Causation and Free Will

Abstract This book develops a causal version of a compatibilist, actual-sequence view of freedom. It is a compatibilist view in that acting freely is compatible with the truth of determinism; an actual-sequence view in that acting freely is exclusively a function of actual sequences; and a causal version of such a view in that actual sequences are causal histories. On this view, acting freely is just a matter of acting from the right kinds of causes: it requires more causes instead of fewer or no causes, and it requires quite complex causes, ones that can reflect an agent’s sensitivity to reasons. The view draws heavily on the metaphysics of causation and on the relation between causation and moral responsibility. It emphasizes the role played by absence causation and other important features of the causal relation in securing the central claim that freedom is exclusively a function of actual causes.