freedom

Free Will

The ability to make choices and decisions that are not determined by prior causes.

Determinism

The theory that all events, including human actions, are determined by preceding events in accordance with natural laws.

Fate

The idea that events are predetermined and inevitable, often by some higher power or cosmic plan.

Incompatibilism

The view that free will and determinism are mutually exclusive; if determinism is true, we cannot have free will.

Libertarianism

The belief that we have true free will and the ability to make choices independent of past events.

Compatibilism

The belief that free will and determinism can coexist; that our desires and intentions shape our choices even if they are determined.

Moral Responsibility

The status of being accountable for one's actions, often requiring the ability to have acted differently.

Consequentialism

An ethical theory that judges the rightness of an action based on its outcomes or consequences.

Frankfurt's Compatibilism

An argument suggesting that a person can be morally responsible even if they could not have acted otherwise due to manipulation or coercion.

Free Will Skeptics

Those who argue that free will, in the sense necessary for moral responsibility, does not exist due to determinism.