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

By Alfred R. Mele

Book Overview

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.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195080017
• ISBN13: 9780195080018
• Release Date: January 1987
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 200 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.5" x 8.5"