Kagaku tetsugaku
Online ISSN : 1883-6461
Print ISSN : 0289-3428
ISSN-L : 0289-3428
What Is It to Be Irrational?
Evaluation and Self-Control
Naoyuki Shiono
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2008 Volume 41 Issue 2 Pages 2_1-2_16

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Abstract

    In “Free Agency,” Gary Watson distinguished two aspects of wanting something, namely, to evaluate it as good, and to be motivated to pursue it. In the same paper, he also paid attention to the distinction between satisfying a desire and getting rid of a desire. In the introductory part of this essay, I will present a characterization of the phenomenon of weakness of will that depends on the distinction between evaluation and motivation. In the main part, I will examine the role that the distinction between satisfying a desire and getting rid of it can play in circumstances where an agent exercises techniques of self-control in order to avoid succumbing to weak-willed action. The aim of this essay is to show that the evaluational judgment of an agent can be efficacious in important ways in leading the agent to action.

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© 2008 The Philosophy of Science Society, Japan
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