ABSTRACT
Is free agency, consisting in self-determination and alternative possibilities, compatible with determinism? This chapter examines the views of Elisabeth of Bohemia and Mary Astell on the metaphysics of free will, and whether they are compatible with various kinds of determinism discussed in the early modern period. Elisabeth of Bohemia appears to accept some form of compatibilism: while she rejects that free will is consistent with theological determinism, she accepts it is compatible with intellectual determinism. Elisabeth holds that self-determination is elusive given the interconnectedness of mind and body. In contrast, Astell clearly endorses self-determination as a conception of freedom, because for Astell, freedom consists in acting on reasons one has judged to be true. Astell is also a compatibilist, as she accepts a form of natural determinism. However, there are tensions in her views regarding intellectual determinism.
