"The 'will' in willpower is not some mysterious 'free will,' a ghost in the machine that can do as it pleases, but a part of the machine itself."
— Pinker, Steven (b. 1954)
Author
Place of Publication
New York
Date
September 2, 2011
Metaphor
"The 'will' in willpower is not some mysterious 'free will,' a ghost in the machine that can do as it pleases, but a part of the machine itself."
Metaphor in Context
Together with intelligence, self-control turns out to be the best predictor of a successful and satisfying life. But Baumeister and Tierney aren't endorsing a return to a preachy puritanism in which people are enjoined to resist temptation by sheer force of will and condemned as morally irresolute when they fail. The "will" in willpower is not some mysterious "free will," a ghost in the machine that can do as it pleases, but a part of the machine itself. Willpower consists of circuitry in the brain that runs on glucose, has a limited capacity and operates by rules that scientists can reverse-engineer -- and, crucially, that can find work-arounds for its own shortcomings.
Categories
Provenance
Reading
Citation
Steven Pinker, "The Sugary Secret of Self-Control," The New York Times (September 2, 2011). <Link to NYTimes.com>
Theme
Ghost in the Machine
Date of Entry
09/08/2011
