kompatibilists

Kompatibilists are philosophers who believe that free will and determinism are compatible. This means they hold that it is possible for an action to be both freely chosen and causally determined by prior events. Determinism, in this context, is the view that all events, including human actions, are necessitated by antecedent causes and conditions together with the laws of nature. Kompatibilists argue that the freedom required for moral responsibility is not the absence of causation, but rather the absence of coercion or constraint. An action is considered free if it is the result of the agent's own desires, beliefs, and character, even if those internal states are themselves determined. This contrasts with incompatibilists, who argue that free will and determinism are mutually exclusive. Incompatibilists are divided into two main groups: libertarians, who believe in free will and reject determinism, and hard determinists, who believe in determinism and reject free will. Kompatibilist theories often focus on defining freedom in terms of acting according to one's will, or in terms of having the ability to do otherwise if one had willed to do otherwise. Various thinkers throughout history, including Thomas Hobbes, David Hume, and Daniel Dennett, have defended compatibilist positions.