What is compatibilism about free will? Which is the most plausible version of it and why? Is any version completely satisfactory?

Today, I have finally decided to sit down and write my philosophy essay. I wonder how free I am to make this decision. Fatalism would suggest that I might as well go outside and enjoy the day, as no matter what I do now, my fate is decided and a particular future is inevitable. This theory is highly questionable, as it appears that our behaviour in the present undeniably has an effect on the future. Determinism accepts this notion, but suggests that my decision to write this essay now is inevitable due to numerous factors that are beyond my control, and so I am not exercising free will in my action of essay writing (Sober, 2001). However, I believe there is an intuitive sense of freedom in our everyday decision-making that cannot be denied. This essay will distinguish causality from determinism and then evaluate theories of compatibilism, suggesting that causality does not deny the possibility of free will.

There are two arguments explaining determinism. Firstly, there is the Distan...