Irrationality An Essay on Akrasia, Self-Deception, and Self-Control
, by Mele, Alfred R.Note: Supplemental materials are not guaranteed with Rental or Used book purchases.
- ISBN: 9780195080018 | 0195080017
- Cover: Paperback
- Copyright: 9/24/1992
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.