Autonomy, Self-Control, and Weakness of Will

2005 ◽  
pp. 528-548
Author(s):  
Alfred R. Mele
Keyword(s):  
Self Control ◽  
Weakness Of Will

Akrasia

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Steward
Keyword(s):  
Intentional Action ◽  
General Term ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Best Interests ◽  
Weakness Of Will ◽  
Philosophy Of Action ◽  
Moral Philosopher ◽  
Moral Principles ◽  
Course Of Action

The Greek word ‘akrasia’ is usually said to translate literally as ‘lack of self-control’, but it has come to be used as a general term for the phenomenon known as weakness of will, or incontinence, the disposition to act contrary to one’s own considered judgment about what it is best to do. Since one variety of akrasia is the inability to act as one thinks right, akrasia is obviously important to the moral philosopher, but it is also frequently discussed in the context of philosophy of action. Akrasia is of interest to philosophers of action because although it seems clear that it does occur – that people often do act in ways which they believe to be contrary to their own best interests, moral principles or long-term goals – it also seems to follow from certain apparently plausible views about intentional action that akrasia is simply not possible. A famous version of the suggestion that genuine akrasia cannot exist is found in Socrates, as portrayed by Plato in the Protagoras. Socrates argues that it is impossible for a person’s knowledge of what is best to be overcome by such things as the desire for pleasure – that one cannot choose a course of action which one knows full well to be less good than some alternative known to be available. Anyone who chooses to do something which is in fact worse than something they know they could have done instead, must, according to Socrates, have wrongly judged the relative values of the actions.

Weakness of Will and the Free-Rider Problem

1985 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon Elster
Keyword(s):  
Personal Identity ◽  
Free Rider ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Self Management ◽  
Weakness Of Will ◽  
Economic Relations ◽  
Free Rider Problem ◽  
Thomas Schelling

The study of intrapersonal economic relations, or economics, is still at the programmatic stage. There is no generally accepted paradigm, or even as well-defined set of problems that constitute it as a subdiscipline within economics. Some questions are, however, emerging as foci of interest for a small but increasing number of writers, not just in economics, but also in psychology and philosophy. The writings of Thomas Schelling on self-management, of George Ainslie on self-control, and of Derik Parfit on personal identity testify to this convergence.

scholarly journals Non-psychological weakness of will: self-control, stereotypes, and consequences

Synthese ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 191 (16) ◽  
pp. 3935-3954 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathieu Doucet ◽  
John Turri
Keyword(s):  
Self Control ◽  
Weakness Of Will ◽  
Will Self

scholarly journals Non-psychological Weakness of Will: Self-control, Stereotypes, and Consequences

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Turri
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Factors ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Weakness Of Will ◽  
Will Self

Recently philosophers have debated which theory best captures the ordinary concept of weakness of will. Some claim that weakness of will consists in action contrary to an agent's better judgments, while others claim it consists of action contrary to an agent’s intentions. In this paper, we show that the psychological focus on violated commitments — whether judgments, intentions, or both — is too narrow. We begin by showing that many people attribute weakness of will even in the absence of a violated commitment (Experiment 1). We then show that weakness of will attributions are sensitive to two important non-psychological factors. First, for actions stereotypically associated with weakness of will, the absence of certain commitments often triggers weakness of will attributions (Experiments 2-4). Second, and in line with other recent findings, the quality of an action’s outcome affects the extent to which an agent is viewed as weak-willed. More specifically, actions with bad consequences are more likely to be viewed as weak-willed (Experiment 5). So the ordinary concept of weakness of will is sensitive to two non-psychological factors and is thus broader than previous philosophical accounts have recognized. To explain our findings, we propose a two-tier model of weakness of will as a failure of self-control.

Kontrolliertes Trinken bei Alkoholkonsumstörungen: Eine systematische Übersicht

2015 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 147-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joachim Körkel
Keyword(s):  
Self Control ◽  
Systematische Übersicht

Hintergrund: Verhaltenstherapeutische Behandlungen zum selbstkontrollierten Trinken (KT) wurden in den letzten 50 Jahren vielfältig erforscht. Eine aktuelle Übersicht über den gegenwärtigen Status dieses Ansatzes liegt nicht vor. Fragestellung: Es wird ein systematischer Überblick über die Konzept- und Forschungsgeschichte des KT (Definition, theoretische Wurzeln, Behandlungsmethoden), Wirksamkeit von KT-Behandlung (inkl. Prognosefaktoren) sowie Implementierung von KT in das Behandlungssystem (Akzeptanz und Verbreitung) vorgenommen. Methodik: Gemäß den PRISMA Richtlinien wurde in den Datenbanken PsycINFO, Medline und Psyndex nach psychologischen Behandlungen zum selbstkontrollierten Alkoholkonsum bei Menschen mit klinisch relevanten Alkoholproblemen recherchiert und 676 einschlägige Beiträge identifiziert. Ergebnisse: KT wird als regelgeleitet-planvoller Alkoholkonsum definiert. Seine theoretischen Wurzeln reichen von Lerntheorien bis zur Psychologie der Selbstregulation. In der Behandlung haben Behavioral Self-Control Trainings frühere Methoden (z. B. aversive Konditionierung, Kontingenzmanagement und Reizexposition) abgelöst. Einzel und Gruppenbehandlungen sowie Selbsthilfemanuale zum KT erweisen sich über das gesamte Spektrum des problematischen Alkoholkonsums als kurz- und langfristig wirksam zur Reduktion des Alkoholkonsums und alkoholassoziierter Probleme wie auch zur Förderung des Übergangs zur Abstinenz. Prognostisch bedeutsam sind v. a. der Zielentscheid des Patienten pro KT und seine Zuversicht in die Realisierbarkeit von KT. Akzeptanz und Verbreitung von KT haben in den letzten Jahrzehnten zugenommen und variieren u. a. länderspezifisch. Schlussfolgerungen: Angesichts der Wirksamkeit von KT-Behandlungen sowie gesundheitspolitischer, ethischer, therapeutischer und ökonomischer Überlegungen sollten Reduktionsbehandlungen gleichrangig neben Abstinenzbehandlungen in ein zieloffen ausgerichtetes Behandlungssystem integriert werden.

