akrasia
Sign in to saveAlso known as acrasia, weakness of will
Akrasia refers to the phenomenon of acting against one's better judgment—the state in which one intentionally performs an action while simultaneously believing that a different course of action would be better. Sometimes translated as "weakness of will" or "incontinence," akrasia describes the paradoxical human experience of knowingly choosing what one judges to be the inferior option. This concept raises philosophical questions regarding the connection between reason, desire, and action by challenging the intuitive assumption that rational judgment governs an agent's behavior. Altogether, akr
~11 min read
Article
11 sectionsContents
- History
- Classical answers
- Contemporary approaches
- Weakness of will
- Legacy
- See also
- Footnotes
- Notes
- References
- Further reading
- External links
Akrasia refers to the phenomenon of acting against one's better judgment—the state in which one intentionally performs an action while simultaneously believing that a different course of action would be better. Sometimes translated as "weakness of will" or "incontinence," akrasia describes the paradoxical human experience of knowingly choosing what one judges to be the inferior option. This concept raises philosophical questions regarding the connection between reason, desire, and action by challenging the intuitive assumption that rational judgment governs an agent's behavior. Altogether, akrasia is presented as one of many significant problems in moral psychology and ethics.
==History== thumb|Portrait in marble of Socrates. In the Protagoras, Plato has Socrates examine the concept of akrasia. In Plato's Protagoras dialogue, Socrates asks precisely how it is possible that, if one judges action A to be the best course of action, why one would do anything other than A. For example, if a subject believes that studying for their upcoming exam is their best course of action but chooses to go on their phone instead, questions are raised regarding how that subject can knowingly act against what they believe is best for them.