"Options for Compatibilism" by Prof. John Perry

Prof. John Perry, Department of Philosophy, Stanford

Can we be determined by natural laws and still have free will?

Is freedom compatible with determinism? That is, can someone believe that there are acts that are both free, in the sense that the person who performs the act could have refrained from doing it, and determined, in the sense that the performance of the act was a causal consequence of things that have already happened given the laws of nature?

"Many philosophers, including Locke and Hume, have been compatibilists. The difficulties in holding this position have been highlighted by the so-called 'consequence argument.' I will discuss the consequence argument and the problem of compatibilism, and argue that there are only two options for the compatibilist, which I call the weak laws option and the weak ability option."