall in love with James.

In the second timeline, Helen never makes it onto the train, and is mugged. She arrives home late, and never catches her boyfriend Gerry and Lydia in bed together. Helen stays with Gerry, and he comforts her about her lost job, even as Helen begins to become suspicious of Gerry's fidelity.

The two separate timelines continue on from this point, each leading to very different lives for Helen. In the timeline where she missed the train, Helen takes a job as a sandwich delivery girl, and eventually gets pregnant by Gerry as her career continues to stagnate. In the other timeline, where Helen catches the train, she opens her own PR agency and becomes a roaring success, and begins a solid relationship with James.

In all, the differences between the two timelines in Sliding Doors provide an interesting insight into determinism. The seemingly insignificant act of either catching or missing the train creates a widespread ripple effect in Helen's life, affecting her career, her love life, and even her self-respect. Thus, it seems that Sliding Doors argues against determinism, and leads the viewer to believe that even the most minute act can profoundly alter the future.

At the end of the movie, however, the two timelines converge. In both timelines, Helen ends up in the hospital, badly injured, after a horrible accident. In the timeline where Helen missed the train, she loses Gerry's baby, but survives the accident. However, in the timeline where Helen catches the train, James finds out that she has lost his baby, and Helen ultimately dies of her injuries.

It seems that, in some way at least, some of Helen's life may have been predetermined. She seems to have been fated to be badly injured in an accident, and to lose a baby in the accident.

However, there are also aspects of these final scenes that argue against determinism. Helen is pregnant, but by a different man in each timeline, suggesting some degree of free will over her fate. Further, the fact that she survives in one timeline, but dies in another, suggests that free will eventually supersedes determinism.