 Suppose you harm, offend, or otherwise wrong another person. Confronted with the possibility of sanction, you might say any of the following in an attempt avoid blame: “I couldn’t help it.” “Someone made me do it.” “I had no choice.” “It was unavoidable.” “There was no other option.” There’s a natural reading of such defenses on which they appeal to the principle at the center of this entry, the “Principle of Alternative Possibilities” (cp. Frankfurt 1969):