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Overcoming Diminished Motivation, Jumana Morciglio
Overcoming Diminished Motivation, Jumana Morciglio
Philosophy Theses
Self-control is required when an agent encounters some opposition to acting on her better judgments. One such opposition is diminished motivation, that is, a lack of desire to act on a better judgment. Thomas Connor compares two views of successful self-control, actional (i.e. the view that self-control is produced by a motivated action) and non-actional (i.e. the view that self-control consists of having unmotivated thoughts), and argues that non-actional views are better at explaining successful self-control in cases of diminished motivation. I reject Connor’s suggestion that successful self-control is likely to be non-actional by presenting two arguments: (1) non-actional views …
Willpower And Ego-Depletion: How I Do What I Don't Want To Do, And Why It's Not (Completely) My Fault When I Don't, Samuel C. Sims
Willpower And Ego-Depletion: How I Do What I Don't Want To Do, And Why It's Not (Completely) My Fault When I Don't, Samuel C. Sims
Philosophy Theses
Experimental studies on willpower confirm the Strength Model of Self-Control, which claims that willpower depends on limited physiological resources. Exercising willpower depletes these resources, which impairs further exercises of willpower. This phenomenon is called “ego-depletion.” As a result, depleting these resources impairs further exercises of executive control. My thesis argues that this phenomenon has two important philosophical consequences: First, ego-depletion provides evidence against the Humean approach to motivation, according to which people always act according to their strongest desires. Second, people suffering from ego-depletion are not fully responsible for failures of self-control.