Compatibilism is the philosophical view that free will and moral responsibility are compatible with determinism. It argues that even if all our actions are causally determined by prior events and the laws of nature, we can still be free and morally responsible as long as we act according to our own motivations and desires without external coercion. Compatibilists typically define free will as the ability to act in accordance with one's own choices, rather than requiring the ability to have done otherwise in identical circumstances.