Weakness of Will and Practical Identity

In this article, I develop an Augustinian response to some contemporary philosophical proposals concerning the problem of weakness of will. I argue that many philosophers tend to cast the problem in terms of irrationality, focusing on psychological components such as judgment, desire, and resolution...

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Bibliographische Detailangaben
1. VerfasserIn: Jung, Kevin (VerfasserIn)
Medienart: Elektronisch Aufsatz
Sprache:Englisch
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Veröffentlicht: Sage [2020]
In: Studies in Christian ethics
Jahr: 2020, Band: 33, Heft: 4, Seiten: 463-478
RelBib Classification:KAB Kirchengeschichte 30-500; Frühchristentum
NBE Anthropologie
VA Philosophie
ZD Psychologie
weitere Schlagwörter:B Augustine
B Irrationality
B Weakness of will
B Akrasia
B Practical identity
Online Zugang: Volltext (Resolving-System)
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:In this article, I develop an Augustinian response to some contemporary philosophical proposals concerning the problem of weakness of will. I argue that many philosophers tend to cast the problem in terms of irrationality, focusing on psychological components such as judgment, desire, and resolution. In contrast, I contend that weakness of will has more to do with the absence of a coherent conception of practical identity and with a misleading conception of practical identity that overestimates the agent’s normative and motivational capacities. I claim that the irrationality of the weak-willed agent is at best a symptom, rather than the ultimate source, of weakness of will which cannot be properly understood without first addressing the deficiency of our internal resources relative to our willing and doing.
ISSN:0953-9468
Enthält:Enthalten in: Studies in Christian ethics
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1177/0953946820909746