Compatibilism is the philosophical view that free will and determinism are compatible with each other, meaning that a person can be considered to have free will even if determinism is true. Compatibilists argue that actions are free if they are caused by the agent's own desires and volitions, rather than external constraints or coercion, allowing for moral responsibility even in a determined universe. This position, also known as soft determinism, is seen as a way to reconcile our intuitive understanding of freedom and accountability with the scientific and philosophical idea that all events are causally determined.