Abstract

The author explains that his previous philosophical arguments for compatibilism (“the logical harmony of determinism and volition,” which he explicates as value-determinism-plus-conditional-free-will) provide a robust basis for ethical and legal responsibility. He defends entity causation, arguing that no coherent model of the universe, including human action, can be formulated that rejects entities as the nexus of identity and causality. Finally, he contends, ontological compatibilism (of determinism and free will) and ethical compatibilism (of determinism and personal responsibility) are both best supported by a more fundamental methodological compatibilism of philosophical and scientific approaches to seeking truth.