Kompatibilist

Kompatibilist is a term used in philosophy to describe a position on the free will and determinism debate. A compatibilist argues that free will and determinism are, in fact, compatible. This means that even if all events, including human actions, are causally determined by prior events, individuals can still be considered to have free will. Compatibilists often distinguish between different senses of "free will." They may define free will as the ability to act according to one's desires or intentions, without external coercion or constraint. In this view, an action is free if the agent could have done otherwise if they had willed to do otherwise, even if their willing was itself determined. This contrasts with incompatibilist views, which hold that free will and determinism cannot both be true. Incompatibilists are further divided into libertarians, who believe in free will and deny determinism, and hard determinists, who believe in determinism and deny free will. The compatibilist position seeks to preserve our intuitions about moral responsibility and agency within a deterministic framework. They aim to show that the conditions for holding someone morally responsible are met even in a world where every event is causally necessitated.