The Philosophy of Science Fiction Film by Steven Sanders

Author:Steven Sanders
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The University Press of Kentucky

Caught in the Circle of the Army of the 12 Monkeys

Thus far, we have seen empirical and logical paradoxes arise in time travel through The Terminator and 12 Monkeys that can be resolved in one way or another. But there is one prominent logical paradox that remains, and it can be found in 12 Monkeys. In 2035, the scientists searching for a cure for the lethal virus obtain a voice mail from 1996 informing them that the Army of the 12 Monkeys is responsible for the virus outbreak and so can help them find a cure. The panel plays this message for Cole so that he knows that he must find the army in 1996. When Cole returns to 1996, he informs Dr. Railly that he is searching for the army and tells her the telephone number that he is to call to check for voice mails that may have further leads. After deciding that she and Cole are insane, Dr. Railly calls the number and jokingly leaves a message stating that the Army of the 12 Monkeys is responsible for the outbreak of the virus. To both Dr. Railly and Cole's bemusement, it turns out that that message is the message the panel of scientists received in 2035.

Now, the question is, where did this information—that the Army of the 12 Monkeys is responsible for the outbreak of the virus—originate? Following the timeline of the movie, the information is passed along through four events: (1) the panel of scientists receives it from a voice mail, (2) Cole receives the information from the panel of scientists, (3) Dr. Railly receives the information from Cole, and (4) Dr. Railly reveals the information on a voice mail that is later picked up by the panel of scientists. The problem is that while the four events form a causal sequence so that each event can be causally explained by the prior event, the information cannot be causally explained to have a beginning or an end. This paradox is known as a causal loop, where the information causally flows in a circle without a definite point of origination.

There are two different ways to respond to this problem. First, we can admit that causal loops are impossible, whether they are loops in a normal, external timeline or in time travel timelines. Here, the argument maintains that it is impossible to have an uncaused cause, and since the information passed along from the panel of scientists to Cole to Dr. Railly to the voice mail has no origination, this information is a case of an uncaused cause. And since this information is the essence of the causal loop, the causal loop is impossible. If this is the case, then 12 Monkeys must give an explanation for the origination of the information by providing an independent source that is outside the causal sequence. For instance, the panel of scientists may have retrieved a newspaper from 1996 with the headline “The Army of the 12 Monkeys Did It!” and (mistakenly) inferred that it refers to the virus outbreak.

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