Irrationality: An Essay on Akrasia Self-Deception and Self-Control

About this book

Although much human action serves as proof that irrational behavior is remarkably common certain forms of irrationality--most notably incontinent action and self-deception--pose such difficult theoretical problems that philosophers have rejected them as logically or psychologically impossible. Here Mele shows that and how incontinent action and self-deception are indeed possible. Drawing upon recent experimental work in the psychology of action and inference he advances naturalized explanations of akratic action and self-deception while resolving the paradoxes around which the philosophical literature revolves. In addition he defends an account of self-control argues that "strict" akratic action is an insurmountable obstacle for traditional belief-desire models of action-explanation and explains how a considerably modified model accommodates action of this sort.