Title: Compatibilism and Incompatibilism are compatible. : philosophy
Headings: Compatibilism and Incompatibilism are compatible.
Compatibilism and Incompatibilism are compatible.
Compatibilism and Incompatibilism are compatible.
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Content: So a more accurate statement (on this view) would be that compatibilism is the view that "free will A" is compatible with determinism, and incompatibilism is the view that "free will B" is not. This is a common view these days, undoubtedly thanks to Mr. Harris. However, it is thoroughly mistaken. The basic error here is in thinking that the free will debate is simply about stipulating some definition of how our will actually works and what freedom actually means, and done deal. This may seem plausible in one sense, in that what exactly free will is is itself within the scope of the free will debate. But anyone seriously attempting to put forth a position on free will is at least attempting to deal with the same set of related issues: am I really a free agent, rather than a complicated machine? Can I possibly deserve praise or blame for what I do? If I seem to decide to do something, or weigh some issue and come to a conclusion, was there really any decision or deliberation at all, rather than simply the appearance of them? Our specific conceptions of free will, compatibilistic or incompatibilistic, are measured against such concerns.