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Resisting Weakness of the Will.

Neil Levy1

  • 1Oxford Centre for Neuroethics and Florey Neuroscience Institutes.

Philosophy and Phenomenological Research
|September 18, 2012
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

This study argues that "weakness of the will" is not a distinct psychological phenomenon. Instead, it proposes understanding it as the depletion of cognitive resources, suggesting the concept be replaced by cognitive psychology terms.

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Social Psychology
  • Philosophy of Mind

Background:

  • The concept of 'weakness of the will' has been a long-standing topic in philosophy and psychology.
  • Existing explanations often lack empirical grounding in modern cognitive and social psychology.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop an empirically-driven account of weakness of the will.
  • To challenge the existence of weakness of the will as a distinct psychological kind.
  • To propose an alternative conceptualization based on cognitive psychology.

Main Methods:

  • Review and synthesis of experimental evidence from cognitive and social psychology.
  • Philosophical analysis of the concept of weakness of the will.
  • Argumentation for conceptual revision.

Main Results:

  • Experimental evidence does not support weakness of the will as a unique psychological category.
  • Weakness of the will can be explained as the depletion of System II cognitive resources.
  • The concept of weakness of the will is not well-served by current psychological or practical explanatory purposes.

Conclusions:

  • The concept of weakness of the will should be abandoned.
  • It should be replaced by the vocabulary and concepts of cognitive psychology, specifically resource depletion.
  • This revision will better serve both psychological explanation and practical agency.