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Compatibilism is a philosophical view that holds that free will and determinism are compatible concepts. This means that an action can be both determined and free. Compatibilists argue that determinism does not necessarily negate freedom, but rather that freedom is a matter of acting according to one's own desires and reasons, even if those desires and reasons are themselves determined.

The core idea of compatibilism is that free will is not about an uncaused choice, but rather about the absence of external coercion or constraint. If a person acts voluntarily, based on their own internal motivations, then their action is considered free, regardless of whether those motivations were predetermined. This contrasts with incompatibilism, which asserts that free will and determinism are mutually exclusive.

Different versions of compatibilism exist. Some focus on the idea of "conditional freedom," suggesting that an agent would have acted differently if they had chosen to, even if their actual choice was determined. Others emphasize the role of reasons-responsiveness, where an agent is free if their actions are guided by reasons that they can reflect upon and respond to. Ultimately, compatibilists seek to preserve our ordinary understanding of moral responsibility and agency within a deterministic framework. They believe that the existence of free will is compatible with a universe governed by causal laws.