A Friend’s Short Incisive Note On Compatibilism

I'd add that the compatibilist argument, as I see it, hinges on the notion that we have different frames, or modes, or systems for coping with our situation in the world. One, but only one, of these is the empirical or utilitarian, which is founded on the notion of cause, and in which the notion of "will" simply doesn't make sense. Another is the moral frame, founded on the notion of agency, or the ability to choose free of external force. These have different functions, and apply to different situations or circumstances, but both are essential aspects of how we manage our experience of the world. Conflating the two, as in asserting that "free will" is an illusion, is just a basic category error.