Reference no: EM133448197

Causal determinism suggests that all actions are the direct consequence of prior events and the laws of nature. To make this more concrete, imagine a boy who steals a candy bar. (Call this Act A.) According to causal determinism:

Act A was a consequence of prior events and natural laws.
The boy could not have done other than he did at that time.

Compatibilism is the view that individuals can still perform a free action even if the causal determinism is true. It might be that the boy's actions were the consequence of countless prior events (e.g., neurons firing in his brain, hormones released in his body, stimuli he was exposed to days before the act, the parenting methods of his father, his group of friends, chemicals in the atmosphere near his childhood playground, the stressors experienced by his mother while he was a fetus...etc.) such that he could not have done other than he did. Still, it is possible that his act was free.

Rachels writes: "The basic idea of Compatibilism may be summed up by saying that 'free' does not mean 'uncaused'. Rather, it means something like 'uncoerced'."

A compatibilist might argue that the boy, though caused, was not coerced. There was no gun to his head or active manipulation of his desires when he chose to steal the candy bar. He still acted from his own desires and values.