Parasympathetic Concomitants of Habitual, Spontaneous, and Instructed Emotional Suppression

2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 78-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asmir Gračanin ◽  
Igor Kardum ◽  
Jasna Hudek-Knežević
Keyword(s):  
Negative Emotion ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Experimental Manipulation ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Integration Model ◽  
Sinus Arrhythmia ◽  
Emotional Suppression ◽  
Emotion Experience ◽  
Similar Relation

Abstract. The neurovisceral integration model proposes that different forms of self-regulation, including the emotional suppression, are characterized by the activation of neural network whose workings are also reflected in respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA). However, most of the previous studies failed to observe theoretically expected increases in RSA during emotional suppression. Even when such effects were observed, it was not clear whether they resulted from specific task demands, a decrease in muscle activity, or they were the consequence of more specific self-control processes. We investigated the relation between habitual or trait-like suppression, spontaneous, and instructed suppression with changes in RSA during negative emotion experience. A modest positive correlation between spontaneous situational and habitual suppression was observed across two experimental tasks. Furthermore, the results showed greater RSA increase among participants who experienced higher negative affect (NA) increase and reported higher spontaneous suppression than among those with higher NA increase and lower spontaneous suppression. Importantly, this effect was independent from the habitual suppression and observable facial expressions. The results of the additional task based on experimental manipulation, rather than spontaneous use of situational suppression, indicated a similar relation between suppression and RSA. Our results consistently demonstrate that emotional suppression, especially its self-regulation component, is followed by the increase in parasympathetic activity.

Low Self-Control of Emotions as an Antecedent of Self-Reported Physical Symptoms: A Longitudinal Perspective

2001 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marja Kokkonen ◽  
Lea Pulkkinen ◽  
Taru Kinnunen
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation ◽  
Negative Emotions ◽  
Physical Symptoms ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Personality Characteristics ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Eysenck Personality Questionnaire ◽  
Positive Direction ◽  
Data Collections ◽  
Low Self Control

The study was part of the Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Personality and Social Development, underway since 1968, in which children's low self-control of emotions was studied using teacher ratings at age 8 in terms of inattentiveness, shifting moods, aggression, and anxiety. The study was based on data from 112 women and 112 men who participated in the previous data collections at ages 8, 27, and 36. At age 27, the participants had been assessed in Neuroticism (N) using the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire , and at age 36 they filled in several inventories measuring, among others, conscious and active attempts to repair negative emotions in a more positive direction as well as physical symptoms. The present study used structural equation modeling to test the hypothesis that personality characteristics indicating low self-control of emotions at ages 8 and 27 are antecedents of self-reported physical symptoms at age 36; and that this relationship is indirect, mediated by attempts to repair negative emotions in a more positive direction. The findings showed, albeit for men only, that inattentiveness at age 8 was positively related to self-reported physical symptoms at age 36 via high N at age 27 and low attempts to repair negative emotions at age 36. Additionally, N at age 27 was directly linked to self-reported physical symptoms at age 36. The mediation of an active attempt to repair negative emotions was not found for women. Correlations revealed, however, that shifting moods and aggression in girls were antecedents of self-reported physical symptoms in adulthood, particularly, pain and fatigue.

Physical Fitness and Resting EEG in Children With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ching-Wen Huang ◽  
Chung-Ju Huang ◽  
Chiao-Ling Hung ◽  
Chia-Hao Shih ◽  
Tsung-Min Hung
Keyword(s):  
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Physical Fitness ◽  
Attention Deficit ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Children With Adhd ◽  
Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Higher Power ◽  
Eyes Open ◽  
The Relationship

Children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are characterized by a deviant pattern of brain oscillations during resting state, particularly elevated theta power and increased theta/alpha and theta/beta ratios that are related to cognitive functioning. Physical fitness has been found beneficial to cognitive performance in a wide age population. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between physical fitness and resting-state electroencephalographic (EEG) oscillations in children with ADHD. EEG was recorded during eyes-open resting for 28 children (23 boys and 5 girls, 8.66 ± 1.10 years) with ADHD, and a battery of physical fitness assessments including flexibility, muscular endurance, power, and agility tests were administered. The results indicated that ADHD children with higher power fitness exhibited a smaller theta/alpha ratio than those with lower power fitness. These findings suggest that power fitness may be associated with improved attentional self-control in children with ADHD.

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