Time, Determinism & Free Will
Compatibilism
Holds that free will and determinism are not actually in conflict — that acting freely just means acting on one’s own reasons and desires without external coercion, regardless of whether those reasons were themselves ultimately caused by prior events.
Proponents
Thomas Hobbes, David Hume, Harry Frankfurt, Daniel Dennett
Evidence For
Surveys of professional philosophers have repeatedly found compatibilism to be the plurality view, and it offers a workable account of moral responsibility that doesn't require the universe to contain any uncaused events at all.
Evidence Against
Hard determinists and libertarians alike often dismiss compatibilism as a semantic sidestep — redefining "freedom" into something weaker than the robust, could-have-done-otherwise sense most people mean when they use the word.
Real Sources
Transmissions
Compare notes, add a source, or flag a contradiction — every reply is tagged with a stance.
Loading transmissions…