Against Better Judgment

Akrasia in Anthropological Perspectives

Nicholas H A Evans editor Patrick McKearney editor

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Berghahn Books

Published:9th Jun '23

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Against Better Judgment cover

Anthropologists have long explained social behaviour as if people always do what they think is best. But what if most of these explanations only work because they are premised upon ignoring what philosophers call 'akrasia' – that is, the possibility that people might act against their better judgment? The contributors to this volume turn an ethnographic lens upon situations in which people seem to act out of line with what they judge, desire and intend. The result is a robust examination of how people around the world experience weaknesses of will, which speaks to debates in both the anthropology of ethics and moral philosophy.

“This volume opens up the important subject of akrasia, one that any approach to the relationship between judgment and action needs to address. It is a very welcome addition to the literature.”• Michael Lambek, University of Toronto

ISBN: 9781805390008

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: unknown

204 pages