Giving In To Doing The Wrong Thing

: In this eighteenth episode of the Wisdom for Life radio show, hosts Dan Hayes and Greg Sadler discuss a puzzle arising early on in ancient literature and continuing on down to the present - if we know right from wrong, and we’re in possession of our faculties, why do we sometimes give in and do the wrong thing instead of the right one? In ancient Greek, this was called “akrasia” - literally lack of self-mastery.  It is a kind of ethical or moral failure that we can call lack or loss of self control, or “weakness of will”.

 

Dan and Greg examine a number of different approaches to this common experience, including those coming from ancient philosophers and movements like Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and the Stoics, and those from contemporary psychology as well.

 

They examine a practical question about procrastination in fulfilling tasks and the guilt that often accompanies that failure to follow through

 

They end the show by discussing a practice that listeners could engage in - deliberately reminding oneself in moments of temptation that in choosing to do what one knows is the right thing, one is helping to establish habits that will help make the right choices easier in the future

 

Show Music is by Scott Tarulli - https://www.scotttarulli.com/