ABSTRACT
As I explained above, I believe that there is much that commends itself about compatibilism, and in particular about Fischer’s compatibilist theory. However, what compatibilists have needed for a while now, in order to convince non-believers, is an analysis of “capacity” that not only captures a plausible sense of “capacity” but also one that can normatively justify reactive attitudes like blame and genuinely desert-based practices like retributive punishment. What I take myself to have offered in this paper is a sketch of what such an analysis might look like, and I believe that this diachronic analysis can ultimately function as a drop-in replacement for Fischer’s synchronic analysis.
