Resolution Theory on Free Will in a Deterministic Universe: Steelman Objections

Start here (base logic + reading order): Free Will Without Metaphysical Magic (++++ ≠ +++=) Free will does not require breaking physics. It requires a place in the causal stream where a time-extended agent becomes the author of a commitment. Resolution Theory calls these junctions resolution points and treats responsibility as binary at those points, while blame remains scalar under mitigation (distortion, coercion, ignorance, constraint). The paper steelmans Pereboom and Strawson, granting that “ultimate self-origination” is impossible, and argues that this target is orthogonal to the categories needed for moral and legal life. Discriminator cases—impaired agency, procedural fog in institutions, and human-in-the-loop AI—show why authorship must remain legible even when explanation is distributed. The conclusion sketches how exposure disciplines reasons over time, bridging free will to normativity.