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Free Will

Akrasia: Why Do We Act Against Our Better Judgement?

George Singleton asks why we splash out on luxuries worth a month’s income, struggle to give up smoking, and resort to below-the-belt insults in heated arguments.

Almost all heavy smokers are well aware of the likely consequences of their tobacco tendencies. Many even concede that it would be best to give up the habit. Still, a large proportion of these people cannot help but continue to smoke, in spite of their better judgement. Between puffs of nicotine and regret, they may ask themselves, ‘Why do I continue to smoke when I know it would be better not to?’ One response to this question – although not one in everyday terms – is that smoking is an akratic action. Akrasia comes from the Greek for ‘lacking control of oneself’, and it means ‘to act against one’s better judgement’.

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