Weakness of Will and Practical Irrationality [Paperback]

Sarah Stroud (Editor), Christine Tappolet (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 3, 2008 | ISBN-10: 0199235953 | ISBN-13: 978-0199235957

Among the many practical failures that threaten us, weakness of will or akrasia is often considered to be a paradigm of irrationality. The eleven new essays in this collection, written by an excellent international team of philosophers, some well-established, some younger scholars, give a rich overview of the current debate over weakness of will and practical irrationality more generally. Issues covered include classical questions such as the distinction between weakness and compulsion, the connection between evaluative judgement and motivation, the role of emotions in akrasia, rational agency, and the existence of the will. The also include new topics, such as group akrasia, strength of will, the nature of correct choice, the structure of decision theory, the temporality of prudential reasons, and emotional rationality. Because these questions cut across philosophy of mind and ethics, the collection will be essential reading for scholars, postgraduates, and upper-level undergraduates in both these fields.

Editorial Reviews

Review

`Review from previous edition ...a valuable resource for anyone interested in the nature of rational action.' Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

`... an attractive volume ... [which] represents an important contribution to action theory, philosophy of mind and moral psychology, and should be read by anyone who works in these areas.' Journal of Moral Philosophy

About the Author

Sarah Stroud is Professor in the Department of Philosophy at McGill University in Canada. Christine Tappolet is Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Montreal in Canada.

Product Details

• Paperback: 328 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (February 3, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0199235953
• ISBN-13: 978-0199235957
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,157,020 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good variety, not for non-specialists, April 27, 2005

By 

David Calhoun (La Mirada, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Weakness of Will and Practical Irrationality (Hardcover)

This book presents a good variety of the different view of the will and states of the will such as akrasia or accidie. However, if the reader has no previous experience with the subjects, they will find this a difficult read and will need to invest the time to read and reread the articles to even begin to understand them, or else they will likely come away with misconceptions.

That being said, I definitely recommend this book to the specialists in this field, but would advise against it for anyone not familiar with these theories from the start.

Also, Sarah Stroud and Christine Tappolet have edited this book so that each occurance of an unnamed person (used in examples) is referred to as "she". This odd trendy use is somewhat distracting, and if Stroud and Tappolet would find the use of "he" in its place equally distracting, a neutered form should have been used (i.e. "the agent", "they", etc.). To refer to a subject as "she" in one part of the essay and refer to another example subject as "the agent" in another section goes against the purpose of the word "agent", which is purposefully gender neutral (as well as species-neutral).