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Breakdown of Will
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Ainslie argues that our responses to the threat of our own inconsistency determine the basic fabric of human culture. He suggests that individuals are more like populations of bargaining agents than like the hierarchical command structures envisaged by cognitive psychologists. This perspective helps us understand so much that is puzzling in human action and interaction: fr
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Paperback, 272 pages
Published
December 7th 2001
by Cambridge University Press
(first published 2001)
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I wonder sometimes if a sufficiently advanced art critic may by the cover of a book determine its contents, which would be all the more impressive if the cover were in no way inspired by material it covered. Fortunately, our task is not so difficult. From an ocean of violet smoke is inscribed a glowing rectangle with sharp boundaries, framing a portrait of, presumably, our beloved psychologist in his younger days. His mouth is open and his teeth are faintly clenched. He stares at us, brow furrow
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Packed with insight into the human condition. The phenomenon of hyperbolic discounting and the concept of intertemporal bargaining have enormous explanatory power, which Ainslie leverages effectively and concisely to obtain insights into psychological phenomena including willpower, pain, legalism, and empathy.
A textbook-type deconstruction of the role of will, or willpower, in our decision-making processes. More specifically, whether one’s will can circumvent self-destructive behaviors. I won’t give away the punchline, but will suggest that an appropriate add-on to this book might be “Good Habits, Bad Habits: The Science of Making Positive Changes That Stick“ by Wendy Wood. I’ve not read it yet, but plan on doing so soon!
Had high hopes but............
The book at the start was amazing and seemed to tackle all the feelings and dilemmas that an addict goes through.
But then from chapter 4 or so onwards, the book became too detailed, technical, complicated, and simply unhelpful.
I was hoping the book will get to providing a clear strategy for the addict to overcome his addiction, but this never came in the book, which was a big disappointment.
Maybe someone can come along and summarise this book in the for of an inf ...more
The book at the start was amazing and seemed to tackle all the feelings and dilemmas that an addict goes through.
But then from chapter 4 or so onwards, the book became too detailed, technical, complicated, and simply unhelpful.
I was hoping the book will get to providing a clear strategy for the addict to overcome his addiction, but this never came in the book, which was a big disappointment.
Maybe someone can come along and summarise this book in the for of an inf ...more
A great exploration of the ideas that humans use hyperbolic discounting utility curves, and that the unitary "self" is much more like a community of drives and processes forced to share the same apparatus. Recommended for anyone interested in will power, Dan Dennett's theory of consciousness, or recent discoveries in psychology.
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This book is heady. I like it.
The assumption of human rationality may be one of the most flawed assumptions in the domain of decision science. Once critique for this assumption comes from George Ainslie. George Ainslie in this book explains that our decisions are influenced by different zones of preference that exist in our behavior. He lists the following 5 zones of temporal preferences - Optimal, Compulsions, Addictions, Itches and Pains.
He argues that interests in one range of these temporal zones conflict with the inter ...more
He argues that interests in one range of these temporal zones conflict with the inter ...more
The right direction in understanding self regulation.
The book is not altogether right, but it is hugely interesting. ...a very inspiring read.
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“will is a bargaining situation, not an organ.”
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“The conventional view of a person's self-command structure is definitely bureaucratic, on the model of a corporation or an army, where superior agents simply pass commands down to inferior ones. However, closer examination of corporations and
armies has shown that despite the establishment of hierarchical command structures, they remain marketplaces where officers must motivate rather than simply ordering behaviors.”
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1 likes
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armies has shown that despite the establishment of hierarchical command structures, they remain marketplaces where officers must motivate rather than simply ordering behaviors.”
