Compatibilism and Free Will

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Free Will and Compatibilism
Introduction
Explain what free will is.
Free actions are the actions that we are held responsible for. Thus, free will refers to the ability to perform free actions. It also means having the ability to choose different courses of action without any restraint. The problem with free action and determinism is that free will contradicts determinism. Determinism entails predetermined causes that result in specific actions. In a case where a decision is made, determinism rules that individuals could have made no other choice or action because of causal factors. Laws and nature that can help us determine the state of events also guide the universe. Hence, if determinism should hold, then free will is not possible. Furthermore, determinism dictates that agents cannot be the sole causes of their actions, making it difficult to have free will. Nevertheless, compatibilists maintain that free will and determinism can be reciprocally compatible with no rational inconsistencies. The idea behind compatibilism is that the issues are choices, actions, and decisions, not reality's fundamental nature. Hence, compatibilists such as A. J. Ayer have argued that agents can be morally accountable and bear free will for their actions if there is no constraint.
Explain why determinism seems to rule out free will.
Determinism rules out free will because it maintains that we have no control over our actions, as they are a product of the past and laws of nature. Despite being responsible agents, a deterministic view contradicts that human activity can happen without a causal action (Chisholm 3). Since one has no control over nature, the past, or laws, it is impossible to change a course of action. On the other hand, free will dictates that an agent should be able to act unchecked. There is no choice in what happened in past actions and, thus, no control over how past actions lead to future events. Therefore, those who oppose compatibility argue that free will is an illusion. The agent often has decided to act before they realize it. For instance, our desires may cause us to take action. More often than not, our desires exist under conditions that force us to act (Chisholm 13). Chisholm argues that desires can necessitate or incline one to do something, which leads it to hinder free will. Man cannot be separated from his actions; thus, the incompatibility theory argues that determinism impedes free will.
Explain one compatibilist position.
One compatibilist position is that of A. J. Ayer; believes that free will is not dependent on determinism but on constraints. He argues that one can only be held morally responsible for an action if it is entirely decided that one could have taken a different course of action (Ayer 110). Further, he believes free will is possible if it is separated from internal and external compulsion. Thus, Ayer's compatibilist approach is that free will involves freedom from constraint, and thus individuals can only attribute moral responsibility to an action that is not taken under compulsion. Ayer maintains, "But from the fact that my behavior is capable of being explained, in the sense that it can be subsumed under some natural law, it does not follow that I am acting under constraint” ( Ayer 117). Therefore, Ayer rules out random events as free actions. An individual can still be assumed free despite some naturally occurring events. Compatibility thus arises, as free will has to be present in determinism. Ayer argues that free will and determinism can exist together, as free will is not an antithesis of determinism. Still, constraints and those random actions are not free wills, making it present even in predetermined natural occurrences.
Explain in detail how it is supposed to give us free will.
Furthermore, Ayer notes that individuals can establish free will if individuals can separate causality from constraint. Co...