PhilGoetz comments on Morality is not about willpower - Less Wrong

9 Post author: PhilGoetz 08 October 2011 01:33AM

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Comment author: PhilGoetz 06 October 2011 05:53:09AM *  0 points [-]

It would help if we agreed on what "willpower" meant. I am not convinced it is a single thing. We say that a person who breaks their diet, and a person who can't do ten pushups, and a lazy person, and a person with OCD, and a thief, all lack willpower. I don't think these are the same.

Comment author: Sophronius 08 October 2011 03:34:35PM *  0 points [-]

Agreed. Some people who are highly courageous suffer deeply from akrasia. Other people do not even understand what is meant by the concept of Akrasia when it is explained to them. I do not think that means they have a large amount of willpower; akrasia is simply not an issue for them.

I remember reading about how performing tasks that require a great deal of mental concentration seems to drain an internal reserve of mental energy. As a result, your performance on other tasks that require mental focus also lapses, until you've had time to rest and restore your energy. I would refer to this mental energy reserve as willpower. I think this fits very well with people's experience in fighting akrasia: attempts to use willpower in order to (for example) go on a diet works for a little bit, until all your willpower is expended and you revert to your usual habits.